Comparison

Tapatalk vs Kickstarter

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Tapatalk

Access and participate in over 200,000 online forums worldwide. Share photos and videos easily, and receive instant notifications. This app transforms how you engage with online communities on your mobile device.

Highlights
  • Access 200,000+ online forums
  • Unlimited photo and video sharing
  • Instant push notifications
  • Easy posting
  • Mobile forum interaction
Features
Read full description

Tapatalk connects to over 200,000 online forums worldwide. Post easily with unlimited Photo and Video sharing and instant push notifications. Tapatalk forever change the way you interact with online forums on mobile. Here are some of the top sites available in Tapatalk: MacRumors Forums iMore CrackBerry Forums Grasscity Forum HTCMania HowardForums.com Audizine Apple iPhone Forum DroidForums.net Bimmerforums.com Operation Sports AnandTech Forums Pentax Photography Forums Tapatalk Support Group The Rolex Forums NASIOC Jamii Forums BariatricPal GSM-Forum ( gsmhosting ) ForoMTB.com SA 4x4 Community Forum Diabetes Forum Guru Gossip Phonandroid ReefCentral Calguns.net EDCForums.com MyBroadband ADSLGATE.COM My Support Forums Windows Forums hisse.net Audi-Sport.net Spacetime Studios Frandroid Expedition Portal The Outdoors Trader VW Audi Forum Wizaz.pl GMAT Club Forum AnabolicMinds Xiaomi Europe Support Pelican Parts Forums BMW FAQ Club H.A.M.B. Hardware Upgrade Forum FerrariChat.com Practical Machinist The Two Plus Two Forums Tomshw.it Forum svtperformance.com Toyota 4Runner Forums ForoiPhone TZ-UK Windows Central Student Doctor Network DualSIM - Móviles chinos IronMag Bodybuilding Forums TractorByNet GM-Trucks.com Glock Forum GeekHack SamMobile Crappie.com Fishing Forum.hr Smith & Wesson Forum Veterans Benefits Network Hammock Forums YTMD The Firing Line Cheap Ass Gamer Littleone SmartCanucks PriusChat FT86Club MHH AUTO Vaping Underground Forum TriniTuner.com The MousePad CAMARO5 www.itdunya.com Apfeltalk Digital Kaos Forum Evolutionary.org Forums CSS Forum USA Carry Everything iPhone Burbuja.info Digital Eliteboard AGOnline rogerK radioamatori e CB CNCzone.com BMWMOTOS.COM Tapatalk is absolutely free, but to support us, you can also purchase VIP status that will allow you to view Tapatalk ad free. VIP status is US$0.99 per month subscription, and will auto-renew until you elect to cancel. If you are interested in purchasing VIP status, go to Me>Settings, and scroll down to Advanced Options to subscribe. Information about the optional subscribtion to view Tapatalk ad free: - Subscription periods are either 1 month or 1 year. If you select the Monthly subscription, you will have a free trial for one month. - Unless you cancel 24 hours before the end of the free trial, you will be charged the monthly subscription rate. - At the end of subscribtion period, your subscription renews. You must cancel at least 24 hours before free trial expires to cancel subscription - Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at the confirmation of purchase. - Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. - After purchase, you can manage and/or cancel your subscription by going to your account settings for the App Store. - Privacy policy: http://tapatalk.com/privacy.php - Term of use: https://tapatalk.com/license.php Affiliate Disclosure: Tapatalk is a member of the eBay Partner Network. The forum owner may earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through affiliate links on this site.

About

Kickstarter

Explore and support innovative projects across various creative fields. Discover groundbreaking ideas in games, technology, art, and more. Pledge to projects that inspire you and stay updated on their progress.

Highlights
  • Discover creative projects globally
  • Pledge to projects
  • Receive project updates
  • Track backings
  • Join a global creative community
Features
Read full description

Discover, back, and bring bold ideas to life. The Kickstarter app connects you with groundbreaking projects across games, publishing, technology, comics, and film. Whether you’re passionate about design, gadgets, stories, or innovation, there’s something for everyone. Use the app to: • Browse creative projects from around the world • Pledge to projects that align with your passions • Stay in the loop with updates and reminders • Follow your backings in one place • Join a global movement that fuels ideas worth sharing Start discovering today and help the next big idea take off.

