Comparison

Primal vs Surf with Friends

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

Surf with Friends

Easily plan surf sessions with friends and groups. See who's joining, chat to coordinate, and discover surf spots. Connect with other surfers and explore a marketplace for surf gear.

Highlights
  • Plan surf sessions
  • Invite friends and groups
  • See who's attending
  • Connect with other surfers
  • In-app chat
  • Discover surf spots
  • Surf gear marketplace
Read full description

Surf with Friends makes it easier to surf with the people you know. Create a surf session, choose your spot and time, invite friends or groups, and see who’s paddling out before you head to the beach. PLAN YOUR NEXT SURF Create surf sessions around the spots, dates, and times that work for you. INVITE YOUR CREW Invite individual friends or surf groups and keep everyone on the same page. SEE WHO’S PADDLING OUT RSVP to sessions and quickly see which friends are joining. FIND YOUR FRIENDS Connect with other surfers, discover mutual friends, and build your surf crew. CHAT BEFORE YOU GO Message friends directly or create group conversations to coordinate sessions. DISCOVER SURF SPOTS Browse surf spots when creating sessions or updating your profile. EXPLORE THE MARKETPLACE Browse surfboard listings from other surfers, post your own boards, and connect with the community around surf gear. YOUR SURF PROFILE Set your home break, surf preferences, and profile so friends can recognize you. PRIVACY THAT PUTS YOU IN CONTROL Choose who can see your sessions and profile activity, manage friend connections, and block or report users when needed. Whether you’re organizing a dawn patrol, meeting friends after work, looking for your next board, or just trying to figure out who’s surfing tomorrow, Surf with Friends helps bring the surf community together. Create. Join. Surf.

Screenshots

Primal4 screens
Surf with Friends4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Surf with Friends at none against Primal's 5. Surf with Friends also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 87%) and device support (3 vs 1). Primal's advantage is ratings volume (936 vs 4). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Surf with Friends asks for nothing beyond the download.

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 Surf with Friends. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Primal has 936 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 Surf with Friends's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Primal ships an update every 2 weeks, Surf with Friends monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Primal versus Surf with Friends: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrimalSurf with Friends
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (936 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews87.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings936 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size140 MB103 MB
Age rating17+9+
DeveloperPrimal Systems Incorporated.Bonne Vague Ventures LLC

Customer experience

Primal

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

Surf with Friends

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 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

Surf with Friends

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

Surf with Friends

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Primal free?
Primal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Surf with Friends free?
Surf with Friends is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Primal or Surf with Friends?
Surf with Friends is rated higher. Primal averages 4.9 out of 5 from 936 ratings, while Surf with Friends averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Primal or Surf with Friends have ads?
Neither Primal nor Surf with Friends shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Primal or Surf with Friends?
Primal ships an update every 2 weeks, and Surf with Friends monthly. Most recently, Primal was updated on October 24, 2026 and Surf with Friends on October 23, 2026.

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