Comparison

UPchat vs Relay Social

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

Head to head
About

UPchat

Features
Read full description

Your whole university. One conversation. UPchat is the campus-wide social app built for UK university students. It brings your university community together in one place, helping you discover what students across campus are thinking, talking about, and experiencing. Join securely using your verified university email to connect with your campus community. With UPchat you can: โ€ข Post with privacy: Choose to share thoughts or ask questions without displaying your name. โ€ข Discover campus trends: See what topics are popular across campus in real time. โ€ข Engage with peers: Comment, react, and join student discussions safely. โ€ข Voice your opinion: Create and vote in campus-wide polls. โ€ข Share media: Post photos and share updates. โ€ข Connect directly: Message other verified students at your university. โ€ข Get peer support: Ask questions and get advice from people who understand your campus. From university societies, local student events, and student life to accommodation, academic lectures, and campus news, UPchat helps you stay connected to what is happening at your institution. Unlike standard group chats that only reach a small circle, UPchat creates one shared, safe space for the whole campus. Whether you want study advice, local student recommendations, or a place to discuss campus news, UPchat gives every student a voice. Built for UK universities. Powered by students. Download UPchat and join your campus conversation today.

About

Relay Social

Features
Read full description

Relay is the app for actually meeting up with your friends. See who's around, make a plan, and go. Just your people, and the plans you make together. SEE WHO'S AROUND The Map shows which of your friends are nearby. Say you're free to hang out and ping the ones close by with one tap, or send someone a live pin so they can come and find you. Meet up suggests places that are fair on both of you. Sharing your location is off until you turn it on, you can see the Map without appearing on it, and you choose who sees you, one person at a time. MAKE PLANS THAT HAPPEN Make a plan and invite your friends, and each of them answers Going, Maybe or Can't go. Every plan gets its own page and chat, with the place, the weather, reminders and a cover photo, and a plan can last an evening or a whole weekend. The Events tab shows your week, your month or your whole year, and the days you're still free. Your plans can go in your phone's calendar, and your own calendar can show in Relay, where only you see it. KEEP THE MOMENTS A moment belongs to everyone in it. Post a photo from the night, tag the friends who were there, and it shows on each of their pages, where each of them can add their own take. Only the people in it and their friends can see it. TALK TO YOUR PEOPLE Direct messages, group chats and event chats, with photos, video, voice notes, GIFs, polls and places. Search any chat for the message you need. Only friends can start a one-to-one chat with you or add you to a group. ONE QUESTION A DAY Answer today's question, then see how your friends voted. A small excuse to talk. BIRTHDAYS Relay remembers your friends' birthdays and helps you plan something. No countdowns, and your friends never get a notification about yours. YOUR WEB Your web shows all your friends at once. If you like, sort them into Super Friends, Friends and Pals. BRING YOUR FRIENDS Send a friend your link or QR code. When they join with it, you're connected straight away. NO ADS. NO ALGORITHMIC FEED. Relay never shows you ads, and your friends' moments arrive newest first, never ranked to keep you scrolling. It's built to get you out with your friends, not to keep you on your phone. Open it, make the plan, close it. Map data ยฉ OpenStreetMap contributors.

Screenshots

UPchat3 screens
Relay Social4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Relay Social at weekly against UPchat's every 2 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

UPchat ships an update every 2 weeks, Relay Social weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
UPchat versus Relay Social: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUPchatRelay Social
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS16.015.6 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size20 MB68 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperCool Runway LimitedRelay Social Ltd

In-app purchases

None

UPchat

No in-app purchases

None

Relay Social

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is UPchat free?
UPchat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Relay Social free?
Relay Social is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do UPchat or Relay Social have ads?
Neither UPchat nor Relay Social shows ads.
Which is updated more often, UPchat or Relay Social?
UPchat ships an update every 2 weeks, and Relay Social weekly. Most recently, UPchat was updated on October 27, 2026 and Relay Social on October 30, 2026.

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