Keybase vs Librem Chat
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Keybase
Securely message anyone on social media or other platforms without needing their personal contact information. All communications are end-to-end encrypted and accessible across multiple devices. This open-source platform is free and ad-free for all users.
- Secure messaging to social media users
- End-to-end encryption
- Multi-device support
- Open source
- Ad-free
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Keybase is a messaging platform where: • you can write securely to any twitter, reddit, facebook, github, and hacker news user • you don't need to know someone's phone number or email address • all messages are secure, end-to-end encrypted • multi-device: your messages survive and transfer with encryption to new phones & computers Keybase is so much more. It is: • free for everyone, and free of ads • open source (https://github.com/keybase/client) • multi-platform, w/apps for macOS, Linux, and Windows (https://keybase.io/download) By using the Keybase app you agree to the following terms: • you'll be a nice Internet person Keybase for mobile is brand new and we yearn for feedback. Inside the app, click the gear icon and then choose "feedback" to send us a summary of your experience.
Librem Chat
This app provides secure text, voice, and video communication with end-to-end encryption. Share images, videos, and files in chat rooms while keeping conversations private. It is free and open-source software.
- End-to-end encryption
- Text chat rooms
- Voice and video calls
- Image, video, and file sharing
- Free and open-source
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* Chat rooms * Share images, videos, and files * Make voice and video calls * Keep your conversations secret with end-to-end encryption * Free and open-source software (FOSS)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Librem Chat at 3.8 against Keybase's 3.5. Librem Chat also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.1). Keybase's advantage is ratings volume (323 vs 11) and review sentiment (42% vs 33%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Librem Chat holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Keybase has 323 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 42% of Keybase's written reviews are positive against 33% of Librem Chat's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Keybase ships an update every 3 months, Librem Chat monthly. The most recent releases landed on July 5, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Keybase | Librem Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (323 ratings) | 3.8 (11 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 42.5% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 323 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 127 MB | 116 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Keybase, Inc. | PURISM, SPC |
Customer experience
Keybase
Librem Chat
Bugs and requests
Keybase
Reported bugs
4 issues- Login screen freezes
- Incompatible with older devices
- Messaging issues and lost chats
- Unreliable file sharing
Requested features
4 requests- Add iPad app support
- Improve message threading and navigation
- Integrate with more social platforms
- Add password manager functionality
Librem Chat
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Keybase
No in-app purchases
Librem Chat
No in-app purchases
