Emile vs Ciao
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Emile
Explore Paris through literary descriptions of its landmarks. Receive notifications with short excerpts when you're near a described location, with options to read or listen. This free, collaborative app invites users to contribute new texts.
- Location-based literary excerpts
- Read or listen to descriptions
- Discover Parisian landmarks
- Collaborative text contributions
- Free to use
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L’application Emile vous permet de redécouvrir les plus beaux lieux (monuments, quartiers, rues ou ponts) de Paris tels que les ont décrits les auteurs classiques et modernes de la littérature française. Quand vous passez à proximité d’un de ces lieux, vous recevez une notification qui vous propose un extrait court le décrivant, à lire ou à écouter. Emile est gratuit et collaboratif : vous pouvez contribuer à son développement en proposant des nouveaux textes. Au fait, pourquoi Emile ? Pour le Bonheur des Dames bien sûr ! Note : L'utilisation continue du GPS en arrière-plan peut réduire considérablement l'autonomie de la batterie.
Ciao
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Talked to someone? Swipe their card, or tap Talked today or Talked... on their page, and the clock starts again. A call, a text or a coffee all count. Ciao! never reads or sends your messages. Add your friends and family, and choose how often you'd like to hear from each one: every week, every month, whatever is true for that person. Ciao! counts from the last time you talked, so it stays out of the way after a good catch-up. When it's been a while, Ciao! lets you know. COMING UP Your reminders, the birthdays of the next 30 days and who's due, all on one screen. On their birthday their animal wears a party hat, and a note comes that morning. KNOW WHAT TO ASK After you talk, add a note: his new job, her mom's operation. It stays on their page. To get it back on a certain day, tap Remind me and pick Tomorrow, This weekend, Next week or any day. Your own words come back that day. AN ANIMAL FOR EVERYONE Everyone you add gets a little animal and a color. Its face shows how long it's been: happy after you talk, worried when it's been a while. You get an animal too, and you name it. It's happy when your people hear from you, and worried when someone hasn't in a while. Tap it to see who. On a Sunday when someone's due, its card turns yellow. Tap Start and go through who's waiting: swipe right if you talked, left if not, and they come back next Sunday. ALSO IN CIAO! - WhatsApp, Messages and Call buttons for anyone with a saved number. Message or call from their page, and Ciao! asks if you talked. - Add several people from your contacts at once, or just type a name. - Press and hold a reminder on your lock screen to mark it talked or snooze it. - Two Home Screen widgets: your animal, and who's next. - Turn off reminders for someone and keep just their birthday. - In English, Italian, Spanish, French and German. Ciao! never writes anything for you, and the other person is never in the app. There's no account to make. Your people and memories are saved on your iPhone and in your own iCloud, and we can't read them. There are no streaks or scores to keep up. Being a good friend is easy. SUBSCRIPTION Your first 3 people are free. For more, start the yearly plan. It comes with the first 7 days free for new subscribers. Plans renew automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends. Payment goes through your Apple ID. You can cancel anytime in your iPhone Settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://getciao.app/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Emile at none against Ciao's 3. Emile also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 18.0). Ciao's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 months). On price and ads 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. Ciao sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Emile asks for nothing beyond the download.
Emile ships an update every 5 months, Ciao every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Emile | Ciao |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 84.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 40 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hachette Livre | SIMONE GIANNATIEMPO |
In-app purchases
Emile
No in-app purchases
Ciao
- Ciao! Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Ciao! Weekly$2.997 Days
- Ciao! Yearly7 Days trial$3.991 Year









