Keybase vs Primal
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.
Primal
Experience a next-generation social media platform built on Nostr and Bitcoin. Enjoy rich media feeds, long-form articles, and integrated Bitcoin wallet functionality. Discover content easily and authorize other Nostr apps with remote login.
- Rich media feeds with playback
- Built-in Bitcoin wallet
- Long form articles
- Extensive content discovery
- Advanced search
- Remote Login for Nostr apps
- Configurable ambient sounds
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Next generation social media powered by Nostr and Bitcoin. Primal features rich feeds with media playback, built-in wallet, long form articles, extensive content discovery, advanced search. Primal can also be used to authorize activity in compatible Nostr apps using Remote Login. During an active remote session, Primal can play user-configurable ambient sounds that continue while the app is in the background. Our terms of use are available at: http://primal.net/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Primal at 87% against Keybase's 42%. Primal also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.5) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months). Keybase's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ratings volume, ads and iOS requirement 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. Primal sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Keybase asks for nothing beyond the download.
Primal holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 323 and 928 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 42% of Keybase's written reviews are positive against 87% of Primal's.
Keybase ships an update every 3 months, Primal every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Keybase | Primal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (323 ratings) | 4.9 (928 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 42.5% of reviews | 87.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 323 | 928 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 127 MB | 156 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Keybase, Inc. | Primal Systems Incorporated. |
Customer experience
Keybase
Primal
User reviews
Keybase
From 323 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 🔒 Secure communication
- 👍 Useful features like cloud storage and git repos
- 💡 Innovative crypto integration
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bugs and crashes
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 👎 Lack of iPad support
- 👎 Sluggish performance
Primal
From 928 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Smooth and fast performance
- 🔒 Secure and private social experience
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 💡 Seamless integration with Bitcoin Lightning Network
- 🤘 Empowering decentralized social media
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🇨🇦 Limited functionality for Canadian users
- 🔍 Lacking advanced search and discovery features
- 🔔 Inconsistent push notification support
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
Primal
Reported bugs
3 issues- Losing relay connections when switching to desktop
- Issues with account creation and sign-in process
- Inconsistent display of reactions from other Nostr apps
Requested features
4 requests- Add support for more Nostr reaction types
- Implement robust community/subreddit features
- Improve cache management and clearing options
- Provide better account management and sign-out options
In-app purchases
Keybase
No in-app purchases
Primal
- Primal Premium Monthly$6.991 Month
- Primal Pro Monthly$69.991 Month
- Primal Premium Yearly$69.991 Year
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- Primal Pro Yearly Subscription$749.991 Year
- Prepaid Nostr Zaps$4.99
