Comparison

Cluster vs BuyNothing

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

Head to head
About

Cluster

Create private groups to share photos and videos with specific people. Ideal for families, friends, or colleagues to share moments securely without broadcasting to a wider audience. Access your shared memories across mobile devices and the web.

Highlights
  • Create private sharing groups
  • Share photos and videos
  • Invite specific members
  • Web and mobile access
  • Relevant notifications
  • Secure and private sharing
Features
Read full description

* Featured as “New and Noteworthy” by Apple * Cluster makes it possible to create private groups where you share moments through photos and videos with the people you care about. Create a group with family, a group of friends, coworkers, people from your home town, or anyone else! Great for: • New Moms! Share photos of a new baby with close friends and family without spamming everyone on other social networks • College Students! Share memories with friends not appropriate for Facebook • Families! Keep in touch even if you’re not in the same place. Tons of people already trust Cluster. Here’s why: • Private & secure: Only invited members of the group can see what you post. • An app for everyone: Access Cluster through gorgeous mobile apps and the web. • Relevant notifications: Know when people you invited post new things to the group. How it works: 1. Create a group. 2. Add the people you care about. 3. Share photos, videos and notes together. People LOVE Cluster: • “The app is fantastic! Me and my sister were so happy to find it. We made a group of the whole family and its great. My big brother is living in Europe, my sister traveling for the next 4 months and the rest of the family lives in Chile. They upload pictures and we can see how and what they are doing. Its very simple to use (even our grandmother is in the group!).” • “I downloaded 10 different photo sharing apps, not including your Cluster app. I needed an app that allowed the creation of multiple albums, other users could join from anywhere, was password protected and SIMPLE. I deleted every app except your Cluster app. All the other apps were either too difficult to explain...to someone 8 hours away, too complicated to set up and/or upload, they limited the number of albums a user can create, required Bluetooth or wifi to share, or required a social media account to set up. Your app served all the purposes that I need. It is great, fabulous, fun & simple! Keep up the good work!” • “I really like the privacy of the app and the fact that only people invited or with the code can access our pictures.” • “I want to thank you all for such a wonderful product - it really has brought us all even closer together. The constant banter, the photo streams, the comedy...all of it...it's been awesome. So, as far as my feedback goes, I'd say this is an awesome program and we'll continue using it for as long as it's available!” The press LOVES Cluster: • Featured by the Apple App Store (“New and Noteworthy”), NYTimes, TechCrunch and many more! Cluster Club is a monthly or annual subscription to give admins more control over their groups. Check it out by visiting the Settings → Subscription Settings section of the app. By purchasing a subscription you agree to Cluster's Terms of Use: https://cluster.co/terms/ and Privacy Policy: https://cluster.co/privacy/

About

BuyNothing

Connect with your local community to give, receive, share, lend, and borrow items. This app fosters a gift economy, building connections through sharing, inspired by the BuyNothing® Project.

Highlights
  • Give and receive items locally
  • Lend and borrow goods
  • Hyper-local community sharing
  • Gift economy model
  • Build community connections
  • Express gratitude
Features
Read full description

We offer people a way to give, receive, share, lend, borrow and express gratitude through a hyper-local gift economy model in which people can share wherever they are and true wealth is measured by the web of connections formed between people through sharing. From the founders of the BuyNothing® Project. Terms of Use: https://buynothingproject.org/terms

Screenshots

Cluster4 screens
BuyNothing4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Cluster at 4.8 against BuyNothing's 4.3. Cluster also leads on review sentiment (56% vs 27%) and ratings volume (22K vs 2.1K). BuyNothing's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 4 weeks) and chart position (#197 vs unranked). On price, ads, 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. Cluster sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and BuyNothing sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cluster holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cluster has 22K ratings behind it against 2.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Cluster's written reviews are positive against 27% of BuyNothing's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cluster ships an update every 4 weeks, BuyNothing every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Cluster versus BuyNothing: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClusterBuyNothing
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (22K ratings) — better4.3 (2.1K ratings)
Positive reviews56.4% of reviews — better26.9% of reviews
Number of ratings22K — better2.1K
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#197 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB76 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperCluster Labs, Inc.Buy Nothing Project, Inc.

Customer experience

Cluster

All ratings22,079 ratings
Positive96.3%
Neutral1.6%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews236 reviews
Positive56.4%
Neutral9.3%
Negative34.3%

BuyNothing

All ratings2,076 ratings
Positive80.3%
Neutral5.2%
Negative14.5%
Written reviews387 reviews
Positive26.9%
Neutral12.9%
Negative60.2%

User reviews

Cluster

From 22K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Great for sharing photos and videos
  • 🔒 Allows private sharing with selected groups
  • 💡 Helpful for keeping family connected
  • 👍 Simple and effective interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🐛 Issues with photo/video uploads
  • 🐛 Unreliable notifications
  • 🐛 Glitchy performance after updates
  • 🔍 Lack of search and organization features

BuyNothing

From 2.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤝 Friendly community interactions
  • ♻️ Promotes sustainability and reducing waste
  • 🌍 Global reach beyond local groups
  • 🏠 Hyper-local focus when set up properly
  • 📦 Smooth gifting and receiving process

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable app functionality
  • 📍 Difficulty filtering for local posts
  • 🔑 Login and account issues
  • 💬 Inconsistent notifications and messaging
  • 💰 Paywall for key features

Bugs and requests

Cluster

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes on launch for some users
  • Photos and videos fail to upload consistently
  • Notification issues - not receiving updates
  • Compatibility problems with newer Android devices
  • Unexpected errors when trying to access accounts

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to edit/delete posts
  • Improve photo/video upload reliability
  • Implement better notification system
  • Add option to create galleries/albums within groups
  • Enhance search and filtering capabilities

BuyNothing

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • Login issues and inability to reset passwords
  • Inconsistent location settings and radius
  • Unreliable notifications and messaging
  • Inability to edit or update posts

Requested features

5 requests
  • Search function to find specific posts
  • Ability to edit and update posts
  • Improved organization and sorting of posts
  • Syncing across multiple devices
  • More robust moderation and community tools

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Cluster

Subscriptions6
  • Cluster Friend$4.991 Month
  • Cluster Family$9.991 Month
  • Cluster Pro$19.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Cluster Friend$49.991 Year
  • Cluster Family$99.991 Year
  • Cluster Pro$199.991 Year
8 purchases

BuyNothing

Subscriptions8
  • Buy Nothing Subscription$3.991 Month
  • Buy Nothing Pro$3.991 Month
  • Sustaining Member$5.491 Month
Show 5 more
  • Sustaining Member$6.991 Month
  • Buy Nothing Pro$38.491 Year
  • Buy Nothing Subscription$38.491 Year
  • Sustaining Member$54.991 Year
  • Sustaining Member$69.991 Year

Questions

Is Cluster free?
Cluster is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BuyNothing free?
BuyNothing is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cluster or BuyNothing?
Cluster is rated higher. Cluster averages 4.8 out of 5 from 22K ratings, while BuyNothing averages 4.3 from 2.1K ratings.
Do Cluster or BuyNothing have ads?
Neither Cluster nor BuyNothing shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cluster or BuyNothing?
Cluster ships an update every 4 weeks, and BuyNothing every 8 days. Most recently, Cluster was updated on October 15, 2026 and BuyNothing on October 14, 2026.

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