Comparison

HBCUMADE vs JoinLinks

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

Head to head
About

HBCUMADE

Connect with students and alumni from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Share stories, find mentors, discover campus news, and explore career opportunities within a thriving community.

Highlights
  • Social Hub with audio messaging
  • Mentorship and networking
  • Campus news updates
  • Events calendar
  • AI matching for connections
  • Job portal with resume enhancement
Features
Read full description

HBCUMADE is the Alumni Network built for the HBCU community. Your HBCU experience doesn’t end when you leave the Yard. It follows you into new cities, new careers, new relationships, and every chapter that comes after graduation. HBCUMADE keeps you connected to your HBCU, your alumni community, and the larger network of graduates shaping culture, business, and communities around the world. Reconnect with your school. Discover alumni in your city. Find alumni events happening year-round. Build relationships across schools, industries, cities, and generations. From the Yard to the World. Whether you’re looking to expand your professional network, meet fellow HBCU graduates in a new city, discover alumni events, reconnect with your school, or simply stay close to the culture, HBCUMADE gives you one place to find your community. WITH HBCUMADE, YOU CAN: Connect With Your HBCU Stay connected to the people, alumni, experiences, and community surrounding your alma mater long after graduation. Find Your People Discover HBCU alumni based on school, city, career, interests, and shared experiences. Your network can move with you wherever life takes you. Discover Alumni Events Year-Round Find alumni mixers, chapter events, networking opportunities, reunions, professional events, cultural experiences, social gatherings, and more happening throughout the year. Connect Beyond the Yard Your HBCU journey may begin on campus, but the network extends far beyond it. Build relationships with graduates across HBCUs, cities, industries, and generations. Grow Your Alumni Network Meet graduates who can become friends, collaborators, mentors, clients, business partners, and meaningful connections throughout your life and career. Stay Connected to the Culture From alumni events and professional opportunities to homecoming and everything in between, HBCUMADE keeps the HBCU community within reach. Discover the Power of the HBCU Network There are HBCU graduates doing incredible things everywhere. HBCUMADE makes it easier to find them, connect with them, and grow together. Your HBCU gave you a degree. It also gave you a network. HBCUMADE helps you access it. Beyond the Yard. From the Yard to the World. Download HBCUMADE and stay connected to your HBCU community, wherever life takes you.

About

JoinLinks

Easily make meaningful friendships in real life by discovering or creating local hangouts and interest-based communities. Connect with others through a live feed and dedicated group chats to build lasting connections.

Highlights
  • Discover local hangouts and events
  • Create your own hangouts
  • Join interest-based communities
  • Connect via live feed and group chats
  • Share memories in community photo vaults
  • Build real friendships
Features
Read full description

Make Real Friends. Join Real Communities. Host Real Events. JoinLinks is the easiest way to build meaningful friendships in real life — and now, the easiest way to host the events and communities that bring people together. Whether you're new to a city or just looking to meet new people, JoinLinks helps you find others who share your interests and gives you the tools to turn connections into community. Create or join Links — real-world hangouts hosted by people nearby. From coffee meetups to weekend hikes, Links make it simple to get together in the real world. Build your Community — start or join interest-based communities, each with its own group chats, dedicated feed, event links, and private photo vault. Approve members, spin up multiple chat channels, and give your people a place to belong. Host and sell out your events — turn any Link into a ticketed event. Set prices, sell tickets right in the app, and check guests in at the door with a built-in scanner and live dashboard. The Wallet tracks your sales and payouts with simple Stripe setup.* Stay connected — share posts and photos on the Live Feed, reply in threads, @mention friends, and switch between accounts without logging out. Offline mode keeps your tickets and content available even when the venue Wi-Fi doesn't cooperate. Whether you're into running clubs, creative workshops, foodie adventures, or just want to meet good people, JoinLinks helps you make it happen. Key Features: • Discover local hangouts and events hosted by real people • Create your own Links and invite others to join • Sell tickets to your events and get paid, with check-in tools at the door* • Join interest-based Communities with group chats, feeds, and photo vaults • Post, react, and connect on the Live Feed • Switch between multiple accounts instantly • Access your tickets and content even when you're offline JoinLinks is your gateway to a more social, connected life. Wherever you are, there's a Link waiting for you. *Ticketing and payouts requires host verification. ToS: https://www.joinlinks.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.joinlinks.com/privacy

Screenshots

HBCUMADE4 screens
JoinLinks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: HBCUMADE at none against JoinLinks's 3. HBCUMADE also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 92%) and iOS requirement (13.4 vs 15.0). JoinLinks's advantage is ratings volume (43 vs 4). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for HBCUMADE against 4.7 for JoinLinks. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: JoinLinks has 43 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of HBCUMADE's written reviews are positive against 92% of JoinLinks's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
HBCUMADE versus JoinLinks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHBCUMADEJoinLinks
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (4 ratings) — better4.7 (43 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better91.7% of reviews
Number of ratings443 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS13.4 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size123 MB245 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperHBCUMADE LLCJoin Links

Customer experience

HBCUMADE

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

JoinLinks

All ratings43 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive91.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative8.3%

In-app purchases

None

HBCUMADE

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

JoinLinks

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Subscription$2.991 Month
  • JoinLinks Plus 3 Months$6.993 Months
  • JoinLinks Plus Yearly$24.991 Year

Questions

Is HBCUMADE free?
HBCUMADE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is JoinLinks free?
JoinLinks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, HBCUMADE or JoinLinks?
HBCUMADE is rated higher. HBCUMADE averages 4.8 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while JoinLinks averages 4.7 from 43 ratings.
Do HBCUMADE or JoinLinks have ads?
Neither HBCUMADE nor JoinLinks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HBCUMADE or JoinLinks?
HBCUMADE ships an update every 2 weeks, and JoinLinks every 2 weeks. Most recently, HBCUMADE was updated on November 3, 2026 and JoinLinks on November 3, 2026.

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