Comparison

Yik Yak vs Aora SJSU

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

Head to head
About

Yik Yak

Connect with local communities anonymously. Share thoughts, jokes, and memes while engaging in direct messages. Experience authentic self-expression in a space free from personal identification.

Highlights
  • Anonymous posting and commenting
  • Direct messaging
  • Meme and joke creation
  • Local community connection
  • Authentic self-expression
Features
Read full description

Yik Yak is the best way to connect with the communities that matter to you most. Create memes, post jokes, share thoughts, slide into DMs, and more. All posts, comments, and messages are anonymous, so feel free to be your most authentic. Terms of Service: https://www.yikyak.com/terms

About

Aora SJSU

This app connects you with friends and campus activities in real-time. See what people are up to, plan events, and discover places on a campus map. Share your location selectively and manage group activities easily.

Highlights
  • Real-time campus activity feed
  • Location sharing with privacy controls
  • Event planning and management
  • Interactive campus map
  • Friend activity status updates
  • Private crush matching
  • Group house management
Read full description

Aora is your school, full screen. Open it and you see what your campus is actually doing right now. It's not an endless feed from everywhere. It's the people you go to class with, where your friends are, and the plans forming for tonight. NOW Say what you're down for in one tap: food, the gym, studying, a party. Pick a start and end time, add a place, and choose who sees it and who gets a ping. Friends tap I'm down, and anyone who can see it can ask to come. THE MAP Your campus on one map. See friends who share their location with you, every plan and event pinned where it's happening, and the places your friends want to go. Tap a friend to see where they are, how far away, and the weather there, then get directions in Apple Maps. PLANS Start one in a few taps with a place, a day, a time and a cover. Say you're going and your face lands on it. Friends can comment and invite people, and everyone going gets a ping when it starts. PLACES Save the spots you want to try and see which friends want to go too. Mark the ones you've been, rate them, and add a photo. Any saved place turns into a plan in one tap. POSTS AND BURST Post a photo or video in one shutter. Hold the shutter to shoot a Burst, then swipe through and keep your favorites in Memories. Add any of them to your profile whenever you like. NIGHTS THAT ACTUALLY HAPPEN Host an event in under a minute. Send one link and people RSVP by name, whether or not they have Aora. See which friends are going, run the door from your phone, keep a waitlist, and share one album with everyone who was there. SHARE YOUR LOCATION, YOUR WAY Choose exactly who sees you and for how long. Friends you share with see where you are, your battery, and whether you're on your way. Stop any time. BUMP TO FOLLOW Hold two phones back to back to follow each other instantly. YOUR HOUSE, IN ONE PLACE If you're in a house, it gets its own page with announcements, a calendar, an album, points, dues, contacts and a roster, one tap from Home. MESSAGES Reply to anything and it opens a thread. Send a voice note, or ask a friend for a pic of what they're up to. CRUSHES Pick people quietly. Nobody is told unless it goes both ways. --- Aora is campus only. You join with a school email or an invite from someone already in, and you only ever see your own school. Every post can be reported and every account can be blocked, both ways, instantly. We have zero tolerance for objectionable content and abusive users.

Screenshots

Yik Yak4 screens
Aora SJSU4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Aora SJSU at 100% against Yik Yak's 25%. Aora SJSU also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.9) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). Yik Yak's advantage is ratings volume (52K vs 4) and chart position (#29 vs unranked). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Aora SJSU holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Yik Yak has 52K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of Yik Yak's written reviews are positive against 100% of Aora SJSU's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Yik Yak ships an update weekly, Aora SJSU every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Yik Yak versus Aora SJSU: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterYik YakAora SJSU
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (52K ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews24.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings52K — better4
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#29 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size196 MB67 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperYik Yak, Inc.Aora Social, Inc.

Customer experience

Yik Yak

All ratings51,764 ratings
Positive72.5%
Neutral3.1%
Negative24.4%
Written reviews494 reviews
Positive24.9%
Neutral6.3%
Negative68.8%

Aora SJSU

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Yik Yak

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to delete own posts
  • Inconsistent application of content filters
  • Notifications not linking to correct posts

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to mute or filter specific keywords or users
  • Improved notification system and post history tracking
  • Expansion of location radius beyond college campuses
  • Addition of user profiles and photo/link sharing

Aora SJSU

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Yik Yak

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Monthly (Early Bird)$4.991 Month
  • Monthly$6.991 Month
None

Aora SJSU

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Yik Yak free?
Yik Yak is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Aora SJSU free?
Aora SJSU is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Yik Yak or Aora SJSU?
Aora SJSU is rated higher. Yik Yak averages 3.9 out of 5 from 52K ratings, while Aora SJSU averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Yik Yak or Aora SJSU have ads?
Yik Yak shows ads; Aora SJSU does not.
Which is updated more often, Yik Yak or Aora SJSU?
Yik Yak ships an update weekly, and Aora SJSU every 3 days. Most recently, Yik Yak was updated on November 3, 2026 and Aora SJSU on October 31, 2026.

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