# Contacts Journal CRM vs CircleBack

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: CircleBack at none against Contacts Journal CRM's 10. Contacts Journal CRM's advantage is review sentiment (91% vs 61%) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Contacts Journal CRM sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. CircleBack asks for nothing beyond the download.

Contacts Journal CRM holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.5K and 2.5K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Contacts Journal CRM's written reviews are positive against 61% of CircleBack's.

Contacts Journal CRM ships an update weekly, CircleBack every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Contacts Journal CRM | CircleBack |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (2.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/contacts-journal-crm/id327685977/reviews)** | [4.5 (2.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/circleback-updated-contacts/id957826826/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 2.5K | **2.5K** |
| Positive reviews | **90.9% of reviews** | 60.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 78 MB | 118 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 17.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [zaal LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/327685981) | [CircleBack, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/303908341) |

## What reviewers say

### Contacts Journal CRM

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/contacts-journal-crm/id327685977)

This app helps you manage customer relationships by tracking conversations, organizing contacts, and scheduling follow-ups. It allows you to store notes, files, and documents, and offers features like contact mapping and email templates to build stronger connections and never miss opportunities.

**Highlights:** Track last interaction with contacts, Manage follow-ups and reminders, Organize contacts with tags and filters, Store notes, files, and documents, Map contacts and plan meetings, Create personalized email templates, Link contacts to company accounts

**Features:** Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 User | $9.99 | per month |
| 5 Users | $24.99 | per month |
| 20 Users | $49.99 | per month |
| 1 User | $99.99 | per year |
| 5 Users | $249.99 | per year |
| 20 Users | $399.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Plan - Legacy User | Free | one-time |
| Unlimited Plan - iOS Add-On | $19.99 | one-time |
| Unlimited Personal Plan | $24.99 | one-time |
| Unlimited Plan - iOS + Mac | $69.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Efficient contact management
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 💡 Customizable fields and tags
- 🗓️ Seamless calendar integration
- 📸 Ability to attach files and photos

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Syncing issues with iCloud
- 🔍 Limited search functionality
- 🗓️ Inflexible scheduling and repeat options
- 🎨 Outdated visual design
- 🔀 Difficulty managing duplicate contacts

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes after recent updates
- Issues with deleting or restoring contacts
- Inconsistent behavior across devices

**Requested features**

- Group messaging and email capabilities
- Advanced reporting and analytics
- Deeper integration with other productivity apps
- More flexible scheduling and repeat options
- Ability to customize the visual appearance


### CircleBack

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/circleback-updated-contacts/id957826826)

This app intelligently updates your contacts, finds new ones from email, and cleans duplicates. It also allows scanning business cards and offers unified contact management across devices.

**Highlights:** Automatic contact updates, Duplicate contact merging, New contact discovery from emails, Business card scanning, Unified address book, Contact sync across devices

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 📚 Helpful for managing contacts
- 💾 Keeps contacts synced
- 🔍 Useful for finding updated contact info
- 🧹 Helps clean up duplicate contacts

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes or freezes
- 🔁 Duplicates keep reappearing
- 🔒 Google login issues
- 🤯 Messes up or deletes contacts
- 🕰️ Slow performance

**Reported bugs**

- Fails to update contacts on devices
- Incorrectly merges unrelated contacts
- Loses contact notes and other data
- Unreliable sync between app and phone contacts

**Requested features**

- Add ability to remove contacts from groups
- Improve search functionality
- Allow starting with a fresh contact list
- Provide better backup/restore options


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Contacts Journal CRM free?

Contacts Journal CRM is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is CircleBack free?

CircleBack is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Contacts Journal CRM or CircleBack?

Contacts Journal CRM is rated higher. Contacts Journal CRM averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while CircleBack averages 4.5 from 2.5K ratings.

### Do Contacts Journal CRM or CircleBack have ads?

Neither Contacts Journal CRM nor CircleBack shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Contacts Journal CRM or CircleBack?

Contacts Journal CRM ships an update weekly, and CircleBack every 2 months. Most recently, Contacts Journal CRM was updated on November 10, 2026 and CircleBack on November 6, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*