Comparison

BetterApp vs PGPony

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

Head to head
About

BetterApp

Features
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At BetterApp, our mission is to take your communication to the next level of security, and we believe we have achieved exactly that. Enjoy all your conversations and file transfers up to 20 MB in encrypted form, anytime and anywhere. BetterApp Messenger is a cross-platform, PGP-protected chat app. BetterApp currently supports iOS 13 or newer to ensure the best possible performance. Our service does not store personal information, metadata, or phone numbers. BetterApp always establishes a secure connection between mobile devices and other devices using a PGP-encrypted pair of private and public keys. Enjoy security at the highest level. Take it one step further with two-way authentication and additionally encrypt your local in-app data. BetterApp features an efficient login and user system. We do not store user data. After you register an account with your chosen username, our server automatically creates a unique 9-digit random number for your account. In the future, you only need this number and your username to log in again and restore your saved friends. Our service also does not claim ownership of the data you transmit. You retain all rights to your images and files. Enjoy communication and data exchange at the highest level. BetterApp - Because your security matters to us.

About

PGPony

This app simplifies PGP encryption for users on their iPhone. It allows for key generation, secure message and file encryption/decryption, digital signing, and hardware security key integration. All features are available for free.

Highlights
  • Generate PGP keys
  • Encrypt/decrypt messages and files
  • Sign and verify digital documents
  • Hardware security key integration (YubiKey, Token2)
  • Password-only encryption
  • Key management and revocation
  • Share sheet extension for app integration
Features
Read full description

PGPony makes PGP encryption easy, private, and powerful, and every feature is free. Generate keys, encrypt to people or to a password, sign and verify, back up your whole keyring, and revoke compromised keys, all from your iPhone and iPad, in eight languages. New in 8.3.0: post-quantum signatures, NIST P-256, P-384 and P-521 keys, messages to several post-quantum recipients, and a reorganized Key Detail screen. POST-QUANTUM Encrypt with ML-KEM-768 or ML-KEM-1024 paired with X25519, and sign with ML-DSA-65 paired with Ed25519 (RFC 9980), on RFC 9580 (v6) keys or the v4 shape GnuPG 2.5 reads. Add post-quantum subkeys to a key you already have. HARDWARE SECURITY KEYS Generate a key pair on the card over NFC, or add an existing card with a tap. Sign, decrypt, and encrypt-and-sign in one step, with RSA and ECC (Ed25519/Curve25519) keys, on YubiKey, Token2, and others, over NFC or USB-C. Full card admin: PINs, factory reset, and Card Details. ENCRYPT, DECRYPT & SIGN Encrypt messages and files of any size to one or many public keys, or to a password with no keys at all, readable by gpg -c and back. Pick which subkey to encrypt to when a key has more than one. Decrypt with a private key, a hardware key, or a passphrase, and see which of your keys opened the message. Sign without encrypting, including detached signatures, and verify a file against its signature. GENERATE & MANAGE KEYS Create keys on a card or in-app: post-quantum, v6 Ed25519, classic Ed25519 + Cv25519, or RSA 2048/4096, with or without an email address. Add, revoke, or remove subkeys (including authentication subkeys) and User IDs. Full OpenPGP v6 (RFC 9580), interoperable with Sequoia PGP and GnuPG. Import from files, clipboard, QR codes, or keyservers. Make revocation certificates and export private keys (GnuPG-compatible). BACK UP & RESTORE Save your whole keyring, secret keys included, as one encrypted file. A single backup code opens it, and the same file restores onto another device. The file stays with you, never on anyone's server. KEYSERVERS Look up a recipient by email through Web Key Directory, then key servers. Add your own servers, publish to several at once, and upload an updated key straight from Key Detail. Route lookups through Tor or a SOCKS proxy, or turn on offline mode to stop every network request. PASSWORD STORE Open a pass (password-store) folder, decrypt an entry with a software or hardware key, and copy it through an auto-clearing clipboard. SHARE SHEET EXTENSION Encrypt or decrypt text, encrypt a file, or sign a file in any app: Safari, Files, Notes, Mail. SECURITY FIRST Face ID / Touch ID lock with auto-lock. Software keys live in the iOS Keychain. Keys and messages from outside are checked strictly before they are used. No analytics, tracking, accounts, or sign-up. Your private keys never leave your device, and with a hardware key they never leave the card. EIGHT LANGUAGES English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, and Simplified Chinese. Built by an indie developer who cares about your privacy. Your keys, your messages, your data, always yours. Terms of Use (EULA): https://pgpony.app/eula.html Privacy Policy: https://pgpony.app/privacy.html

Screenshots

BetterApp4 screens
PGPony4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: BetterApp at 15.0 against PGPony's 17.6. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BetterApp ships an update every 11 days, PGPony weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
BetterApp versus PGPony: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBetterAppPGPony
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.8 (18 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings—18 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size143 MB15 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperRunesWare UG (haftungsbeschraenkt)Kevin Stewart

In-app purchases

None

BetterApp

No in-app purchases

None

PGPony

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BetterApp free?
BetterApp is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PGPony free?
PGPony is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do BetterApp or PGPony have ads?
Neither BetterApp nor PGPony shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BetterApp or PGPony?
BetterApp ships an update every 11 days, and PGPony weekly. Most recently, BetterApp was updated on November 1, 2026 and PGPony on October 28, 2026.

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