CircleUp vs Grainger
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
CircleUp
Connect with like-minded individuals in your city for real-world activities and friendships. Discover and join weekly plans like walks, dinners, and social events, fostering a sense of belonging beyond one-off gatherings.
- Weekly real-world plans
- One-tap event joining
- Group chat for events
- Recurring member faces
- Member-hosted events
- City-based communities
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We're the Circle of 20s & 30s who choose belonging over attending, friendships over faces, and doing cool things over the same-old. We don't wait for plans, we create them. We refuse to be the disconnected generation. We're a circle, not strangers. A lifestyle, not one-off events. A movement, not an app. If you're craving more connection, you belong here. WHAT YOU'LL FIND INSIDE Real plans, every week. Walks, dinners, run clubs, football, pub quizzes, gallery trips, brunches and big socials, all happening in your city, with people who live near you. One tap to join. See who's going before you commit, RSVP in seconds, and get everything you need on the day: where to meet, what time, and who's hosting. Your circles. Plans come with a group chat, so you're never walking into a room of strangers. Say hello beforehand, share photos afterwards, and keep the conversation going in between. Faces you'll see again. This isn't a feed of one-off events. The same people turn up week after week, which is how acquaintances quietly turn into friends. Hosted by members. Our plans are created by people in your city who wanted something to exist, so they made it happen. You can host too. WHERE WE ARE Now live in Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Oxford, Manchester, Cambridge, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle and Nottingham, with more cities on the way. MEMBERSHIP CircleUp is a membership community. Your membership covers entry to members' plans across your city, and some ticketed plans are priced separately to cover the venue or the activity itself. Everything you pay for happens in person, in the real world. A GOOD PLACE TO BE THE NEW ONE Every member is a real member of a local community, so nobody here is anonymous. You can report or block anyone from their profile, and we act on reports within 24 hours. Our community guidelines are built into the app. Don't just attend. Belong.
Grainger
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Book time with your property manager, report a repair, sign up to resident events within your property, stay up to date with news and local community events. This app will allow you to make the most out of living in your Grainger home. Please note: this app is only available to Grainger residents.
Screenshots
Verdict
CircleUp and Grainger are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters โ price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them โ neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
CircleUp ships an update fortnightly, Grainger monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CircleUp | Grainger |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 62.5% of reviews | โ |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly โ better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | โ |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 15.1 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 101 MB | 78 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Hearplay | Grainger |
In-app purchases
CircleUp
No in-app purchases
Grainger
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is CircleUp free?
Is Grainger free?
Do CircleUp or Grainger have ads?
Which is updated more often, CircleUp or Grainger?
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