Comparison

Interpals vs passNote

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

Head to head
About

Interpals

Connect with a global community for cultural and language exchange. Find pen pals, practice languages with native speakers, and meet travelers visiting your area. Discover new friends and expand your horizons.

Highlights
  • Culture and language exchange
  • Find pen pals
  • Language practice with native speakers
  • Meet travelers
  • Global community
Features
Read full description

Meet people with Interpals, the original culture and language exchange community with 8.5 million users since 1998. Chat with new friends, pen pals and language partners from all over the world. Match with tandem language partners for language exchange or meet up with travelers from other countries who are visiting your area. Practice languages with native speakers to learn English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Portuguese, German, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Turkish and hundreds more, all for FREE!

About

passNote

Features
Read full description

Exchange diaries are a traditional form of communication in Japan, where people share their daily experiences and thoughts through a notebook. Even today, they remain popular among young people, offering a slower and more meaningful alternative to social media and instant messaging. With this app, you can easily experience the charm of exchange diaries on your smartphone. Share your daily life, hobbies, and thoughts while getting to know someone little by little. Unlike short messages, exchange diaries help build deeper connections. By taking time to write and respond, you can learn about each other's values and perspectives and develop lasting relationships. You can also connect with people from around the world. Discover real daily life, culture, school, work, and traditions that cannot be fully understood through travel or social media alone. Exchange diaries are also a great way to learn languages. Built-in translation helps you communicate with confidence while naturally learning real expressions used by native speakers. Why not start a special exchange diary with someone, somewhere in the world?

Screenshots

Interpals4 screens
passNote3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Interpals at none against passNote's 1. Interpals also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). passNote's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). On price and device support 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. passNote sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per month. Interpals asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Interpals ships an update every 2 weeks, passNote every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Interpals versus passNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInterpalspassNote
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (745 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews39.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings745 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size115 MB80 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperInterPals LLCRyota Izumi

Bugs and requests

Interpals

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inability to upload profile photos
  • Messages not loading or disappearing
  • Accounts being suspended for no reason
  • Incompatibility issues with newer devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved moderation and fake account detection
  • Dark mode option
  • Better notification and messaging reliability
  • Video/voice call functionality
  • Ability to filter by age, location, interests, etc.

passNote

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Interpals

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

passNote

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Membership$2.991 Month

Questions

Is Interpals free?
Interpals is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is passNote free?
passNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Interpals or passNote have ads?
Interpals shows ads; passNote does not.
Which is updated more often, Interpals or passNote?
Interpals ships an update every 2 weeks, and passNote every 5 days. Most recently, Interpals was updated on November 2, 2026 and passNote on October 28, 2026.

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