Comparison

Pearls. vs ThingsBook

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

Head to head
About

Pearls.

Send messages to yourself or others that unlock at a future date. Explore a personalized timeline of past and future moments. Collect, share, and unlock these special 'Pearls' when they matter most.

Highlights
  • Create time-locked messages
  • Personalized future timeline
  • Explore past memories
  • Collect and share 'Pearls'
  • Unlock messages at specific times
Read full description

Pearls is more than just a message; it's a way to connect across time. Create time locked messages that wait patiently in the future, ready to encourage, celebrate, or comfort exactly when the time is right. Pinch, zoom, and explore a personalized timeline of moments, revisiting memories from the past and awaiting surprises in the future. Your life is full of Pearls—Collect them, share them and unlock them when they matter most.

About

ThingsBook

Capture your life's moments through long-form writing and organized collections. This platform allows you to create a lasting personal archive of your thoughts, memories, and interests, with options to share privately or publicly.

Highlights
  • Long-form writing
  • Structured collections
  • Personal archive
  • Customizable sharing
  • Life documentation
  • Writing prompts
Read full description

Your life deserves more than disappearing posts and scattered notes. ThingsBook is a new kind of personal platform built for people who love to write, reflect, and collect the moments that make up their lives. It’s where long-form storytelling meets beautiful organization, giving you a space to capture what you did, how you felt, and what you care about in lasting detail. Whether you are journaling about your day, writing thoughtful reflections, or collecting the books you love, the meals you cooked, the trips you took, or the ideas that moved you, ThingsBook helps you turn everyday life into something meaningful and permanent. Write freely At its core, ThingsBook is about writing. Real writing. Long-form, text-centric storytelling that lets you express yourself without character limits or performance pressure. Capture your thoughts, routines, memories, and observations in a way that feels natural, personal, and deeply yours. Collect what matters Organize everything you write into beautiful, structured collections. Your books, travels, meals, fashion finds, hobbies, goals, and ideas all live together in one place. Think of it as your personal digital shelf, always there when you want to revisit your life. Build your archive ThingsBook is not about fleeting trends or posts that disappear. Your writing and collections become a lasting personal archive, a living record of who you are and what you love. Over time, your ThingsBook becomes your story. Share on your terms Share publicly, with friends, or keep things private. Post whenever inspiration hits. Take breaks whenever you need. Your space never goes stale, and there is no pressure to perform. Designed for everyday life You do not need special skills, perfect photos, or big moments. ThingsBook is built for real life. Write about your morning coffee, the song you cannot stop playing, the trip that changed you, the book that stayed with you, the place that always feels like home. Smart tools that support your writing Helpful prompts, thoughtful organization, search, and location features make it easier to document your life as it happens, without turning your thoughts into work. Your corner of the internet ThingsBook is where your interests, ideas, and experiences come together. Not a feed to chase. A space to build. Write your life. Collect your world. Remember what matters.

Screenshots

Pearls.4 screens
ThingsBook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Pearls. at 5.0 against ThingsBook's 4.5. Pearls. also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 72%) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). ThingsBook's advantage is ratings volume (1.7K vs 2) and update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). On price, ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pearls. holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ThingsBook has 1.7K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Pearls.'s written reviews are positive against 72% of ThingsBook's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pearls. ships an update monthly, ThingsBook fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Pearls. versus ThingsBook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPearls.ThingsBook
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.5 (1.7K ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better71.6% of reviews
Number of ratings21.7K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#48 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB128 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMy Little Pearls LLCNaver U.Hub Inc.

Customer experience

Pearls.

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

ThingsBook

All ratings1,687 ratings
Positive89.1%
Neutral3.9%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews264 reviews
Positive71.6%
Neutral7.6%
Negative20.8%

In-app purchases

None

Pearls.

No in-app purchases

None

ThingsBook

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pearls. free?
Pearls. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ThingsBook free?
ThingsBook is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pearls. or ThingsBook?
Pearls. is rated higher. Pearls. averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while ThingsBook averages 4.5 from 1.7K ratings.
Do Pearls. or ThingsBook have ads?
Neither Pearls. nor ThingsBook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pearls. or ThingsBook?
Pearls. ships an update monthly, and ThingsBook fortnightly. Most recently, Pearls. was updated on October 4, 2026 and ThingsBook on October 18, 2026.

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