# Bark vs Sift

The clearest difference is update cadence: Sift at every 9 days against Bark's every 3 weeks. Bark's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bark sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.69 per year and Sift sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Bark ships an update every 3 weeks, Sift every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bark | Sift |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (109 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bark-custom-notifications/id1403753865/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **109** | — |
| Positive reviews | 98.4% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 9 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 32 MB | 40 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [丰 黄](https://appshunter.io/developer/1090589311) | [源鹏 廖](https://appshunter.io/developer/6777849850) |

## What reviewers say

### Bark

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bark-custom-notifications/id1403753865)

Send custom push notifications to your iPhone via an HTTP API. Supports advanced features like custom icons, grouping, and critical alerts. Offers privacy-protected, end-to-end encrypted pushes with self-deployable server options.

**Highlights:** HTTP API for push notifications, Custom icons and grouping, Continuous and critical alerts, End-to-end push encryption, Self-deployable server options, Privacy-protected notifications

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Continuous support | $2.69 | per year |
| One-time donation | $2.69 | one-time |


### Sift

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sift-spam-text-filter/id6788805739)

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sift Premium | $0.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bark free?

Bark is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Sift free?

Sift is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Bark or Sift have ads?

Neither Bark nor Sift shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bark or Sift?

Bark ships an update every 3 weeks, and Sift every 9 days. Most recently, Bark was updated on October 18, 2026 and Sift on October 14, 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.*