Circle Communities vs Roots
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. It's designed for both members and creators to manage their community interactions seamlessly.
- Community discussions
- Live stream hosting and joining
- Event tracking
- On-the-go community management
- 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.
Roots
This app is a community safety and organizing tool for real-time coordination and information sharing. It allows users to report events, receive alerts, and discover local resources while prioritizing privacy and mutual aid.
- Drop pins for protests and alerts
- Real-time event and threat updates
- Discover safe local resources
- Privacy protection and no tracking
- Build collective safety through mutual reporting
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Roots – From The Ground Up is a real-time community safety and organizing tool built for resilience, solidarity, and mutual aid. Whether you’re coordinating a protest, avoiding police or ICE checkpoints, or sharing vital local information, Roots gives you the power to: - Drop pins to report protests, alerts, or urgent activity - Get real-time updates about nearby events or threats - Discover safe resources like legal aid, shelters, and more - Protect your privacy – we never track you or share your identity - Build collective safety through mutual reporting and trust
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Circle Communities at 87K against Roots's 3. Circle Communities also leads on chart position (#84 vs unranked). Roots's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.5). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Circle Communities against 5.0 for Roots. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Circle Communities has 87K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Circle Communities ships an update fortnightly, Roots every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Circle Communities | Roots |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (87K ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 87K — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #84 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 60 MB | 28 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | CircleCo Inc | Gage Van Kuilenburg |
Customer experience
Circle Communities
Roots
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
Roots
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Circle Communities
No in-app purchases
Roots
No in-app purchases
