# Vicinity vs SHALLOW

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SHALLOW at none against Vicinity's 5. SHALLOW also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Vicinity's advantage is ratings volume (37 vs 3). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Vicinity sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $10.99 per year. SHALLOW asks for nothing beyond the download.

SHALLOW holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Vicinity has 37 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Vicinity's written reviews are positive against 100% of SHALLOW's.

Vicinity ships an update every 4 days, SHALLOW daily. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Vicinity | SHALLOW |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (37 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vicinity-proximity-chat/id1536080128/reviews) | **[5.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shallow-whos-here/id6805233934/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **37** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | 90.9% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | **Daily** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 85 MB | 22 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.1** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Esketit LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1536080130) | [Manoah Rodriguez](https://appshunter.io/developer/6805233936) |

## What reviewers say

### Vicinity

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vicinity-proximity-chat/id1536080128)

Connect with people in your immediate vicinity through real-time chat and live multiplayer games. Discover local communities and engage in topic-based conversations, all tied to your physical location.

**Highlights:** Real-time proximity chat, Live multiplayer games, Location-based landmark rooms, Private messaging, Interest-based profiles, Apple Watch integration, In-app economy for extras

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Subscription Features | $10.99 | per year |
| 60 Star Tokens | $0.99 | one-time |
| Create Advertisement | $1.99 | one-time |
| 180 Star Tokens | $2.99 | one-time |
| 600 Star Tokens | $7.99 | one-time |


### SHALLOW

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shallow-whos-here/id6805233934)

Discover and connect with people physically present in the same venue. See who's around you as floating bubbles, and initiate private conversations by sending waves. Your presence is temporary, disappearing when you leave.

**Highlights:** See people in your current location, Initiate private conversations, Temporary presence, Live city map of occupied venues, Create private Currents for events, Verified user profiles, Voice notes for communication

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Vicinity free?

Vicinity is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is SHALLOW free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Vicinity or SHALLOW?

SHALLOW is rated higher. Vicinity averages 4.6 out of 5 from 37 ratings, while SHALLOW averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.

### Do Vicinity or SHALLOW have ads?

Vicinity shows ads; SHALLOW does not.

### Which is updated more often, Vicinity or SHALLOW?

Vicinity ships an update every 4 days, and SHALLOW daily. Most recently, Vicinity was updated on November 3, 2026 and SHALLOW on October 8, 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.*