Comparison

Hugin Messenger vs CrazyThu

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

Head to head
About

Hugin Messenger

Experience secure, decentralized communication with this peer-to-peer chat service. Connect with friends and communities through encrypted direct and group messages, all without central servers or personal data collection. Enjoy crystal-clear voice and video calls and a decentralized social feed.

Highlights
  • Peer-to-peer communication
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Voice and video calls
  • Decentralized social feed
  • Zero sign-up required
  • No personal data collection
Features
Read full description

Hugin Messenger is a privacy-focused, peer-to-peer chat service built for secure, decentralized communication. Connect with your friends and communities in group chats and direct messages — all without relying on central servers. *** Why Hugin? *** True Peer-to-Peer Communication - No servers. No middlemen. Your data never touches a third party. End-to-End Encryption by Default - Messages and calls are secured using modern encryption technologies. Crystal Clear Voice & Video Calls - Enjoy high-quality, low-latency calls with no compromise on privacy. Decentralized Social Feed - Discover new discussions and connect with others using the Hugin Feed — no algorithms, no tracking. Zero Sign-Up, Zero Tracking - No phone number. No email. No identity required. We don’t collect or store any personal data. Powered by a Global P2P Network - Built on top of a resilient, decentralized infrastructure — your messages flow directly between devices. Take back control of your conversations. - Download Hugin Messenger and experience private communication without compromise.

About

CrazyThu

An unofficial client for a private social network for Tsinghua University students and alumni. Access timelines, hot lists, and collections, with support for comments, images, and polls. Basic posting and commenting are also available.

Highlights
  • Timeline browsing
  • Hot list viewing
  • Collection access
  • Comment and image viewing
  • Poll support
  • Basic posting and commenting
Read full description

CrazyThu is an unofficial iOS client for Tsinghua Tree Hole (New T Hole). New T Hole is open to current students and alumni of Tsinghua University in Beijing. You can sign in using a student or alumni email address. If you are already signed in on the web, you can copy your token and use it on the app's sign-in page. You can also link your university email address to GitHub for indirect verification. The app stores tokens and other authentication information locally and does not upload them to third-party servers. CrazyThu supports browsing the timeline, trending posts, and curated posts; reading comments; viewing images and polls; and basic text posting and commenting. Nearby provides public local chat over Bluetooth mesh networking. Nearby devices can discover, receive, and relay messages without an internet connection. Nearby identities are unverified and messages are not private.

Screenshots

Hugin Messenger4 screens
CrazyThu4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Hugin Messenger at 16.6 against CrazyThu's 26.0. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Hugin Messenger against 5.0 for CrazyThu. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 3 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hugin Messenger ships an update weekly, CrazyThu every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Hugin Messenger versus CrazyThu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHugin MessengerCrazyThu
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings4 — better3
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size92 MB16 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperHarry ErikssonCaine Technology

Customer experience

Hugin Messenger

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

CrazyThu

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Hugin Messenger

No in-app purchases

None

CrazyThu

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hugin Messenger free?
Hugin Messenger is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CrazyThu free?
CrazyThu is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Hugin Messenger or CrazyThu?
Hugin Messenger and CrazyThu are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 4 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do Hugin Messenger or CrazyThu have ads?
Neither Hugin Messenger nor CrazyThu shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hugin Messenger or CrazyThu?
Hugin Messenger ships an update weekly, and CrazyThu every 6 days. Most recently, Hugin Messenger was updated on October 21, 2026 and CrazyThu on October 25, 2026.

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