Circles vs LinkUp IRL
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.
LinkUp IRL
This app helps you turn spontaneous ideas into concrete plans with friends. Float a low-pressure 'who's down?' to gauge interest, then lock in details like time and place. It focuses on real friendships, not meeting strangers, with clear RSVPs and organized circles.
- Float 'Feelers' to gauge interest
- Lock in plans with time and place
- Organize friends into 'Circles'
- See honest headcounts in real-time
- Control plan visibility and reach
- Live Activities and widgets for plans
- Smart notifications for plan updates
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Stop letting "we should hang out soon" die in the group chat. LinkUp turns a spontaneous idea into a real plan with the people you actually want to see. HOW IT WORKS Float a Feeler. Not ready to commit? Drop a Feeler, a low-pressure "who's down?" and see who's actually interested before you lock anything in. Make it a Plan. Once people are in, lock the details: time, place, headcount. Your Feeler becomes a Plan, and everyone knows it's really happening. Show up. RSVPs are clear and honest. See who's Down to Go and who's Locked In, so you always know who's actually coming. BUILT FOR REAL FRIENDSHIPS Circles: organize your people and invite the right crew for the right plan, every time. Honest headcounts: watch spots fill up in real time, from open to almost full to at capacity. Control your reach: choose plan visibility and keep your name off a plan within your circles when you want to stay low-key. Live Activities & widgets: keep your next plan on your Lock Screen and Home Screen so nothing slips. Smart notifications: get nudged when a Feeler heats up, a plan locks in, or it's time to head out. WHY LINKUP LinkUp is for making plans with the friends you already have, not for meeting strangers. You only see plans from people you're connected with. No noisy feeds. No fake invites to things you'll never attend. No endless "maybe." Just a fast, warm way to go from idea to in-person; link up, show up. LINKUP+ LinkUp is free to use. LinkUp+ is coming soon with extra features to plan more, with more people, and every founding member gets it free. Real plans. Real people. Download LinkUp and make the next one actually happen.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: LinkUp IRL at every 3 weeks against Circles's every 6 weeks. Circles's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Circles against 5.0 for LinkUp IRL. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
Circles ships an update every 6 weeks, LinkUp IRL every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Circles | LinkUp IRL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 56 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Magnus Sveinbjornsson | AppHus, LLC |
Customer experience
Circles
LinkUp IRL
In-app purchases
Circles
No in-app purchases
LinkUp IRL
No in-app purchases









