# BuyNothing vs Settle It

The clearest difference is rating: Settle It at 5.0 against BuyNothing's 4.3. Settle It also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks). BuyNothing's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (2.1K vs 2). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. BuyNothing sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Settle It sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Settle It 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.

BuyNothing ships an update every 2 weeks, Settle It every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | BuyNothing | Settle It |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.3 (2.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/buynothing/id1557679959/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/settle-it-disputes/id6787197873/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **2.1K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 26.9% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#192** | — |
| Size | 76 MB | 50 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Buy Nothing Project, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1557679961) | [Airglow, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/410175593) |

## What reviewers say

### BuyNothing

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/buynothing/id1557679959)

**Currently charting:** #192 Top Free · Social Networking (US App Store)

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.

**Highlights:** Give and receive items locally, Lend and borrow goods, Hyper-local community sharing, Gift economy model, Build community connections, Express gratitude

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

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Buy Nothing Subscription | $3.99 | per month |
| Buy Nothing Pro | $3.99 | per month |
| Sustaining Member | $5.49 | per month |
| Sustaining Member | $6.99 | per month |
| Buy Nothing Pro | $38.49 | per year |
| Buy Nothing Subscription | $38.49 | per year |
| Sustaining Member | $54.99 | per year |
| Sustaining Member | $69.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🤝 Friendly community interactions
- ♻️ Promotes sustainability and reducing waste
- 🌍 Global reach beyond local groups
- 🏠 Hyper-local focus when set up properly
- 📦 Smooth gifting and receiving process

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and unreliable app functionality
- 📍 Difficulty filtering for local posts
- 🔑 Login and account issues
- 💬 Inconsistent notifications and messaging
- 💰 Paywall for key features

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### Settle It

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/settle-it-disputes/id6787197873)

This app allows users to resolve debates and arguments by posting disputes, allowing others to vote on sides, and officially settling the matter. It offers various sharing options, discussion boards, and daily challenges to engage users in resolving everyday disagreements.

**Highlights:** Post and frame disputes, Vote on sides of arguments, Share disputes publicly or privately, Discussion boards for debate, Daily settlement questions, Leaderboards and statistics, Categorized disputes

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

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Settle It Premium | $2.99 | per month |
| Blaze | $0.99 | one-time |
| Pure Magic | $0.99 | one-time |
| Electric | $0.99 | one-time |
| Heartbeat | $0.99 | one-time |
| Orbit | $0.99 | one-time |
| Party Mode | $0.99 | one-time |
| Superstar | $0.99 | one-time |
| Royal Glow | $0.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is BuyNothing free?

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

### Is Settle It free?

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

### Which has better reviews, BuyNothing or Settle It?

Settle It is rated higher. BuyNothing averages 4.3 out of 5 from 2.1K ratings, while Settle It averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do BuyNothing or Settle It have ads?

Settle It shows ads; BuyNothing does not.

### Which is updated more often, BuyNothing or Settle It?

BuyNothing ships an update every 2 weeks, and Settle It every 3 days. Most recently, BuyNothing was updated on October 25, 2026 and Settle It on October 19, 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.*