Primal vs zostr
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
zostr
This app offers a public social feed integrated with secure Zcash payments. Your identity is tied to your .zcash name, and direct messages are end-to-end encrypted. Payments are shielded and handled by your own wallet, with no ads or trackers.
- Public social feed
- End-to-end encrypted direct messages
- Shielded ZEC payments
- .zcash name identity
- Nostr network integration
- Key management on device
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zostr is a public social app for the Zcash community, built on the open Nostr network. Your identity isn't an email or a phone number. It's your own .zcash name. PUBLIC SOCIAL, SHIELDED MONEY Posts, profiles, and who you follow work like any public feed. The one thing that's genuinely private is money: send shielded ZEC to any name, protected exactly as it is in any Zcash wallet. We won't pretend the whole app is private just because it's built on Zcash. The honest breakdown: • Posts, profile, and follows — public • Direct messages — end-to-end encrypted (NIP-17) • Payments — shielded YOUR NAME IS YOUR IDENTITY You're alice.zcash, not an account on a server. Your .zcash name is verified across the Nostr network (NIP-05), so other Nostr apps recognize you too. zostr is a window onto an open network, not a walled garden. SHIELDED PAYMENTS, NOT ZAPS Send shielded ZEC to any name straight from a post or profile. zostr resolves the name to a Zcash address and hands a standard payment request to your own wallet. It never holds, routes, or sees your funds. No custodian, no middleman. KEYS STAY ON YOUR DEVICE Your signing key is generated on your device and encrypted with your passphrase. The secret never leaves your iPhone, and your .zcash name is your recovery root. Unlock with your passphrase or Face ID. NOTHING TO LEAK No ads. No trackers. No analytics. No email or phone number required to be someone on zostr. BUILT ON OPEN PROTOCOLS Identity is ZcashNames. Transport is Nostr. Messages use NIP-17. Payments use ZIP-321 to your own wallet. If zostr disappeared tomorrow, your identity, posts, and follows would still live on the network and work in other Nostr apps. That's the point. zostr is independent: no ads, no token, no investors. Just an effort to make .zcash names a real identity, and to make sending shielded ZEC to a person as easy as mentioning them. Public social. Shielded money.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: zostr at none against Primal's 5. Primal's advantage is ratings volume (928 vs 1). 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. zostr 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 zostr. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Primal has 928 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
| Parameter | Primal | zostr |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (928 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 87.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 928 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 156 MB | 65 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Primal Systems Incorporated. | Principle Zero Labs LLC |
Customer experience
Primal
zostr
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
zostr
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
zostr
No in-app purchases









