Comparison

Contacts Sync vs Microsoft Outlook

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

Head to head
About

Contacts Sync

Effortlessly synchronize your contacts across Google, Outlook, and iPhone. This reliable app ensures your contact information is up-to-date everywhere with 2-way syncing and support for all contact fields and photos.

Highlights
  • 2-way contact synchronization
  • Sync Google, Outlook, and iPhone accounts
  • Syncs all contact fields and photos
  • Automatic background syncing
  • Group and custom label synchronization
  • Duplicate contact elimination
Features
Read full description

••• SYNC GOOGLE, ICLOUD, & OUTLOOK! ••• #1 SYNC APP FOR 15+ YEARS! ••• TRUSTED BY 10,000,000+ USERS! With Contacts Sync, you can quickly & easily sync your Google or Outlook contacts with iPhone, giving you access to your contacts wherever you go. This app distinguishes itself with its reliability, ease of use, speed, and with a true "2-way sync" that merges changes made to either account. This is the #1 app for syncing contacts both in terms of downloads & reviews. Also of significance, this app syncs your Google labels or Outlook categories with your iPhone lists. For instance, you may have organized your Google contacts into groups such as "friends," "family," and "coworkers." After a sync, your iPhone and Google groups will match. With your groups configured on iPhone, you can easily send group emails or group messages. SYNC THE FOLLOWING ACCOUNTS: • Sync Google with iPhone • Sync Outlook with iPhone • Sync 2 Google accounts SYNC ANY IPHONE ACCOUNT: • Choose to sync all of your iPhone contacts, or choose to sync contacts from a specific iPhone account, such as iCloud, a local iPhone address book, Outlook, or a CardDAV account SYNC TYPES: • Choose from one of the following sync types: 2-Way Sync, 1-Way Sync, and Manual Sync • Choose a 2-Way Sync to sync changes in both directions • Choose a 1-Way Sync to transfer changes in one direction only • Choose a Manual Sync to sync specific contacts only SYNCS ALL FIELDS: • Syncs all fields including names, phonetic names, nicknames, email addresses, phone numbers, postal addresses, company names, job titles, departments, birthdays, anniversaries, events, notes, web page addresses, relationships, instant messaging accounts, & social profiles • Syncs contact photos • Syncs custom labels & custom fields INITIAL SYNC: • During the initial sync, the contents of matching contacts will be merged CONFIRM CHANGES BEFORE SYNCING: • Review each change before the sync actually begins AUTOMATIC SYNC: • Automatically syncs contacts in the background 24/7 APPLY FILTERS INCLUDING GROUP FILTER: • Apply the group filter, new contact filter, and more! DUPLICATE CONTACTS: • Eliminate duplicate contacts from both iPhone and Google SUBSCRIPTIONS: • Contacts Sync offers a "Premium" subscription which unlocks all of the premium features in the app, including the ability to sync an unlimited number of contacts and to auto sync in the background. • Without an upgrade, the app will sync no more than 40 contacts • The "Premium" subscription is priced at $1.99 USD per week, $2.99 USD per month, or $9.99 USD per year • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable • Terms of use: https://playaapps.zendesk.com/hc/articles/360004197333 • Privacy Policy: https://playaapps.zendesk.com/hc/articles/226767688

About

Microsoft Outlook

Consolidate all your email accounts and calendars into one streamlined application. Manage your inbox, schedule meetings, and access files effortlessly. Enhance your productivity with smart features and AI-powered assistance for writing and summarizing emails.

Highlights
  • Unified inbox for multiple accounts
  • Smart inbox filtering
  • Swipe gestures for quick actions
  • Meeting scheduling and availability sharing
  • Integrated file access and editing
  • AI-powered email summarization and writing assistance
Features
Read full description

Outlook lets you bring all your email accounts and calendars in one convenient spot. Whether it’s staying on top of your inbox or scheduling the next big thing, we make it easy to be your most productive, organised and connected self. Here's what you'll love about Outlook for iOS: - Focus on the right things with our smart inbox - we help you sort between messages you need to act on straight away and everything else. - Swipe to quickly schedule, delete and archive messages. - Share your meeting availability with just a tap and easily find times to meet with others. - Find everything you're looking for, including files, contacts, and your forthcoming trips. - View and attach any file from your email, OneDrive, Dropbox, and more, without having to download them to your phone. - Open Word, Excel, or PowerPoint attachments to edit them directly in the corresponding app and attach them back to an email. - Recap extra-long email threads in an instant with Summarise with Copilot* - Type a few words to have Copilot* jump-start your writing with an outline or draft - Before sending off your email, use Coaching with Copilot* to get tips and suggestions that help improve the overall tone, sentiment, and clarity *Microsoft 365 Personal/Family subscription or business account enabled with Copilot required to use Copilot features -- Outlook for iOS works with Microsoft Exchange, Office 365, Outlook.com (including Hotmail and MSN), Gmail, Yahoo Email, and iCloud. -- To make an in-app purchase of a Microsoft 365 Family or Personal subscription, open the app, go to Settings, and tap on Upgrade next to your Outlook.com or Hotmail.com account. Subscriptions begin at $6.99 a month in the US, and can vary by region. With a Microsoft 365 subscription, you get 1TB of storage for each user, access to all features in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, and you can install Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote on PCs or Macs. Microsoft 365 subscriptions purchased from the app will be charged to your iTunes account and will automatically renew within 24 hours prior to the end of the current subscription period, unless auto-renewal is disabled beforehand. To manage your subscriptions or to disable auto-renewal, after purchase, go to your iTunes account settings. A subscription cannot be cancelled during the active subscription period. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Privacy and Cookies: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=521839 Terms of Use: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=530144 Contract Summary: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/outlook/contract-summary Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2259814

