Comparison

Primal vs HumHub

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

Head to head
About

Primal

Experience a next-generation social media platform built on Nostr and Bitcoin. Enjoy rich media feeds, long-form articles, and integrated Bitcoin wallet functionality. Discover content easily and authorize other Nostr apps with remote login.

Highlights
  • Rich media feeds with playback
  • Built-in Bitcoin wallet
  • Long form articles
  • Extensive content discovery
  • Advanced search
  • Remote Login for Nostr apps
  • Configurable ambient sounds
Features
Read full description

Next generation social media powered by Nostr and Bitcoin. Primal features rich feeds with media playback, built-in wallet, long form articles, extensive content discovery, advanced search. Primal can also be used to authorize activity in compatible Nostr apps using Remote Login. During an active remote session, Primal can play user-configurable ambient sounds that continue while the app is in the background. Our terms of use are available at: http://primal.net/terms

About

HumHub

This open-source platform facilitates communication and collaboration within organizations. It allows users to create dedicated spaces, share content, manage projects, and interact with colleagues through features like direct messaging and group chats.

Highlights
  • Create and manage organizational spaces
  • User profiles with customizable fields
  • Direct messaging and group chats
  • Content sharing and commenting
  • Project management and calendars
  • Wiki pages and file storage
  • Extensible with over 70 modules
Features
Read full description

Use HumHub to communicate and collaborate, share content and interact with all people in your organization. The open source software is used by various organizations and companies as Corporate Social Network/Intranet. Create and operate your very own Network or Information- and Communication-Platform. Main function and deployment: HumHub allows network operators to create Spaces (rooms) and invite any number of users. These have their own profiles, can send direct messages to one another, follow and connect with each other, post and comment on content, create group chats, share, collaborate and store files, create wiki pages, landing pages and galleries, plan and manage projects, use calendars, create events and much more. Users of the software: HumHub can be extended with over 70 modules. Thus, countless functions can be added, making the software suitable for daily use in many different organizational forms. As a social networking software, HumHub is used by numerous Municipalities and Communes, Educational Institutions (Universities and Schools), Associations, Clubs, Parties, Unions as well as SMEs and Major Corporations. Our Vision: "With HumHub, we help people all over the world to communicate better, connect and simplify daily work." More software features: - User profiles with customizable profile fields - Clear design and intuitive usability - GDPR-compliant hosting by us or hosting on-premise - Various single sign-on features and interfaces - Sending of push notifications - Automatic notification system and e-mail summaries - Assignment of various roles and permissions to users - Search and filter function for any content - Software is available in over 30 languages - The most used modules include: Wiki, Messenger, News Module, Theme Builder, Translation Manager, Custom Pages, OnlyOffice Connector, Files, LDAP, SAML SSO, Polls

Screenshots

Primal4 screens
HumHub4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Primal at 88% against HumHub's 33%. Primal also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (928 vs 2). HumHub's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Primal sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. HumHub asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Primal holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Primal has 928 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Primal's written reviews are positive against 33% of HumHub's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Primal ships an update every 2 weeks, HumHub every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Primal versus HumHub: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrimalHumHub
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (928 ratings) — better4.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews88.1% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings928 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size156 MB34 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperPrimal Systems Incorporated.HumHub GmbH & Co. KG

Customer experience

Primal

All ratings928 ratings
Positive97.7%
Neutral0.5%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews135 reviews
Positive88.1%
Neutral3.0%
Negative8.9%

HumHub

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

Primal

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Losing relay connections when switching to desktop
  • Issues with account creation and sign-in process
  • Inconsistent display of reactions from other Nostr apps

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for more Nostr reaction types
  • Implement robust community/subreddit features
  • Improve cache management and clearing options
  • Provide better account management and sign-out options

HumHub

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Primal

Subscriptions4
  • Primal Premium Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Primal Pro Monthly$69.991 Month
  • Primal Premium Yearly$69.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Primal Pro Yearly Subscription$749.991 Year
One-time1
  • Prepaid Nostr Zaps$4.99
None

HumHub

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Primal free?
Primal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is HumHub free?
HumHub is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Primal or HumHub?
Primal is rated higher. Primal averages 4.9 out of 5 from 928 ratings, while HumHub averages 4.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Primal or HumHub have ads?
Neither Primal nor HumHub shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Primal or HumHub?
Primal ships an update every 2 weeks, and HumHub every 3 weeks. Most recently, Primal was updated on October 15, 2026 and HumHub on October 5, 2026.

Other comparisons