Comparison

Firstup vs The Arcadian.

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

Head to head
About

Firstup

This app connects employees with essential company information, fostering engagement and improving communication. It provides a centralized hub for news, updates, and resources, ensuring everyone stays informed and connected.

Highlights
  • Official source for workforce communications
  • Push notifications for news and tasks
  • Upload and share videos, photos, documents
  • Personalized user experience
  • Save and find important information
  • Comment and share content
  • Connect company employees
Features
Read full description

Firstup is a workforce communications app that helps companies reach employees with relevant, personalized information they need to do their best work. Firstup solves the problem of poor employee engagement by keeping all workers informed and connected. Employees have one place to find out what’s happening at work—no more searching through emails and intranets to get information. Companies have an easier, faster way to publish content and news and can measure how many employees engaged with their content. Why you’ll love Firstup: * An official source for all workforce communications—reach every worker with the information they need to know to do their best work. * Push notifications and reminders for breaking news or time-sensitive tasks * Ability to upload and share videos, photos, documents, or articles * Personalized user experience with profiles and the ability to choose channels to follow * A simple way to save and find important information with bookmarking and powerful search * The ability for users to comment and share * A powerful way to connect everyone at your company and create a better digital employee experience for all

About

The Arcadian.

This app facilitates communication and information sharing, allowing users to receive real-time updates, news, and resources. It enables sharing of various media types and topic customization for a personalized experience.

Highlights
  • Real-time updates
  • Notifications and reminders
  • Share videos, photos, documents
  • Follow custom topics
  • Bookmarks and search
  • Comments and sharing
Features
Read full description

The Arcadian is an information and communication app that helps people stay connected, informed, and up to date. It provides a simple way to share news, updates, and resources in one convenient place. Features: View and receive important updates in real time. Get notifications and reminders for new information. Share videos, photos, documents, and articles. Customize your experience by following topics that interest you. Save and quickly find items with bookmarks and search. Join the conversation through comments and sharing. The Arcadian makes it easy for anyone to stay informed and engaged with the information that matters most.

Screenshots

Firstup4 screens
The Arcadian.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: The Arcadian. at 5.0 against Firstup's 3.7. The Arcadian. also leads on monetization model (free vs freemium). Firstup's advantage is ratings volume (134 vs 4). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Arcadian. holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Firstup has 134 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Firstup ships an update monthly, The Arcadian. every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Firstup versus The Arcadian.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFirstupThe Arcadian.
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (134 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews26.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings134 — better4
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.6
Further details — not scored
Size146 MB159 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFirstup, Inc.Arcadis NV

Customer experience

Firstup

All ratings133 ratings
Positive64.7%
Neutral6.0%
Negative29.3%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive26.9%
Neutral11.5%
Negative61.5%

The Arcadian.

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Firstup

No in-app purchases

None

The Arcadian.

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Firstup free?
Firstup is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Arcadian. free?
The Arcadian. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Firstup or The Arcadian.?
The Arcadian. is rated higher. Firstup averages 3.7 out of 5 from 134 ratings, while The Arcadian. averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Firstup or The Arcadian. have ads?
Neither Firstup nor The Arcadian. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Firstup or The Arcadian.?
Firstup ships an update monthly, and The Arcadian. every 3 weeks. Most recently, Firstup was updated on October 23, 2026 and The Arcadian. on October 15, 2026.

Other comparisons