Loca vs Ratemate
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Loca
Earn money by creating and sharing local video ads for neighborhood businesses. No influencer status needed; simply film, upload, and get paid for promoting local gems and participating in reward programs.
- Create and share local video ads
- Earn cash for content creation
- Participate in reward programs
- Promote neighborhood businesses
- Flexible work schedule
- Secure in-app wallet for payouts
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Loca: Earn Extra Cash with Local Ads Want to make extra money easily? Loca connects local businesses with community members like you. Earn by sharing videos and participating in reward programs. No Need to Be Famous: You don't have to be an influencer. Your social media following size doesn't matter with Loca. Share ads with those who trust you most—friends, family, neighbors, and local acquaintances. Simple Process for Cash and Rewards: Browse campaigns set by local businesses, choose ones you like, and get paid for your content. It's as simple as: film, upload, earn! Discover and Promote Local Gems: Support neighborhood businesses while earning money. Visit local spots, take a photo of your receipt, and collect cash rewards. Help your community flourish as you earn! Flexibility and Control: Work on your terms. Pick your schedule and preferred content. Share through your choice of social media, websites, or mobile apps. Community Marketing Made Rewarding: Transform your local recommendations into income—word-of-mouth marketing that pays you back! Convenient Payouts: Store your earnings securely in your Loca wallet and transfer to your bank account whenever you want. Ready to start earning? Download Loca today and turn your everyday places experience into cash!
Ratemate
Discover and share recommendations with your trusted friends. Rate anything from movies to restaurants using a unique scale and see what your circle loves. An AI assistant helps you find new favorites based on your friends' opinions and local popularity.
- Rate anything with a four-tier scale
- See friends' ratings and comments
- AI-powered recommendations
- Discover nearby rated places
- Create and share curated lists
- Direct messaging with friends
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45 minutes of scrolling and still nothing to watch. Your mates already found it. ratemate: ratings from people you actually know. That resto everyone's posting about — is it really a 4.7? And your closest mates: do you actually know what they'd call Trash? Rate movies, shows, restaurants, cafes, places, hotels, products, books, and even moments, then see what your mates loved (or trashed). No anonymous star ratings, no strangers' opinions. Trust your circle, not the crowd! RATE ANYTHING Leave your mark. Slide the bar from Trash to Banger, ratemate's signature four-tier scale. Add photos and a comment to tell the story behind your rating. If something isn't in any catalog, capture it as a Moment and rate it anyway. A FEED YOU CAN TRUST No algorithm, just mates. Your home feed is built from your mates' latest ratings. Comment on their takes, save what you want to try, and share finds directly with friends. MEET MATE, YOUR AI SIDEKICK Can't decide what to watch, read, or where to eat? Or curious about what your friends have been loving lately? Ask Mate. It blends your friends' ratings, what's popular around you, and a rich catalog of places and media to suggest things you'll like. Try "Italian restaurants my mates loved" or "something fun to watch tonight." DISCOVER WHAT'S NEARBY Open the map to explore restaurants, cafes and spots around you, and see how your mates rated them before you go. VERSUS: LET YOUR MATES DECIDE Torn between two options? Start a Versus poll and let your mates vote. No peeking though: results stay hidden until you cast your own vote, so pick a side first. CURATIONS Turn your favorites into curations, lists like "Best ramen in town" or "Movies for a rainy day," and share them on your profile to inspire your mates. CHAT WITH YOUR MATES Talk it over in direct messages, share ratings and items in chat, and plan what to try next together, whether it's a date night or a movie marathon. FIND YOUR MATES Your trusted circle needs you. Follow friends, discover people with great taste, and match your contacts to find friends already on ratemate. Contact matching is optional and done securely. Your privacy matters. Location is used only while the app is open, to show places nearby. Ratemate needs an internet connection. Some features work best with location access. Privacy Policy: https://www.ratemate.com/privacy-policy Terms: https://www.ratemate.com/terms-and-conditions Support: https://www.ratemate.com/support
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Loca at 95% against Ratemate's 48%. Loca also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Ratemate's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (777 vs 55). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Ratemate holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ratemate has 777 ratings behind it against 55, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 95% of Loca's written reviews are positive against 48% of Ratemate's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Loca ships an update fortnightly, Ratemate every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Loca | Ratemate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (55 ratings) | 4.7 (777 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 95.2% of reviews — better | 48.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 55 | 777 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 225 MB | 61 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Loca US, Corp. | Ratemate, Inc. |
Customer experience
Loca
Ratemate
In-app purchases
Loca
No in-app purchases
Ratemate
No in-app purchases









