BuyNothing vs ABA Community
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BuyNothing
Connect with your local community to share, lend, and borrow items. Foster a gift economy based on mutual support and gratitude, building connections through giving.
- Hyper-local community sharing
- Gift economy model
- Lend and borrow items
- Express gratitude
- Build community connections
- Global reach
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We offer people a way to give, receive, share, lend, borrow and express gratitude through a hyper-local gift economy model in which people can share wherever they are and true wealth is measured by the web of connections formed between people through sharing. From the founders of the BuyNothing® Project. Terms of Use: https://buynothingproject.org/terms
ABA Community
Connect with fellow bird enthusiasts in a dedicated online community. Engage in themed groups, participate in forums, and get expert advice on bird identification, gear, and travel. Access exclusive opportunities as an ABA member.
- Connect with fellow birders
- Engage in themed groups
- Participate in forums
- Get birding advice
- Access exclusive opportunities
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Inspired by the printed ABA Member Directory that served as a way for members to connect with fellow birders and trip guides many years ago, ABA Community is a safe online network accessed through your ABA membership. To use ABA Community you must be an ABA Member. What can you do at ABA Community: - Connect and interact with fellow birders. - Engage in groups focused on different birding themes. - Read and contribute to forums on specific topics. - Get advice on bird identification, birding gear, travel, and bird sightings. - Access special opportunities and presentations only available on ABA Community. After installing, go to https://www.aba.org/community/community-app/ to activate.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: BuyNothing at 4.3 against ABA Community's 3.4. BuyNothing also leads on ratings volume (2.1K vs 9) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). ABA Community's advantage is review sentiment (63% vs 27%) and in-app purchases (none vs 8). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. BuyNothing sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. ABA Community asks for nothing beyond the download.
BuyNothing holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BuyNothing has 2.1K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 27% of BuyNothing's written reviews are positive against 63% of ABA Community's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
BuyNothing ships an update fortnightly, ABA Community every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BuyNothing | ABA Community |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (2.1K ratings) — better | 3.4 (9 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 26.9% of reviews | 62.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.1K — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Best chart rank | #160 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.5 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 75 MB | 94 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Buy Nothing Project, Inc. | AMERICAN BIRDING ASSOCIATION, INC |
Customer experience
BuyNothing
ABA Community
Bugs and requests
BuyNothing
Reported bugs
5 issues- Frequent app crashes and freezes
- Login issues and inability to reset passwords
- Inconsistent location settings and radius
- Unreliable notifications and messaging
- Inability to edit or update posts
Requested features
5 requests- Search function to find specific posts
- Ability to edit and update posts
- Improved organization and sorting of posts
- Syncing across multiple devices
- More robust moderation and community tools
ABA Community
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
BuyNothing
- Buy Nothing Subscription$3.991 Month
- Buy Nothing Pro$3.991 Month
- Sustaining Member$5.491 Month
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- Sustaining Member$6.991 Month
- Buy Nothing Pro$38.491 Year
- Buy Nothing Subscription$38.491 Year
- Sustaining Member$54.991 Year
- Sustaining Member$69.991 Year
ABA Community
No in-app purchases
