Comparison

Fishbowl vs CAPTIVATE!

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Fishbowl

Connect with verified professionals in industry-specific groups for genuine conversations and career advice. Discover new jobs, get referrals, and stay updated on what colleagues are discussing in a remote-first environment.

Highlights
  • Industry, Community, and Company Bowls (Groups)
  • Real-time industry and profession feed
  • Direct messaging and networking
  • Job discovery and referral opportunities
  • Verified professional connections
  • Career advice and insights
Features
Read full description

Fishbowl is where professionals go to connect and talk in a new era of remote work. Choose from thousands of Industry, Community or Company Bowls ("Groups") and have genuine conversations with other verified professionals that are working in roles and industries similar to your own. You can join different bowls or professional groups with others from the same background as yourself to get real advice, share work stories, and network. Don't miss out on what your coworkers and colleagues are saying. FEATURES ----------- LIVE FEED See what similar professionals are saying right now with a real-time feed for your specific industry and profession. NETWORKING Network and direct message with professionals across your industry or meet others within your company by turning on networking mode. Discover new jobs and get a referral to companies. BOWLS (GROUPS) Start or join bowls with people in your industry about anything! You can create or join bowls to: • Have conversations about a specific interest or area of expertise. • Network with former work colleagues and classmates. • Connect with professionals that have similar backgrounds to yourself. • Exchange insights and advice with others working at your Co. or Org • Meet up and get to know other professionals similar to you • Create bowls (professional groups) for interests or networking! • Discover new jobs and opportunities through networking and get referrals. Join hundreds of thousands of professionals from various industries including management consulting, advertising, tech, accounting, finance, law, healthcare, and education. Have conversations with professionals from companies and organizations like McKinsey, Deloitte, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Accenture, EY, PwC, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Skadden, Ogilvy, Saatchi, Publicis, Wieden+Kennedy, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Skadden, UCSF, Mount Sinai, Teach for America, the National Education Association and many more. Get the help you need to climb the career ladder. www.fishbowlapp.com **LinkedIn Account or Work Email required** Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information: https://requests.hrtechprivacy.com/share/login?version=US&entities=INDEED&hl=en_US&from=lg-usprivset

About

CAPTIVATE!

Earn rewards by completing apartment-related actions like social media sharing, referrals, and lease renewals. Accumulate points to redeem for gift cards from popular retailers. Build a stronger apartment community while enjoying exclusive perks.

Highlights
  • Earn points for actions
  • Redeem for gift cards
  • Social media sharing
  • Referral program
  • Lease renewal rewards
  • Surveys and feedback
  • Online rent payment rewards
Read full description

Climb the leaderboard as you complete actions and earn points for rewards cards to Amazon, Target, Nike, Adidas, Best Buy and more! Actions include things you’re already doing like sharing about your apartment on social media, referring friends, renewing your lease, filling out surveys, sharing feedback…even paying rent online. CAPTIVATE! is an easy way to build a great apartment community and gather up some free stuff along the way. Download to create an account or log in using the email address given at move-in and start earning points today!

Screenshots

Fishbowl4 screens
CAPTIVATE!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: CAPTIVATE! at free against Fishbowl's free with in-app purchases. CAPTIVATE! also leads on review sentiment (40% vs 19%) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). Fishbowl's advantage is ratings volume (23K vs 339). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CAPTIVATE! holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Fishbowl has 23K ratings behind it against 339, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 19% of Fishbowl's written reviews are positive against 40% of CAPTIVATE!'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Fishbowl ships an update every 2 months, CAPTIVATE! every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Fishbowl versus CAPTIVATE!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFishbowlCAPTIVATE!
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (23K ratings)4.8 (339 ratings) — better
Positive reviews19.3% of reviews40.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings23K — better339
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size90 MB26 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperFishbowl Media LLCModern Message

Customer experience

Fishbowl

All ratings23,330 ratings
Positive90.2%
Neutral2.3%
Negative7.5%
Written reviews389 reviews
Positive19.3%
Neutral6.2%
Negative74.6%

CAPTIVATE!

All ratings340 ratings
Positive95.0%
Neutral3.5%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative40.0%

Bugs and requests

Fishbowl

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inability to change job title or industry
  • Verification process takes too long
  • Keyboard overlaps text input fields
  • Notifications disappear after viewing one

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improve search and browsing functionality
  • Add option to post anonymously
  • Implement better content moderation system
  • Allow users to delete their own posts and comments
  • Provide more industry-specific communities

CAPTIVATE!

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Fishbowl

No in-app purchases

None

CAPTIVATE!

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Fishbowl free?
Fishbowl is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CAPTIVATE! free?
CAPTIVATE! is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Fishbowl or CAPTIVATE!?
CAPTIVATE! is rated higher. Fishbowl averages 4.6 out of 5 from 23K ratings, while CAPTIVATE! averages 4.8 from 339 ratings.
Do Fishbowl or CAPTIVATE! have ads?
Neither Fishbowl nor CAPTIVATE! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Fishbowl or CAPTIVATE!?
Fishbowl ships an update every 2 months, and CAPTIVATE! every 3 weeks. Most recently, Fishbowl was updated on November 9, 2026 and CAPTIVATE! on November 2, 2026.

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