Screenshots

Tapatalk4 screens
Kickstarter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Kickstarter at none against Tapatalk's 10. Kickstarter also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and chart position (#198 vs unranked). Tapatalk's advantage is review sentiment (49% vs 32%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads and monetization model 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. Tapatalk sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $0.49 per month. Kickstarter asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Kickstarter holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 16K and 60K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 49% of Tapatalk's written reviews are positive against 32% of Kickstarter's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tapatalk ships an update every 2 weeks, Kickstarter every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Tapatalk versus Kickstarter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTapatalkKickstarter
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (16K ratings)4.8 (60K ratings) — better
Positive reviews49.4% of reviews — better32.4% of reviews
Number of ratings16K60K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#198 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size122 MB129 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperEverforo, IncKickstarter, PBC

Customer experience

Tapatalk

All ratings15,546 ratings
Positive84.7%
Neutral5.6%
Negative9.7%
Written reviews1,912 reviews
Positive49.4%
Neutral7.0%
Negative43.7%

Kickstarter

All ratings59,049 ratings
Positive95.4%
Neutral1.6%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews1,708 reviews
Positive32.4%
Neutral8.1%
Negative59.5%

User reviews

Tapatalk

From 16K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Convenient forum access
  • 📚 Wide range of supported forums
  • 🗓️ Helpful for keeping track of forum activity

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🔋 Drains battery quickly
  • 🤖 Aggressive and intrusive advertising
  • 🤯 Confusing and constantly changing UI
  • 🔒 Login and permission issues

Kickstarter

From 60K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Handy tracker for backed projects
  • 👍 Great app and great service
  • 🚀 Bypass the traditional economy!
  • 👍 Very nice
  • 👍 Excellent

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Works well enough unless you support a lot of projects
  • 🐛 App is very buggy
  • 🔒 Scammers Paradise
  • 🔒 Don't fall into the trap
  • 🔒 platform setup to scam you

Bugs and requests

Tapatalk

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inability to access password-protected forums
  • Duplicate/missing post notifications
  • Inconsistent behavior across iOS versions
  • Broken 'like' and 'quote' functionality

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to start new threads
  • More customization options
  • Improved notification system
  • Better support for image/media uploads
  • Seamless integration with forum websites

Kickstarter

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Explore tab broken in latest update
  • Notifications not working correctly
  • Activity feed not updating
  • Issues with submitting surveys through the app
  • Clunky UI, especially when updating pledges

Requested features

6 requests
  • Allow filtering backed projects by status (received, active, closed)
  • Ability to follow creators directly in the app
  • Improve comments section (threading, search, etc.)
  • Add an archive/delete function for completed/cancelled projects
  • Introduce a read/unread project status
Show 1 more
  • Allow users to block problematic creators

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Tapatalk

Subscriptions7
  • Tapatalk VIP Access (Monthly)1 Month trial$0.491 Month
  • Tapatalk VIP Access (Monthly)1 Month trial2 variants$0.991 Month
  • Tapatalk VIP Access (Monthly)3 Months trial$0.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • Tapatalk VIP Access (Monthly)6 Months trial$0.991 Month
  • Tapatalk VIP Access (Annual)$4.991 Year
  • Tapatalk VIP Access (Yearly)$4.991 Year
  • Tapatalk VIP Access (Annual)$9.991 Year
One-time2
  • 1-month VIP pass$0.99
  • Tapatalk VIP Access (Lifetime)$29.99
None

Kickstarter

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Tapatalk free?
Tapatalk is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Kickstarter free?
Kickstarter is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Tapatalk or Kickstarter?
Kickstarter is rated higher. Tapatalk averages 4.4 out of 5 from 16K ratings, while Kickstarter averages 4.8 from 60K ratings.
Do Tapatalk or Kickstarter have ads?
Both Tapatalk and Kickstarter show ads.
Which is updated more often, Tapatalk or Kickstarter?
Tapatalk ships an update every 2 weeks, and Kickstarter every 4 weeks. Most recently, Tapatalk was updated on November 9, 2026 and Kickstarter on November 10, 2026.

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