Are.na vs Sugar
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Are.na
A distraction-free platform for creative individuals to save, organize, and connect ideas. Share content like links, videos, and images into collections, and collaborate on projects privately or publicly with a thoughtful community.
- Save any content into collections
- Organize links, videos, images, texts
- Distraction-free space
- Share ideas and collaborate
- Private or public collaboration
- Thoughtful community
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Since 2011, Are.na has been the platform of choice for creative researchers, designers, artists, academics, and rabbit-hole enthusiasts. Completely independent, free from ads, algorithms, and unhealthy business practices, Are.na is a calm, thoughtful space for you to connect your ideas and build new ones. - Save any kind of content into collections. - Organize links, videos, images, and texts in a clean, distraction-free space. - Share ideas and collaborate on projects with anyone, anywhere. - Invite friends to work together privately or in public. - Tap into a thoughtful community where curiosity is valued. - Break out of your filter bubble. Are.na is powered by people, not ads.
Sugar
Express yourself beyond standard chat bubbles with a unique canvas for text, images, GIFs, and drawings. Customize your message style for a more artistic and chaotic conversation experience.
- Unlimited conversation canvas
- Text, image, GIF, and video sharing
- Drawing tools
- Customizable text styles
- Unique chat experience
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Why are our messages with friends constrained to generic green and blue chat bubbles? It’s time to add some color (and chaos) to your conversations with Sugar. On Sugar, chat outside the box by dropping text, images, GIFs, videos, and drawings anywhere on the unlimited canvas. Pick a text style as unique as your own voice (or keep it old school with a green or blue bubble). On Sugar, conversation is art.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Are.na at 4.9 against Sugar's 2.4. Are.na also leads on review sentiment (52% vs 32%) and ratings volume (359 vs 10). Sugar's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Are.na holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Are.na has 359 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Are.na's written reviews are positive against 32% of Sugar's.
Are.na ships an update every 2 weeks, Sugar every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Are.na | Sugar |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (359 ratings) — better | 2.4 (10 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 52.1% of reviews — better | 31.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 359 — better | 10 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 85 MB | 285 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | When It Changed Inc. | amo |
Customer experience
Are.na
Sugar
User reviews
Are.na
From 359 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and clean
- 👍 Minimalist and accessible
- 🖤 Great community and content
- 🖤 Inspiring and creative
- 🖤 Organically curated experience
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🐛 Laggy performance
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches
- 🐛 Unintuitive navigation
- 🐛 Limited functionality compared to website
Sugar
From 10 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Innovative concept
- 👍 Fun and refreshing social experience
- 💡 Unique way to interact with friends
Room to improve
- 🔒 Forced access to contacts
- 🔒 Privacy concerns
- 🐛 Buggy and unstable
- 🤔 Unclear value proposition
- 😕 Frustrating onboarding process
Bugs and requests
Are.na
Reported bugs
5 issues- 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
5 requests- Ability to sort channels by connections
- Landscape mode support on iPad
- Password reset functionality
- Multiple image/video uploads
- Improved channel management
Sugar
Reported bugs
4 issues- Login issues
- Crashes and freezes
- Disappearing content
- Unresponsive controls
Requested features
4 requests- Add ability to delete content
- Improve navigation and UI
- Expand customization options
- Allow sign-up without inviting friends
In-app purchases
Are.na
No in-app purchases
Sugar
No in-app purchases
