# Are.na vs Roughtake

Are.na and Roughtake both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 84% of Roughtake's written reviews are positive against 52% of Are.na's. Roughtake also leads on iOS requirement (14.4 vs 17.0). Are.na's advantage is ratings volume (349 vs 101). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Are.na against 4.9 for Roughtake. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 349 and 101 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 52% of Are.na's written reviews are positive against 84% of Roughtake's.

Are.na ships an update fortnightly, Roughtake every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Are.na | Roughtake |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (349 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arena/id1299153149/reviews)** | [4.9 (101 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/roughtake/id1563767186/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **349** | 101 |
| Positive reviews | 52.1% of reviews | **84.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 85 MB | 19 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **14.4** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [When It Changed Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1299153148) | [Roughtake LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1563767188) |

## What reviewers say

### Are.na

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arena/id1299153149)

This platform allows creatives and researchers to save and organize any type of content into collections. It provides a distraction-free space to connect and build ideas, fostering collaboration and community.  It is independent, ad-free, and algorithm-free.

**Highlights:** Save any content type, Organize into collections, Distraction-free space, Collaborate on projects, Share ideas privately or publicly, Thoughtful community

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast and clean
- 👍 Minimalist and accessible
- 🖤 Great community and content
- 🖤 Inspiring and creative
- 🖤 Organically curated experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🐛 Laggy performance
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches
- 🐛 Unintuitive navigation
- 🐛 Limited functionality compared to website

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to login or sign up
- Blocks not loading or duplicating
- App crashing when viewing GIFs/animations
- Inconsistent behavior across iOS versions
- Navigation issues due to 'Dynamic Island'

**Requested features**

- Ability to sort channels by connections
- Landscape mode support on iPad
- Password reset functionality
- Multiple image/video uploads
- Improved channel management


### Roughtake

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/roughtake/id1563767186)

Discover TV shows and movies with video reviews or by swiping through content. Share your opinions on streaming content through video posts and build a following as a critic.

**Highlights:** Discover movies and TV shows, Video reviews, Swipe interface for content discovery, Post video reviews, Build a following, Become a critic

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Are.na free?

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

### Is Roughtake free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Are.na or Roughtake?

Are.na is rated higher. Are.na averages 4.9 out of 5 from 349 ratings, while Roughtake averages 4.9 from 101 ratings.

### Do Are.na or Roughtake have ads?

Neither Are.na nor Roughtake shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Are.na or Roughtake?

Are.na ships an update fortnightly, and Roughtake every 2 weeks. Most recently, Are.na was updated on October 26, 2026 and Roughtake on October 24, 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.*