# Contacts vs Recent Contacts

The clearest difference is rating: Recent Contacts at 4.6 against Contacts's 3.5. Recent Contacts also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 months). Contacts's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and ads (none vs shown). On price there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Recent Contacts sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Contacts asks for nothing beyond the download.

Recent Contacts holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Contacts has 3.3K ratings behind it against 90, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 27% of Contacts's written reviews are positive against 0% of Recent Contacts's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Contacts ships an update every 6 months, Recent Contacts fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Contacts | Recent Contacts |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.5 (3.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/contacts/id1069512615/reviews) | **[4.6 (90 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/recent-contacts-export-excel/id1609650181/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3.3K** | 90 |
| Positive reviews | **27.1% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 7 MB | 36 MB |
| Requires iOS | **10.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Apple](https://appshunter.io/developer/284417353) | [LE NGUYEN QUANG PHUOC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1561605398) |

## What reviewers say

### Contacts

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/contacts/id1069512615)

Organize and manage contact details, including birthdays and custom posters. Easily connect via messages, calls, or FaceTime. Share your information instantly with new contacts using NameDrop.

**Highlights:** Manage contact information, Sync across devices, Quickly connect via calls/messages, Store personal information for autofill, Customize Contact Posters, Share contacts with NameDrop, Use on Apple Watch

**Features:** Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 💻 Useful app
- 📱 Integrated with other Apple apps
- 🗓️ Stores contact information well
- 🔍 Organized contact list
- 🙂 Good for basic contact management

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Contacts randomly disappearing
- 🤔 Confusing contact management
- 🔍 Difficult to find/search contacts
- 🔀 Duplicated contacts
- 🔒 Security/privacy concerns

**Reported bugs**

- Contacts not syncing properly across devices
- Editing contact information causes data loss
- App crashes or freezes when performing basic tasks
- Incorrect or missing contact details

**Requested features**

- Add ability to create and manage contact groups
- Improve search and filtering functionality
- Allow customization of contact information fields
- Integrate with more third-party apps and services
- Add option to lock/secure sensitive contact information


### Recent Contacts

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/recent-contacts-export-excel/id1609650181)

Easily back up and restore all your phone contacts without a computer. Export contacts to Excel or vCard, find and merge duplicates, and remove incomplete entries. Share backups via message, email, or AirDrop.

**Highlights:** Backup contacts in one tap, Export to Excel (CSV) or vCard, Find and merge duplicate contacts, Remove incomplete contacts, Share backups via Message, Email, AirDrop, View recently added contacts

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly Premium | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Premium | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Monthly Premium | $6.99 | per month |
| Monthly Premium | $7.99 | per month |
| Lifetime | $24.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Contacts free?

Contacts is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Recent Contacts free?

Recent Contacts is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Contacts or Recent Contacts?

Recent Contacts is rated higher. Contacts averages 3.5 out of 5 from 3.3K ratings, while Recent Contacts averages 4.6 from 90 ratings.

### Do Contacts or Recent Contacts have ads?

Recent Contacts shows ads; Contacts does not.

### Which is updated more often, Contacts or Recent Contacts?

Contacts ships an update every 6 months, and Recent Contacts fortnightly. Most recently, Contacts was updated on September 25, 2026 and Recent Contacts on September 15, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*