Circle Communities vs BuyNothing
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Circle Communities
Stay connected with your online communities on the go. This app lets you participate in discussions, join live streams, and track events for any Circle.so community you're a part of. Never miss an update from your creators or fellow members.
- Community discussions
- Event tracking
- Live stream hosting
- On-the-go access
- Message notifications
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The official companion app for your Circle community is here! If you’re a member or creator of a Circle.so community, our app allows you to keep up with your discussions, events, and messages on the go. Join and host live streams, keep track of upcoming events, and never miss a beat on any of your Circle communities.
BuyNothing
Connect with your local community to give, receive, share, lend, and borrow items. This app fosters a gift economy, building connections through sharing, inspired by the BuyNothing® Project.
- Give and receive items locally
- Lend and borrow goods
- Hyper-local community sharing
- Gift economy model
- Build community connections
- Express gratitude
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We offer people a way to give, receive, share, lend, borrow and express gratitude through a hyper-local gift economy model in which people can share wherever they are and true wealth is measured by the web of connections formed between people through sharing. From the founders of the BuyNothing® Project. Terms of Use: https://buynothingproject.org/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Circle Communities at 4.9 against BuyNothing's 4.3. Circle Communities also leads on review sentiment (65% vs 27%) and in-app purchases (none vs 8). On price, update cadence, ads and chart position 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. BuyNothing sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Circle Communities asks for nothing beyond the download.
Circle Communities holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Circle Communities has 87K ratings behind it against 2.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Circle Communities's written reviews are positive against 27% of BuyNothing's.
Circle Communities ships an update fortnightly, BuyNothing every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.
| Parameter | Circle Communities | BuyNothing |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (87K ratings) — better | 4.3 (2.1K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 65.0% of reviews — better | 26.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 87K — better | 2.1K |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #95 — better | #203 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 58 MB | 76 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | CircleCo Inc | Buy Nothing Project, Inc. |
Customer experience
Circle Communities
BuyNothing
User reviews
Circle Communities
From 87K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🤍 Very Clear
- 💫 Great layout and easy to understand
- 👍 Simple and easy to navigate
- 🤸♂️ Great community and networking platform
- 🥰 Supportive and helpful community
Room to improve
- 🐛 Unstable software with crashes and bugs
- 🤔 Non-intuitive and unintuitive design
- 🔒 Limited admin functionality on mobile
- 🤯 Frustrating text editing and cursor issues
- 🤖 Glitchy video playback and freezing issues
BuyNothing
From 2.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🤝 Friendly community interactions
- ♻️ Promotes sustainability and reducing waste
- 🌍 Global reach beyond local groups
- 🏠 Hyper-local focus when set up properly
- 📦 Smooth gifting and receiving process
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and unreliable app functionality
- 📍 Difficulty filtering for local posts
- 🔑 Login and account issues
- 💬 Inconsistent notifications and messaging
- 💰 Paywall for key features
Bugs and requests
Circle Communities
Reported bugs
5 issues- Frequent app crashes and freezes
- Disappearing messages and notifications
- Inability to access certain communities
- Malformed data errors and login issues
- Compatibility problems with older devices
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to save draft posts and comments
- Improved text editing and cursor control
- Better video playback controls and functionality
- Syncing notifications and activity across devices
- More customization and personalization options
BuyNothing
Reported bugs
5 issues- Frequent app crashes and freezes
- Login issues and inability to reset passwords
- Inconsistent location settings and radius
- Unreliable notifications and messaging
- Inability to edit or update posts
Requested features
5 requests- Search function to find specific posts
- Ability to edit and update posts
- Improved organization and sorting of posts
- Syncing across multiple devices
- More robust moderation and community tools
In-app purchases
Circle Communities
No in-app purchases
BuyNothing
- Buy Nothing Subscription$3.991 Month
- Buy Nothing Pro$3.991 Month
- Sustaining Member$5.491 Month
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- Sustaining Member$6.991 Month
- Buy Nothing Pro$38.491 Year
- Buy Nothing Subscription$38.491 Year
- Sustaining Member$54.991 Year
- Sustaining Member$69.991 Year
Questions
Is Circle Communities free?
Is BuyNothing free?
Which has better reviews, Circle Communities or BuyNothing?
Do Circle Communities or BuyNothing have ads?
Which is updated more often, Circle Communities or BuyNothing?
Which is more popular, Circle Communities or BuyNothing?
Other comparisons
