Circles vs The Midst
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Circles
A private social network designed for close-knit groups like families or teams. It offers a secure space for interaction with features like posts, comments, and custom avatars, free from ads and data selling.
- Private group interaction
- Posts and threaded comments
- Custom avatar creator
- Member lists
- Email invitations
- Ad-free experience
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The mini, subscription-based, private social network for your group, family, team, squad and besties to interact in a personal, private, and secure manner without ads, targeting or data brokers bidding on your personal information. Our mini social network currently includes the following features; - Posts - Threaded comments - Custom avatar maker - Members List - Email invite system We're free while in Early Access and will introduce a lightweight subscription soon. In order to truly be a private, subscription based, social network, we promise to never ever sell ads, manipulate your feed or sell your personal data to a third party. To create a Circle all you need is for one member of your group to sponsor it, and that's it; no ads, no targeting, no silly business.
The Midst
A location-based social network where posts are tied to your current location and visible globally. Share experiences, discover new places through check-ins, and build wish lists of interesting spots. Posts are temporary, ensuring fresh content.
- Location-based posting
- Global map view
- 24-hour post expiration
- Check-in functionality
- Wish list creation
- Anonymous posting option
- Age verification
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The Midst is a location-based social network and life logging app. Posting to The Midst drops a pin at your current location and is visible to anyone in the world. Pan the map to see what's happening around the world. Posts expire after 24 hours, ensuring information remains relevant and up-to-date. Check-in: Have you stumbled upon a fantastic new food truck or a great coffee shop? Check-in by tapping a place on the map. Check-ins can be public by also posting to The Midst, or choose to only save check-ins to your Saved Places list. Wish List: Did someone check in at a place you find interesting? Tap the pin on the map in The Midst and add that location to your Wish List. Saved places and wish list items are saved in the Check In tab. Some regions now require age verification for social apps. The Midst uses Apple’s Declared Age Range verification to meet these regulations while protecting your privacy. Verification is a one-time, on-device check using the age information already stored in your iCloud account. We only receive a yes/no confirmation that you meet the age requirement. The Midst never sees, stores, or transmits your birthday or actual age. The Midst uses Apple's standard end user license agreement (EULA) which can be viewed here: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ View our privacy policy here: https://www.themidstapp.com/privacy-policy.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Circles at none against The Midst's 2. Circles also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 27.0). The Midst's advantage is ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. The Midst sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Circles asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Circles against 5.0 for The Midst. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 3 respectively.
Circles ships an update every 6 weeks, The Midst every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Circles | The Midst |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 27.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 56 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Magnus Sveinbjornsson | Dan O'Leary |
Customer experience
Circles
The Midst
In-app purchases
Circles
No in-app purchases
The Midst
- Monthly$1.991 Month
- Yearly$19.991 Year









