NOVA vs Lumi
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NOVA
This platform connects creative professionals with clients seeking talent. Artists can build networks, showcase work, and find job opportunities. Clients gain direct access to vetted freelance creative talent.
- Network building for artists
- Portfolio display for creatives
- Access to job opportunities
- Direct client access to talent
- Application-based community
- Community guidelines enforcement
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NOVA is the curated freelancer platform for the next generation of creatives. Our mission is to provide Network, Opportunity, and Visibility to Artists. For creatives, NOVA is a first-of-its-kind multi application platform for artists to build their network, display their work, and easily access job opportunities. For clients, NOVA is the next evolution of creative hiring, providing a direct link to top freelance creative talent. _ At NOVA, our priority is community, which is why we are an application-based platform. Prospective members should download the mobile app here and submit an application. As a creative, we'll ask you to include information like skills and past project work. As a client, we'll ask you to include your company name and job title. Once you've submitted an application, it will be placed into the queue to be reviewed by our board of creatives and internal team. You could receive your acceptance at any time, so keep your push notifications on! Once admitted, creatives and clients will have full-access to the platform. Users must continuously abide by our community guidelines of integrity, professionalism, and privacy. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Lumi
Connect with local creatives to build your profile, discover collaborators, and start projects. Post briefs to find the talent you need and see what's happening in your city's creative scene.
- Build creative profiles
- Discover local collaborators
- Direct messaging
- Post project briefs
- Local creative feed
- Project Studio for collaboration
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WHAT YOU CAN DO: • Build your profile. - Show your disciplines, skills, interests, and how you like to collaborate. • Discover creatives nearby. - Lumi Discover recommends collaborators based on discipline, role, project type, and location. • Connect when it's mutual. - Message directly once you and another creative both want to work together. • Post a brief. - Share what you're making and who you need, whether that's a photographer, a producer, or a short-film crew. • See what's happening locally. - Follow your city's creative activity in the feed and respond to briefs from other creatives. • Start a project in Studio. - Invite collaborators, define roles, set milestones, and see the work through from idea to finish. LOCAL BY DESIGN: Lumi is organized by city, so the people you find are people you can actually meet and work with. We're live in the Washington metro area, with creatives across digital content, film, live performance, music, photography, podcasts, visual art, and writing. HOW WE'RE DIFFERENT: Most platforms want more of your time. We want your time to count. We'd rather you close the app and go make something. Lumi is for creatives 18+.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Lumi at 100% against NOVA's 37%. Lumi also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). NOVA's advantage is ratings volume (1.2K vs 3) and chart position (#117 vs unranked). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. NOVA sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Lumi asks for nothing beyond the download.
Lumi holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NOVA has 1.2K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 37% of NOVA's written reviews are positive against 100% of Lumi's.
NOVA ships an update every 3 weeks, Lumi weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NOVA | Lumi |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (1.2K ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 36.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #117 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 143 MB | 51 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Nova Network Inc. | Lumi Creator Benefit Corporation |
Customer experience
NOVA
Lumi
Bugs and requests
NOVA
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes
- Freezing
- Buggy application process
Requested features
4 requests- Web Access
- Saved filter settings
- Notifications
- Profile customization
Lumi
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
NOVA
- Nova Pro (Monthly)7 Days trial$12.991 Month
- Nova Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$99.991 Year
- Nova Pro (Day Pass)$3.99
Lumi
No in-app purchases









