Comparison

mssgs vs CircleMap

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

Head to head
About

mssgs

Features
Read full description

mssgs is chat for the people you actually talk to. Message your friends, run a community, see who is nearby and play a game right in the conversation. No ads, no tracking, no feed deciding what you see. CHAT YOUR WAY • Direct messages with streaks, voice memos, photos, albums, GIFs and stickers • Ghost mode: switch a DM over and its messages disappear after they are read • One-time photos and videos that are gone once opened • Reactions, replies, polls, mentions and hundreds of stickers • Hide finished chats in an archive behind Face ID or a passcode COMMUNITIES • Servers with channels, categories, roles and permissions • Plan events with a list of who is coming, and set reminders • Voice rooms with push-to-talk, raise hand and a soundboard • Moderation that puts the community in charge: reports, mutes and bans • Make a channel readable on the web CALLS • Voice and video calls, one-on-one or with a group • End-to-end encrypted whenever everyone's app supports it, with a lock on screen that tells you • Share your screen LIVE MAP • See your friends on a live map, and only the friends you pick see you • Public posts pinned to the places they were taken • Pick exactly who can see you, and stop sharing any time STORIES, FEED AND CAMERA • Post photos, videos and slideshows with a song to your feed or your story • Private stories for up to 50 people • A real camera with live filters, location stickers, text and face lenses • Memories: your own gallery of the moments you kept GAMES • Battleship, Four in a Row, Checkers, Snake, Word Guesser and more, built into the chat • Host a tournament, or invite a friend without an account with a guest link MAKE IT YOURS • Nameplates, avatar frames and profile backgrounds from the decoration shop • Badges you earn, chat themes, and light or dark mode • Premium adds 60 fps screen sharing, 50 MB uploads, 5,000-character messages, extra communities, call reactions and more, paid with credits you buy in the app APPLE WATCH • Read and answer chats, browse the feed and check the map from your wrist • A timer, stopwatch, alarms and a calculator, no account needed SAFE BY DESIGN • No ads and no tracking • Report or block anyone from anywhere, and moderators act on it • Protect your account with a passkey or backup codes as a second factor

About

CircleMap

Stay connected with loved ones by sharing real-time locations, organizing private groups, and making voice calls. Offers emergency SOS features and customizable privacy controls for peace of mind.

Highlights
  • Real-time location sharing
  • Private circles for groups
  • In-app voice calls
  • Emergency SOS alerts
  • Customizable privacy controls
  • Temporary location sharing links
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Stay connected with the people who matter most. CircleMap lets you share your real-time location with family, friends, and trusted contacts, organized into private circles you control. REAL-TIME LOCATION SHARING See where your circle members are on a live map. Background location updates keep everyone informed, even when the app is closed. Motion-aware tracking automatically adjusts update frequency based on your activity to save battery. CIRCLES FOR EVERY GROUP Create separate circles for family, close friends, coworkers, or travel companions. Add members by phone number or invitation. Set up temporary circles that auto-expire for trips or events. VOICE CALLS Call any circle member directly from the app. Audio calls use peer-to-peer WebRTC for clear, low-latency conversations with native iOS call integration. IN-CIRCLE MESSAGING Send messages within any circle to coordinate plans, check in, or share updates without leaving the app. EMERGENCY SOS In an emergency, trigger an SOS alert that instantly sends your precise location to your emergency contacts via SMS and push notification. A 5-second countdown lets you cancel if triggered accidentally. PRIVACY YOU CONTROL - Turn location sharing on or off per circle - Switch between exact and approximate location (~1 km) - Set sharing schedules by day and time - See who viewed your location in the Activity Feed SHARE LOCATION LINKS Create a temporary link to share your location with anyone — no app required. Set a duration (1 hour to 7 days) and choose exact or approximate precision. Revoke anytime. OFFLINE READY Cached data keeps the app functional even without an internet connection. When you reconnect, everything syncs automatically. CIRCLEMAP PRO Upgrade for unlimited circles, unlimited members, 30-day location history, unlimited safe zones, driving reports, and more. Subscription options: - Monthly or yearly auto-renewable subscriptions - Payment charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription auto-renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - Manage subscriptions in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions Terms of Use (EULA): https://circlemap.io/terms Privacy Policy: https://circlemap.io/privacy

Screenshots

mssgs4 screens
CircleMap4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: mssgs at none against CircleMap's 1. CircleMap's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads, device support 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. CircleMap sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. mssgs asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

mssgs ships an update every 3 weeks, CircleMap every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
mssgs versus CircleMap: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametermssgsCircleMap
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS18.017.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size197 MB25 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperDeverence Group B.V.VidOpt LLC

In-app purchases

None

mssgs

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

CircleMap

Subscriptions1
  • CircleMap Pro$4.991 Month

Questions

Is mssgs free?
mssgs is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CircleMap free?
CircleMap is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do mssgs or CircleMap have ads?
Neither mssgs nor CircleMap shows ads.
Which is updated more often, mssgs or CircleMap?
mssgs ships an update every 3 weeks, and CircleMap every 3 days. Most recently, mssgs was updated on November 3, 2026 and CircleMap on November 5, 2026.

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