Comparison

Semaphor vs Orbb

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

Head to head
About

Semaphor

This app offers secure team communication and collaboration with end-to-end encryption and private blockchain technology. It provides features like direct messaging, file sharing, and project-specific channels for real-time teamwork.

Highlights
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Secure file sharing
  • Private direct messaging
  • Unlimited project channels
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Native offline mode
Features
Read full description

Semaphor combines the best features of collaboration apps and encrypted messaging apps. Your team can work together through team messages, direct messages, and file sharing. Semaphor is secured by the power of private blockchain and end-to-end encryption. Semaphor brings you and your team: › End-to-end encryption to protect every file and conversation › Fast file uploads › Secure file sharing › Private direct messaging › Unlimited, project-specific channels › Real-time communication and collaboration › Password-less account creation › Native offline mode › Mobile and desktop friendly › Enterprise and LDAP ready › Supports bots and integrations › HIPAA/FINRA/FIRPA compliant › Reviewable source code To find out more about Semaphor, visit our website or send us an email. We always welcome your feedback and suggestions. ----- Subscriptions: - Basic: Free 30-day conversation history - Standard: Unlimited conversation history and access to Standard channels. $8.99/month - Pro: Unlimited conversation history and access to Pro channels. Team admin pays for all team members. $8.99/user/month - Payments will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. - Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. - Subscriptions may be managed by you and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the your Account Settings after purchase. ----- By installing this app you agree to SpiderOak's: Privacy Policy, https://spideroak.com/policy/privacy-policy Term of Use, https://spideroak.com/policy/terms-of-use Service Agreement, https://spideroak.com/policy/service-agreement

About

Orbb

This app helps you organize saved content like articles, videos, and recommendations. It automatically categorizes your saves and allows you to find them quickly with natural language search. You can also create curated collections and visual guides from your saved items.

Highlights
  • Save links, photos, voice notes, and thoughts
  • Automatic organization by title, summary, and tags
  • Natural language search for quick retrieval
  • Create shareable Guides from categorized saves
  • Build themed collections with Picks
  • Map view of saved items
  • Saving habit insights and recaps
Features
Read full description

STOP LOSING THE GOOD STUFF You saved it somewhere — a restaurant, an article, a video, a friend's recommendation. Now it's buried in screenshots, browser tabs, notes apps, and DMs. Gone. Orbb fixes this. Share a link, snap a photo, record a voice note, or type a thought. Orbb instantly organizes it — title, summary, category, tags, location, people, places, and topics. No folders. No manual sorting. Just save and forget. FIND ANYTHING IN SECONDS Ask Orbb like you'd ask a friend. "What was that pasta place from last month?" or "Show me the design tutorials I saved." It searches your entire collection and gives you real answers — not a list of links. GUIDES — YOUR SAVES, TURNED INTO SOMETHING USEFUL Save 3+ things in the same category and Orbb offers to turn them into a Guide — a travel itinerary, food guide, learning path, watch list, or date night plan. Share any Guide with a single link. PICKS — CURATE & SHARE Build themed collections from your saves. Add notes, seal them when they're perfect, and share with anyone. EXPLORE YOUR WORLD See your saves on a map. Rediscover forgotten bookmarks. Browse by people, topics, and categories across your entire collection. INSIGHTS Saving streaks, daily activity, top categories, most-mentioned people and places, and weekly recaps — your saving habits, visualized. BUILT FOR SPEED Share Extension — save from any app in 2 taps Terms of Use: https://orbb.app/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://orbb.app/privacy.html

Screenshots

Semaphor3 screens
Orbb4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Semaphor at 3.5 against Orbb's 1.0. Semaphor also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (15% vs 0%). On price, update cadence, ads and monetization model 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. Orbb sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Semaphor asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Semaphor holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Semaphor has 15 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 15% of Semaphor's written reviews are positive against 0% of Orbb's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Semaphor ships an update every 3 weeks, Orbb fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Semaphor versus Orbb: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSemaphorOrbb
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (15 ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews15.4% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings15 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS10.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB84 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperSpiderOak, Inc.Raj Dangi

Customer experience

Semaphor

All ratings15 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive15.4%
Neutral38.5%
Negative46.2%

Orbb

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

Semaphor

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Orbb

Subscriptions2
  • Orbb Pro3 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Orbb Pro Yearly3 Days trial$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Semaphor free?
Semaphor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Orbb free?
Orbb is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Semaphor or Orbb?
Semaphor is rated higher. Semaphor averages 3.5 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while Orbb averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Semaphor or Orbb have ads?
Neither Semaphor nor Orbb shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Semaphor or Orbb?
Semaphor ships an update every 3 weeks, and Orbb fortnightly. Most recently, Semaphor was updated on November 2, 2026 and Orbb on October 31, 2026.

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