Primal vs Spells
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
Spells
This app transforms group chats into dynamic spaces where users can create custom mini-apps, games, and interactive tools without coding. It allows groups to personalize their chat experience and build unique digital artifacts together.
- Create custom mini-apps
- Personalize chat appearance
- Build interactive tools
- No-code creation
- Shape group chat space
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Spells starts as a group chat. But it doesn’t stay one. Create little apps, games, tools, and weird social artifacts right inside your chat. Need a roulette picker? A shared scoreboard? A voting system? A chaotic inside joke generator? Make it. Instantly. spells lets your group shape its own space: • Create custom mini-apps in seconds • Change how your chat looks and feels • Build just-for-us tools that live inside the conversation • Turn ideas into interactive things without coding It’s not a feed. It’s not a template. It’s your group’s own software. spells is for friend groups, trips, events, creative teams, and anyone who wants something more alive than a regular chat. Start with a message. End with your own little world.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Spells at none against Primal's 5. Spells also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 87%) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks). Primal's advantage is ratings volume (936 vs 3). On price, rating, 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. Primal sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Spells 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 Spells. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Primal has 936 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 87% of Primal's written reviews are positive against 100% of Spells's.
Primal ships an update every 2 weeks, Spells weekly. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Primal | Spells |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (936 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 87.4% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 936 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 140 MB | 84 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Primal Systems Incorporated. | wip.llc |
Customer experience
Primal
Spells
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
Spells
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Primal
- Primal Premium Monthly$6.991 Month
- Primal Pro Monthly$69.991 Month
- Primal Premium Yearly$69.991 Year
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- Primal Pro Yearly Subscription$749.991 Year
- Prepaid Nostr Zaps$4.99
Spells
No in-app purchases
