Yik Yak vs Lately.
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Anonymous posting and commenting
- Direct messaging
- Meme and joke creation
- Local community connection
- Authentic self-expression
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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
Lately.
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Lately is the social app for your 20 closest friends. Most social media shows you the highlight reel: the vacation photos, the promotions, the wins. Lately shows you the real week. The messy Tuesday. The hard conversation with a parent. The small win nobody else would think to celebrate. The thing you're actually worried about. Once a week, you share what's really going on, not what looks good, what's true. Then you open one calm, chronological feed and catch up with the people who matter most: their ups, their downs, and everything in between. WHY ONLY 20 FRIENDS You can't be honest with 500 followers. You can be honest with 20 close friends. That's the whole idea behind Lately's cap: a circle small enough that people actually feel safe sharing the real stuff, not just the polished version of their life. No public follower counts, viral content, or algorithm deciding what you see. No performing for an audience. Just your people telling the truth about their week. WHAT YOU'LL ACTUALLY KNOW With Lately, you're not left guessing how a friend is really doing. You'll know when they're struggling, not just when they're celebrating. You'll know about the hard season before it becomes a crisis or about the good news before it's old news. You'll get context that helps you actually show up for the people you love. Reactions are private, quick, and meant for exactly one purpose of letting a friend know you're by their side. HOW IT WORKS Each week you share what your week actually looked like through real highlights, honest lows, reflections, favorites, or just a simple check-in. Then catch up on your closest friends' weeks in one feed, built to feel less like scrolling and more like sitting down with someone you haven't seen in a while and asking, "No really, how are you?". Lately is the social app for your 20 closest friends, built for honesty, not highlight reels.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lately. at none against Yik Yak's 3. Lately. also leads on ads (none vs shown). Yik Yak's advantage is chart position (#36 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, 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. Yik Yak sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Lately. asks for nothing beyond the download.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Yik Yak | Lately. |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (52K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 24.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 52K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | #36 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 196 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Yik Yak, Inc. | Maret Moran |
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
Lately.
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Yik Yak
- Monthly$2.991 Month
- Monthly (Early Bird)$4.991 Month
- Monthly$6.991 Month
Lately.
No in-app purchases









