Comparison

Circles vs UpTrust

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Private group interaction
  • Posts and threaded comments
  • Custom avatar creator
  • Member lists
  • Email invitations
  • Ad-free experience
Features
Read full description

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.

About

UpTrust

This social network prioritizes content based on trusted connections rather than virality. Users can curate their feed by upvoting or downvoting posts and comments, and vouching for individuals whose judgment they trust. It aims to foster respectful discussions and bridge disagreements.

Highlights
  • Feed ranked by trust, not virality
  • Upvote/downvote posts and comments
  • Threaded discussions
  • Add/vote on trust tags
  • Vouch for trusted users
  • Search posts, people, and topics
  • Follow tags and browse trending content
Features
Read full description

UpTrust is a social network built on trust instead of outrage. Find people and sources worth trusting, talk across political and personal divides, and join group discussions that stay civil. Most social media ranks posts by whatever provokes the most reactions. UpTrust ranks them by the people you actually trust, topic by topic, so your feed reflects judgment instead of virality. FIND PEOPLE AND SOURCES YOU CAN TRUST • Uptrust or Downtrust people topic by topic from the Trust tab. Someone can be your go-to on science and not on politics. • Vouch for the people whose judgment you trust. That trust powers everyone's feed. • See the trust tags on any post, and add or vote on tags yourself. DISCUSS ACROSS DIVIDES • Discover posts that bridge disagreement: content that earns respect from people with different viewpoints, instead of rewarding pile-ons. • Long-press a passage in a post to vote on exactly the part you agree or disagree with. • Threaded comments stay readable, with a full-screen editor for longer replies. GROUP DISCUSSION AND CHAT • Join groups and their channels for ongoing conversation with your community. • Direct messages update live. • Events come with their own discussion wall. • Ask AI for context right inside a thread. A FEED WORTH YOUR TIME • A home feed ranked by trust, not noise. Narrow it to a single topic. • Browse every topic, follow the tags you care about, and search posts, people and comments. • An inbox for replies and responses, with a daily, weekly or no email digest. Your account, your call: manage your profile and notifications, and delete your account any time from Settings. Build a feed you can trust. Join UpTrust.

Screenshots

Circles4 screens
UpTrust4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: UpTrust at every 3 days against Circles's every 6 weeks. UpTrust also leads on ratings volume (3 vs 1). Circles's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.4). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Circles against 5.0 for UpTrust. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 3 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Circles ships an update every 6 weeks, UpTrust every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Circles versus UpTrust: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCirclesUpTrust
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings13 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS14.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB57 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperMagnus SveinbjornssonUpTrust Inc.

Customer experience

Circles

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

UpTrust

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Circles

No in-app purchases

None

UpTrust

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Circles free?
Circles is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is UpTrust free?
UpTrust is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Circles or UpTrust?
Circles and UpTrust are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do Circles or UpTrust have ads?
Neither Circles nor UpTrust shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Circles or UpTrust?
Circles ships an update every 6 weeks, and UpTrust every 3 days. Most recently, Circles was updated on October 11, 2026 and UpTrust on October 23, 2026.

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