Kickstarter vs BarkShare
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Discover creative projects globally
- Pledge to projects
- Receive project updates
- Track backings
- Join a global creative community
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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.
BarkShare
Connect with local dog owners and enthusiasts for real-world meetups and playdates. Discover nearby users, join or create dog-focused community groups, and plan events. Share updates on a dedicated social feed and communicate through direct and group chats.
- Discover nearby dog owners
- Match with other users
- Join or create local dog packs
- Plan dog meetups and events
- Dog-focused social feed
- Direct and group chat functionality
- Safety features including phone verification
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BarkShare is the social app for dog owners and dog lovers who want real connections in the real world — not just another pet photo dump or transactional interactions. MATCH NEARBY Discover people in your area who share your love of dogs. Swipe to like profiles; when you both like each other, it's a match. Message right away and plan your next walk or playdate. JOIN PACKS Find local communities — hiking groups, breed clubs, puppy play, neighborhood packs — or start your own. Every Pack includes built-in group chat so your crew stays connected. PLAN EVENTS Create dog meetups, park hangs, and recurring walks. RSVP, get reminders, and show up with dogs (and people) you actually want to see. SOCIAL FEED Share updates, photos, and moments on a dog-focused feed built for your community — not the whole internet. CHAT THAT WORKS Direct messages with matches and group chats for Packs. Push notifications keep you in the loop when you're away. BUILT FOR SAFETY • Phone verification required • Automated and community moderation on posts • Block and report tools • Account deletion anytime in Settings • Location used for discovery — never your exact home address on your profile BarkShare is free to download. You must be 18 or older to use the app. Wherever you are, your Pack is waiting.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: BarkShare at 100% against Kickstarter's 33%. BarkShare also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Kickstarter's advantage is ratings volume (59K vs 4) and chart position (#192 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
BarkShare holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Kickstarter has 59K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Kickstarter's written reviews are positive against 100% of BarkShare's.
Kickstarter ships an update every 4 weeks, BarkShare every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Kickstarter | BarkShare |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (59K ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 32.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 59K — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #192 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 129 MB | 65 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Kickstarter, PBC | Orbit Lane LLC |
Customer experience
Kickstarter
BarkShare
Bugs and requests
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
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- Allow users to block problematic creators
BarkShare
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Kickstarter
No in-app purchases
BarkShare
No in-app purchases
