# Sifter vs NetLens

The clearest difference is price: Sifter at $2.99 against NetLens's $5.99. Sifter also leads on chart position (#198 vs unranked). NetLens's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Sifter costs $2.99 and NetLens $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Sifter | NetLens |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **$2.99** | $5.99 |
| Rating | **[4.1 (112 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sifter-spam-sms-filter/id1265348258/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **112** | — |
| Positive reviews | 28.6% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Best chart rank | **#198** | — |
| Size | 10 MB | 18 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [磊 汪](https://appshunter.io/developer/1063627762) | [望 余](https://appshunter.io/developer/1595522298) |

## What reviewers say

### Sifter

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sifter-spam-sms-filter/id1265348258)

**Currently charting:** #198 Top Paid · Utilities (US App Store)

This app provides a smart spam filter for iOS devices, allowing users to create personalized rules to block unwanted text messages. It prioritizes user privacy with local processing and offers advanced filtering options like regular expressions.

**Highlights:** Customizable filtering rules, Blacklist and whitelist contacts, Regex filtering for advanced control, Local data processing for privacy, Blocks unwanted SMS and MMS

**In-app purchases:** none


### NetLens

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/netlens-network-toolkit/id6757103818)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Sifter free?

Sifter costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is NetLens free?

NetLens costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Sifter or NetLens have ads?

Neither Sifter nor NetLens shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Sifter or NetLens?

Sifter ships an update every 3 months, and NetLens every 3 months. Most recently, Sifter was updated on October 29, 2026 and NetLens on October 28, 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.*