Screenshots

Contacts Sync4 screens
Microsoft Outlook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Contacts Sync at none against Microsoft Outlook's shown. Contacts Sync also leads on review sentiment (79% vs 65%) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). Microsoft Outlook's advantage is ratings volume (9.4M vs 15K) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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. Contacts Sync sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and Microsoft Outlook sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Microsoft Outlook holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Microsoft Outlook has 9.4M ratings behind it against 15K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 79% of Contacts Sync's written reviews are positive against 65% of Microsoft Outlook's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Contacts Sync ships an update every 5 days, Microsoft Outlook weekly. Both last shipped on November 4, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Contacts Sync versus Microsoft Outlook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterContacts SyncMicrosoft Outlook
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (15K ratings)4.8 (9.4M ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.4% of reviews — better64.6% of reviews
Number of ratings15K9.4M — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterWeekly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#14 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB479 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPlaya AppsMicrosoft Corporation

Customer experience

Contacts Sync

All ratings14,944 ratings
Positive90.4%
Neutral3.2%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews795 reviews
Positive79.4%
Neutral2.0%
Negative18.6%

Microsoft Outlook

All ratings9,375,478 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral2.5%
Negative0.9%
Written reviews7,875 reviews
Positive64.6%
Neutral7.8%
Negative27.6%

User reviews

Contacts Sync

From 15K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Quick and efficient
  • 💡 Useful for syncing contacts across devices
  • 🔒 Reliable and secure
  • 🙌 Great customer support

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional sync issues
  • 💰 Paid subscription required for more than 40 contacts
  • 🔄 Confusion around syncing and merging contacts
  • 🤔 Inconsistent contact formatting after sync

Microsoft Outlook

From 9.4M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great for corporate email
  • 👍 Customizable and user-friendly
  • 🚀 Seamless integration with Microsoft 365
  • 👍 Solid email and calendar functionality

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unstable at times
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🔒 Security issues with password resets
  • 👎 Limited file attachment options

Bugs and requests

Contacts Sync

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Deleted contacts reappearing after sync
  • Sync corrupting or deleting existing contact data

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to merge duplicate contacts
  • Sync support for Outlook contacts
  • Automatic sync between multiple Google accounts
  • Undo/rollback option for sync operations

Microsoft Outlook

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Frequent crashes when adding accounts
  • Delayed email notifications and syncing issues
  • Inability to delete emails in bulk
  • Calendar reminders not working as expected

Requested features

4 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Improved search and filtering capabilities
  • Better integration with native iOS apps and services
  • Enhanced calendar management features

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Contacts Sync

Subscriptions3
  • Premium (1 Week)$1.997 Days
  • Premium (1 Month)$2.991 Month
  • Premium (1 Year)$9.991 Year
One-time4
  • Automatic Contact SyncingFree
  • Make Contribution$4.99
  • Make Larger Contribution$9.99
Show 1 more
  • Premium (Lifetime Access)$11.99
3 purchases

Microsoft Outlook

Subscriptions3
  • Microsoft 365 Basic$1.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Personal$9.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Family$12.991 Month

Questions

Is Contacts Sync free?
Contacts Sync is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Microsoft Outlook free?
Microsoft Outlook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Contacts Sync or Microsoft Outlook?
Microsoft Outlook is rated higher. Contacts Sync averages 4.6 out of 5 from 15K ratings, while Microsoft Outlook averages 4.8 from 9.4M ratings.
Do Contacts Sync or Microsoft Outlook have ads?
Microsoft Outlook shows ads; Contacts Sync does not.
Which is updated more often, Contacts Sync or Microsoft Outlook?
Contacts Sync ships an update every 5 days, and Microsoft Outlook weekly. Most recently, Contacts Sync was updated on November 4, 2026 and Microsoft Outlook on November 4, 2026.

Other comparisons