BuyNothing vs CampusMesh
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 give, receive, share, lend, and borrow items. This app fosters a gift economy, building connections through sharing, inspired by the BuyNothing® Project.
- Give and receive items locally
- Lend and borrow goods
- Hyper-local community sharing
- Gift economy model
- Build community connections
- Express gratitude
Read full descriptionHide full description
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
CampusMesh
This academic social network connects students, faculty, and alumni for collaboration and community building. It offers secure communication, event discovery, and a platform to showcase academic achievements within a trusted, verified network.
- Verified global student communities
- Integrated academic feeds
- Secure classmate and faculty messaging
- Campus event discovery
- Academic identity building
- Privacy-focused design
Read full descriptionHide full description
CampusMesh is the secure academic social network designed for students, faculty, and alumni to connect, collaborate, and grow on one integrated platform. Build real communities around courses, clubs, and research without the noise or risks of generic social media. With CampusMesh you can: - Join verified global students, faculty and Alumni communities for classes, interests, and organizations, ensuring a trusted network of real peers and educators. - Stay on top of your academic life with integrated feeds for announcements, events, study groups, and Marketplaces—all in one place. - Find and message classmates, faculty, and mentors using secure, role-aware profiles that respect privacy and boundaries. - Discover and attend campus events, workshops, and meetups that match your academic interests and goals. - Build your academic identity by showcasing projects, research, and involvement within a professional, campus-first environment. Privacy and security are at the core of CampusMesh. Users are verified, data collection is minimized, and controls are transparent so you always know who can see your information. CampusMesh gives institutions a unified, secure hub for student engagement, belonging, and success—without fragmenting communication across multiple tools.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: CampusMesh at 5.0 against BuyNothing's 4.3. CampusMesh also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 8). BuyNothing's advantage is ratings volume (2.1K vs 2) and chart position (#188 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. CampusMesh asks for nothing beyond the download.
CampusMesh holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BuyNothing has 2.1K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BuyNothing | CampusMesh |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (2.1K ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 26.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2.1K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #188 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 117 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Buy Nothing Project, Inc. | CampusMesh |
Customer experience
BuyNothing
CampusMesh
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
CampusMesh
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
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- 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
CampusMesh
No in-app purchases









