# Planetary Social vs Parallel Social

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Parallel Social at 100% against Planetary Social's 38%. Parallel Social also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). Planetary Social's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 weeks) and ratings volume (37 vs 5). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

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

Parallel Social holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Planetary Social has 37 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of Planetary Social's written reviews are positive against 100% of Parallel Social's.

Planetary Social ships an update every 9 days, Parallel Social every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Planetary Social | Parallel Social |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.1 (37 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/planetary-social/id1481617318/reviews) | **[5.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/parallel-social/id6455427268/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **37** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | 37.5% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 53 MB | 23 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Verse Communications Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1454907197) | [Parallel Communications LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1712009149) |

## What reviewers say

### Planetary Social

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/planetary-social/id1481617318)

A peer-to-peer social media platform focused on personal connections and censorship resistance. It prioritizes user ownership of content and relationships, operating without algorithms or advertisements. Compatible with other Secure Scuttlebutt protocol apps, it works both online and offline.

**Highlights:** Peer-to-peer data sharing, Censorship resistant network, User ownership of content, No advertisements or algorithms, Offline and off-grid functionality, Open source, Compatible with Secure Scuttlebutt apps

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### Parallel Social

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/parallel-social/id6455427268)

This social network prioritizes authentic connections and user privacy with an open-source, community-driven approach. It offers an algorithm-free, chronological feed for a more transparent and controlled social media experience.

**Highlights:** Privacy-first design, Open-source and community-driven, Algorithm-free chronological feed, Authentic connections, Transparent platform

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Planetary Social free?

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

### Is Parallel Social free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Planetary Social or Parallel Social?

Parallel Social is rated higher. Planetary Social averages 4.1 out of 5 from 37 ratings, while Parallel Social averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.

### Do Planetary Social or Parallel Social have ads?

Neither Planetary Social nor Parallel Social shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Planetary Social or Parallel Social?

Planetary Social ships an update every 9 days, and Parallel Social every 3 weeks. Most recently, Planetary Social was updated on September 9, 2026 and Parallel Social on September 16, 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.*