# Primal vs Amara Social

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Amara Social at none against Primal's 5. Amara Social also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 88%). Primal's advantage is ratings volume (928 vs 5). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Primal against 5.0 for Amara Social. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Primal has 928 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of Primal's written reviews are positive against 100% of Amara Social's.

Primal ships an update every 2 weeks, Amara Social every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and August 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Primal | Amara Social |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (928 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/primal/id1673134518/reviews) | **[5.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/amara-social/id6479706194/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **928** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | 88.1% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 156 MB | 46 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad** |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Primal Systems Incorporated.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1673134521) | [Amara, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1733150537) |

## What reviewers say

### Primal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/primal/id1673134518)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Primal Premium Monthly | $6.99 | per month |
| Primal Pro Monthly | $69.99 | per month |
| Primal Premium Yearly | $69.99 | per year |
| Primal Pro Yearly Subscription | $749.99 | per year |
| Prepaid Nostr Zaps | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Smooth and fast performance
- 🔒 Secure and private social experience
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 💡 Seamless integration with Bitcoin Lightning Network
- 🤘 Empowering decentralized social media

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🇨🇦 Limited functionality for Canadian users
- 🔍 Lacking advanced search and discovery features
- 🔔 Inconsistent push notification support

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### Amara Social

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/amara-social/id6479706194)

This platform offers a fresh approach to social media, connecting creators and users globally. It features unique content templates, dual newsfeeds for friends and creators, and an optional metric-free experience to foster genuine interaction.

**Highlights:** Unique upload templates (recipes, workouts, blogs), Dual newsfeeds (friends/family and creators/influencers), Optional metric-free experience, Global connectivity for creators and users, Innovative and entertaining content sharing

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Primal free?

Primal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Amara Social free?

Amara Social is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Primal or Amara Social?

Amara Social is rated higher. Primal averages 4.9 out of 5 from 928 ratings, while Amara Social averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.

### Do Primal or Amara Social have ads?

Neither Primal nor Amara Social shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Primal or Amara Social?

Primal ships an update every 2 weeks, and Amara Social every 3 weeks. Most recently, Primal was updated on September 23, 2026 and Amara Social on August 27, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*