Comparison

Primal vs Juno

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

Juno

A private social network designed for sharing photos and videos exclusively with chosen friends and family. Content is end-to-end encrypted, and users control who sees their posts. It offers an ad-free experience funded by user memberships.

Highlights
  • Invite-only connections
  • End-to-end encrypted content
  • Screenshot and screen recording blocking
  • Group sharing options
  • Ad-free experience
  • User-controlled feed
Read full description

Juno is a private place to share photos and videos with the people you actually know, not the world. Connections on Juno start with an invite, so your feed is only the friends and family you have chosen. No public profiles, no strangers, no influencers, and no ads. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Photos, videos, captions and comments are end-to-end encrypted on your phone before they are uploaded. You choose who can see what. • Your encryption keys stay on your devices, protected by a recovery PIN and recovery codes that only you hold. • Screenshots and screen recordings of your photos and videos are blocked. SHARE WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE • Post photos and videos to all your friends or create a group to control who you share with. • React, comment, and add stickers on the posts shared with you. • Invite friends by text, email, or QR code. YOU'RE THE CUSTOMER, NOT THE PRODUCT Juno has no ads and never sells your data, so it is paid for by its members. And you choose what your yearly membership costs. YOU'RE IN CONTROL • Remove or block anyone at any time. • Delete your account and its data whenever you want. • Share with all your connections or only a group. • You control your feed, not an algorithm. MEMBERSHIP Juno membership is an auto-renewing yearly subscription at the price you choose. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. The subscription renews automatically each year unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and renewal is charged within the 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings. Deleting the app or your account does not cancel a subscription. Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Primal4 screens
Juno4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Primal at free with in-app purchases against Juno's subscription. Primal also leads on ratings volume (939 vs 4). Juno's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks) and review sentiment (100% vs 87%). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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 and Juno sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $39.00 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Primal against 5.0 for Juno. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Primal has 939 ratings behind it against 4, 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 Juno's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Primal ships an update every 2 weeks, Juno every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 14, 2026 and November 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Primal versus Juno: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrimalJuno
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (939 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews87.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings939 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size140 MB100 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperPrimal Systems Incorporated.Big Vision Ventures

Customer experience

Primal

All ratings935 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral0.6%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews135 reviews
Positive87.4%
Neutral3.0%
Negative9.6%

Juno

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Juno

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
10 purchases

Juno

Subscriptions10
  • Juno Annual, month 1 free1 Month trial$39.001 Year
  • Juno Annual, month 1 free1 Month trial$79.001 Year
  • Juno Annual, month 1 free1 Month trial$99.001 Year
Show 7 more
  • Juno Annual, month 1 free1 Month trial$119.001 Year
  • Juno Annual, month 1 free1 Month trial$139.001 Year
  • Juno Annual, month 1 free1 Month trial$159.001 Year
  • Juno Annual, month 1 free1 Month trial$179.001 Year
  • Juno Annual, month 1 free1 Month trial$199.001 Year
  • Juno Annual, month 1 free1 Month trial$219.001 Year
  • Juno Annual, month 1 free1 Month trial$239.001 Year

Questions

Is Primal free?
Primal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Juno free?
Juno is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Primal or Juno?
Juno is rated higher. Primal averages 4.9 out of 5 from 939 ratings, while Juno averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Primal or Juno have ads?
Neither Primal nor Juno shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Primal or Juno?
Primal ships an update every 2 weeks, and Juno every 4 days. Most recently, Primal was updated on November 14, 2026 and Juno on November 15, 2026.

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