Comparison

Cluster vs Platoon

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

Platoon

This platform streamlines operations for firefighter crews, unions, and departments. It integrates scheduling, communication, union management, and event coordination into a single mobile-first application for station life.

Highlights
  • Shift trades and coverage coordination
  • Crew messaging and group chats
  • Union announcements and voting
  • Event and reminder management
  • Document and resource sharing
  • Targeted communication
Read full description

Platoon is the all-in-one platform built for firefighter crews, departments, unions, and fire service organizations. Manage your work schedule, coordinate shift trades, communicate with members, access important documents, follow upcoming events, and stay connected—all from one app. FOR MEMBERS • View your work schedule and important calendar dates • Manage shift trades and staffing opportunities • Receive announcements and organization updates • Access documents, resources, events, polls, and contacts • Communicate through organization chats • Stay connected across multiple departments and organizations FOR DEPARTMENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS • Share announcements by email, text, and in-app notifications • Publish events, documents, resources, and polls • Organize members using audience groups • Provide members with a dedicated organization headquarters • Manage content through Platoon’s web-based admin dashboard Platoon is designed around the way fire service teams actually operate, bringing schedules, communication, organization resources, and member engagement into one streamlined platform. Available features may vary by department or organization.

Screenshots

Cluster4 screens
Platoon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Platoon at 100% against Cluster's 56%. Platoon also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 6) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Cluster's advantage is ratings volume (22K vs 1) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, ads and iOS requirement 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. Platoon asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Platoon holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cluster has 22K ratings behind it against 1, 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 100% of Platoon's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cluster ships an update every 4 weeks, Platoon every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Cluster versus Platoon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClusterPlatoon
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (22K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews56.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings22K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB38 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCluster Labs, Inc.Jacob Hinsenkamp

Customer experience

Cluster

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

Platoon

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Platoon

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
None

Platoon

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cluster free?
Cluster is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Platoon free?
Platoon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Cluster or Platoon?
Platoon is rated higher. Cluster averages 4.8 out of 5 from 22K ratings, while Platoon averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Cluster or Platoon have ads?
Neither Cluster nor Platoon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cluster or Platoon?
Cluster ships an update every 4 weeks, and Platoon every 2 weeks. Most recently, Cluster was updated on October 17, 2026 and Platoon on October 10, 2026.

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