Comparison

Filen vs Balsio

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

Head to head
About

Filen

Securely store photos, videos, and documents with military-grade encryption. Access files on any device, share them easily, and enjoy features like offline access and encrypted notes. Offers a free tier with 10 GB storage.

Highlights
  • 10 GB free storage
  • Unlimited pro storage
  • Secure client-side encryption
  • Offline file access
  • Cross-device file access
  • Encrypted notes and chats
  • Automatic camera upload
Features
Read full description

Filen is everything you need for storing your photos, videos and documents secure and encrypted in the cloud. Get 10 GB storage for free when you create an account. Features: - Get 10 GB when you create an account - Get unlimited storage with our pro offerings - Easily share files with family, friends and colleagues, even if they are not Filen users - Military grade client sided AES 256 bit encryption, your files truly belong to you - only you - Make files available offline for easy access wherever, whenever - Stream and preview your photos, documents, images and audio files straight from the cloud - Access your files on every device - Encrypted notes - Encrypted chats - Clean, easy to use interface for easy file management - Dark mode available for those who work at night or just love the darker look! - Automatic camera upload - Share target - Files app integration Terms of service: https://filen.io/terms Privacy policy: https://filen.io/privacy

About

Balsio

This app provides a dedicated space for work-related conversations, separating them from personal chats. It allows messaging via work email, collaboration within teams, and communication with external contacts like clients and partners. Users can also message WhatsApp contacts in supported regions.

Highlights
  • Separate work and personal messages
  • Message via work email
  • Team chat workspace
  • External communication with clients/partners
  • WhatsApp integration (EEA)
  • Organize chats by project/client
  • Threaded replies and chat management
Features
Read full description

Balsio – A chat app for work conversations Work messages often end up in the apps we use with friends and family. Balsio gives work conversations a separate place. With Balsio, you can: - Message anyone using their work email. No phone numbers needed. - Keep work and personal messages in separate apps. - Keep all your team's chats in one shared workspace. Invite a new person once, and they can join any team chat they need. - Talk with people outside your company: clients, partners, and suppliers. They do not have to join your team. - Message your WhatsApp contacts without leaving Balsio (available in the European Economic Area, where contacts have enabled third-party chats). - Organize chats into lists by project or client, reply in threads, and snooze chats or mark them as done. Tools like Slack and Teams are for conversations inside your company. Balsio is for your team and for the people outside your company: clients, partners, and suppliers. If you have used a personal chat app before, Balsio will feel familiar.

Screenshots

Filen4 screens
Balsio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Balsio at 100% against Filen's 48%. Balsio also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.8) and monetization model (free vs freemium). Filen's advantage is ratings volume (126 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Balsio holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Filen has 126 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of Filen's written reviews are positive against 100% of Balsio's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Filen ships an update fortnightly, Balsio weekly. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Filen versus Balsio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFilenBalsio
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (126 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews47.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings126 — better1
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size103 MB51 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperFilen Cloud Dienste UG (haftungsbeschraenkt)Fyello Productivity SIA

Customer experience

Filen

All ratings123 ratings
Positive65.9%
Neutral11.4%
Negative22.8%
Written reviews88 reviews
Positive47.7%
Neutral15.9%
Negative36.4%

Balsio

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Filen

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • App crashes when uploading photos/videos
  • Music pauses when app is minimized
  • Photo upload stuck at specific file counts (e.g., 42 photos)
  • Notes lose data during sync
  • Note type conversion deletes text content
Show 13 more
  • Video thumbnails not displaying correctly
  • Cannot open audio files in app
  • App stuck on opening screen
  • Login credentials not working on iOS despite working elsewhere
  • Upload progress not visible in latest update
  • File upload stalls at 'finishing' stage
  • Camera upload fails with VPN enabled
  • Rich text editor loses data on sync
  • Share public link toggle does nothing
  • Media not found error when uploading images
  • App unable to load albums page
  • Password reset link not sending
  • Automatic account deletion after inactivity

Requested features

12 requests
  • Video streaming/playback within app
  • Read-only file mode option
  • Back-sync feature (delete from phone, delete from cloud)
  • Multi-select file upload capability
  • iPad split-screen view support
Show 7 more
  • Shared folder system like Dropbox/Google Drive
  • Album-to-folder mapping for camera uploads
  • iOS Files app integration/mounting
  • Audio file playback within app
  • Dark mode following system settings
  • Magnetic link download support
  • Better gallery navigation and filtering

Balsio

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Filen

No in-app purchases

None

Balsio

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Filen free?
Filen is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Balsio free?
Balsio is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Filen or Balsio?
Balsio is rated higher. Filen averages 3.8 out of 5 from 126 ratings, while Balsio averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Filen or Balsio have ads?
Neither Filen nor Balsio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Filen or Balsio?
Filen ships an update fortnightly, and Balsio weekly. Most recently, Filen was updated on November 3, 2026 and Balsio on November 3, 2026.

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