Damus vs Pixelfed
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Damus
A decentralized social network offering full control over your data and speech. Enjoy end-to-end encrypted messaging, no registration requirements, and seamless integration with bots. Monetize your interactions by tipping friends with lightning.
- Decentralized social network
- End-to-end encrypted messaging
- No registration required
- Programmable bots integration
- Lightning tipping for friends
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The social network you control. It's your very own Social Network for your friends or business. Built on open internet protocols, there is no platform that can ban or censor you. You are in control of your data & speech. - Encrypted. End-to-End encrypted private messaging. Keep big tech out of your DMs. - No registration required. Creating an account doesn't require a phone number, email or name. Get started right away with zero friction. - Messages are distributed via decentralized relays. No need to run any infrastructure and there are no single points of failure. Simple! - Programmable. Easily integrate bots that automate your life or business. Get notified when your servers go down, retweet to your team and collaborate in realtime. - Tip your friends and stack sats with lightning. Privacy policy: https://damus.io/privacy-policy.txt Terms of service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Pixelfed
Share your photography with a community that values creativity, authenticity, and privacy. This app offers an ethical alternative to mainstream social media, giving users control over their content and data.
- Ad-free photo sharing
- Privacy-focused
- User content control
- Authentic community
- Ethical social media alternative
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Share your photography with a community that values creativity, authenticity, and privacy. Pixelfed is the ethical alternative to traditional social media platforms, putting you in control of your content and data.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Damus at 4.8 against Pixelfed's 4.2. Damus also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 49%). Pixelfed's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support 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. Damus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Pixelfed asks for nothing beyond the download.
Damus holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 675 and 546 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of Damus's written reviews are positive against 49% of Pixelfed's.
Damus ships an update every 2 months, Pixelfed every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Damus | Pixelfed |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (675 ratings) — better | 4.2 (546 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 78.0% of reviews — better | 48.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 675 — better | 546 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 98 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Damus Nostr, Inc | Daniel Supernault |
Customer experience
Damus
Pixelfed
User reviews
Damus
From 675 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 🔒 Censorship-resistant
- 💰 Bitcoin/Lightning integration
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly
- 🌐 Decentralized protocol
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- 🔍 Limited search/discovery features
- 💬 Lack of moderation tools
Pixelfed
From 546 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 🔒 Decentralized and privacy-focused
- 👍 Clean, simple, and familiar interface
- 👍 Chronological feed without algorithms
- 👍 Ad-free experience
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and glitchy performance
- 🐛 Inability to edit bio and profile
- 🐛 Inconsistent slideshow and media handling
- 🐛 Slow server response times
- 🐛 Logging out issues
Bugs and requests
Damus
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inability to post or view content
- Inconsistent performance on older devices
- Issues with connecting to relays
Requested features
4 requests- Add polls and voting features
- Improve search and content discovery
- Implement user-controlled moderation tools
- Add support for more languages
Pixelfed
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inability to post photos or send DMs
- Inconsistent heart/like behavior
- Crashes and freezes on app launch
- Incompatibility with certain servers
Requested features
5 requests- Dark mode option
- Video support
- Improved collections/albums management
- Seamless onboarding and server selection
- Better notifications and interaction tracking
In-app purchases
Damus
- Purple$9.991 Month
- Purple Yearly$99.991 Year
Pixelfed
No in-app purchases
