Comparison

frequency social vs real

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

Head to head
About

frequency social

Share life's moments privately with close friends and family. This app offers a chronological feed without ads or data tracking, focusing on high-resolution photo sharing and text updates. It's built on the federated ActivityPub protocol, allowing interaction with other social networks.

Highlights
  • Private photo sharing
  • Chronological feed
  • No ads or tracking
  • Federated social networking (ActivityPub)
  • High-resolution photo optimization
  • Text-based updates
Features
Read full description

Share the important moments in your life with your closest friends and family, without trading your personal data. The frequency iOS app is a custom client app for the frequency.app server. Join the future of social that's bringing it back to basics: » No ads, no tracking or training AI with your personal data » Private photo-sharing, just for your approved followers » Built on top of the federated social networking standard (ActivityPub protocol) » Follow and share with your friends on other federated social networks, like Pixelfed or Mastodon » Calm design, respectful of your time and attention » Feeds are always chronological, no algorithmic sorting, no promoted posts » Optimized for beautiful, high-resolution photos, while still showing you text-based updates from your friends -- Subscription Details -- • Monthly individual and family sharing subscriptions are available, as well as a discounted annual subscription for individuals • 30-day free trials are offered on all subscriptions • Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at the end of the trial, unless the subscription is canceled • Your subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is disabled at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period • Automatic renewals will be charged at the same price you were originally charged for the subscription • Subscriptions can be managed or cancelled by going to Account Settings on the App Store after purchase Terms: http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/appstore/dev/stdeula Privacy Policy: https://frequency.app/privacy-policy

About

real

This social network encourages real-life interactions by connecting you with nearby friends for spontaneous or planned activities. It prioritizes genuine human connections over algorithmic feeds, keeping your location private.

Highlights
  • Connect with available friends nearby
  • Schedule activities with friends
  • Announce community events
  • Discover nearby old friends
  • Privacy-focused location sharing
Read full description

real leverages technology to help us disconnect from screens and have more human-to-human interactions. It's a healthier social network: has real people, with real relationships, doing real-life activities. It effectively eliminates uncertainties associated with such activities: not knowing who is nearby, who is available, and who should initiate interactions. real overcomes these challenges while keeping one's whereabouts hidden from everyone else. Uniquely, it is not driven by any algorithms but is based on our real-life behavior. Main Features: - up for: make yourself available and get connected to your available friends in the area - let's hang: schedule specific activity with your friends and they get invited if nearby - community bulletin: let everyone in your community know of an event (e.g., a yard sale) - missed connections: real will let you know if an old friend happens to be close by

Screenshots

frequency social4 screens
real4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: real at none against frequency social's 3. real also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On price, ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. frequency social sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. real asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

real holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

frequency social ships an update every 2 months, real monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
frequency social versus real: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterfrequency socialreal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (5 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Number of ratings5 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB69 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperJesse KarmaniSandalwood Research LLC

Customer experience

frequency social

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%

real

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

frequency social

Subscriptions3
  • Individual Monthly1 Month trial$2.991 Month
  • Individual Yearly1 Month trial$5.991 Year
  • Family Sharing Plan1 Month trial$12.991 Month
None

real

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is frequency social free?
frequency social is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is real free?
real is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, frequency social or real?
real is rated higher. frequency social averages 4.6 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while real averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do frequency social or real have ads?
Neither frequency social nor real shows ads.
Which is updated more often, frequency social or real?
frequency social ships an update every 2 months, and real monthly. Most recently, frequency social was updated on November 3, 2026 and real on November 4, 2026.

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