# Pipilo vs Beluga

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Beluga at none against Pipilo's 3. Beluga also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Pipilo's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (5 vs 1). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Pipilo sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Beluga asks for nothing beyond the download.

Beluga holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pipilo has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Pipilo ships an update every 3 weeks, Beluga every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pipilo | Beluga |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pipilo/id1584544719/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/beluga-self-hosted-tweets/id1626349771/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **5** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 6 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 78 MB | 11 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.4** | 27.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Lukasz Rutkowski](https://appshunter.io/developer/1561590120) | [Blimp](https://appshunter.io/developer/647925201) |

## What reviewers say

### Pipilo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pipilo/id1584544719)

Experience a unique social media feed with a horizontally scrolling timeline that displays posts within their conversation context. Easily follow discussions, manage notifications, and enjoy rich media previews. Offers premium features for enhanced posting and account management.

**Highlights:** Horizontally scrolling conversation timelines, Collapsible threads with follow-only option, Grouped daily notifications, Rich link and video previews, Home, local, and federated timelines, Keyword filters for content moderation, Advanced media viewer with gestures

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Pipilo Premium | $0.99 | per month |
| Yearly Pipilo Premium | $9.99 | per year |
| Lifetime Pipilo Premium | $29.99 | one-time |


### Beluga

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/beluga-self-hosted-tweets/id1626349771)

Publish your thoughts and share them with friends and followers. This app allows you to post self-hosted tweets with photos and links, creating a mini-website for easy sharing. It functions as a decentralized feed reader/writer, compatible with popular feed readers.

**Highlights:** Publish self-hosted tweets, Include photos and links, Generate a mini-website, JSON Feed and RSS compatible, Decentralized data ownership, Cross-device sync

**Features:** iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pipilo free?

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

### Is Beluga free?

Beluga is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Pipilo or Beluga?

Beluga is rated higher. Pipilo averages 4.6 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Beluga averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Pipilo or Beluga have ads?

Neither Pipilo nor Beluga shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Pipilo or Beluga?

Pipilo ships an update every 3 weeks, and Beluga every 6 months. Most recently, Pipilo was updated on November 11, 2026 and Beluga on November 12, 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.*