Samaritan vs GiveInstead
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Samaritan
This app provides a secure way to support individuals experiencing homelessness. You can send gifts for essential needs, invite them for coffee, or offer words of encouragement, ensuring your support directly aids their journey toward stable housing.
- Support individuals experiencing homelessness
- Send gifts for essential needs
- Invite for coffee or conversation
- Offer words of encouragement
- Track impact on user journeys
- Community expansion requests
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“When I got my first gift from a Samaritan, I was in the library crying at the thought that someone out there cares about me.” Samaritan is a dignified and secure channel to support the journey toward stable housing. There are plenty of reasons why the single mom with a car full of belongings, the veteran on the street corner, or the teen outside the supermarket experiencing homelessness are often overlooked: “I don’t have cash” “I don’t know if they will spend it on true needs” “I don’t know if it will make a real dent” Now, you know. Samaritan invites you to join their journey and feel confident that your social capital - both your talents and money - are going toward core needs. Send a $25 gift for food and medical bills, invite them to coffee, or message words of encouragement for greater accountability. Samaritan is currently serving members in Seattle, Oklahoma City, and Orange County and aiming to serve 100+ communities by 2025. Want your community supported, too? Contact us and let us know where you are!
GiveInstead
This app facilitates charitable giving by allowing users to donate funds they would have otherwise spent on non-essential purchases. It offers a unique way for individuals to practice generosity and for charities to receive additional support.
- Redirect planned spending to charities
- Support favorite charities
- Track charitable giving
- Ministry-focused giving
- Simple donation process
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GiveInstead helps givers give and charities receive in a new, unique way. Anecdotes are best. I'm on my way to work and plan to stop by for a froofy coffee on the way. I know I'm called to give as God has given so generously, and to be a good steward of what He's provided. So, I decide to pop open the GiveInstead app, type $5.87 into the amount field and - because my favorite charity is already defaulted - I just touch "Give", and I move on. I just gave ... instead of buying something I wanted but did not really need. What a concept! GiveInstead is a simple app for giving, helping generous people give in moments where they planned to spend money either way, but wish to choose giving over consuming. Imagine the result... hundreds or dollars (thousands?) given each month rather than buying stuff, "where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal" (Matt 6:19). And if you're one of the charities involved, imagine receiving more donations, on top of one-time gifts and monthly recurring giving. This app - in short - is a ministry intended to prime our collective pumps for GIVING as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ gave so fully and sacrificially. GiveInstead is a ministry of HowGiving. Learn more at GiveInstead.app or HowGiving.org.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: GiveInstead at 5.0 against Samaritan's 4.3. GiveInstead also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Samaritan's advantage is ratings volume (43 vs 3). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
GiveInstead holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Samaritan has 43 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Samaritan ships an update every 2 months, GiveInstead every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 5, 2026 and June 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Samaritan | GiveInstead |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (43 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 73.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 43 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 53 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Samaritan | HowGiving LLC |
Customer experience
Samaritan
GiveInstead
In-app purchases
Samaritan
No in-app purchases
GiveInstead
No in-app purchases
