Comparison

ThingsBook vs dumb MESSAGE

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

Head to head
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.

About

dumb MESSAGE

Features
Read full description

The future was supposed to be simpler. dumb MESSAGE is one shared pixel canvas. You draw. Your friends draw. Everyone sees the same thing at the same time. No feed to refresh. No followers to impress. No typing bubble making you anxious. No color because frankly, you’ll cope. There is no feed. There is no typing indicator. There isn't even color. HOW IT WORKS • Start a canvas and get an ID you can say out loud, like MINTFOX42 • Send the link. Friends open it and their ink shows up next to yours • One finger draws, two fingers pan • Point the camera at anything and stamp it as dithered 1-bit pixels • Or talk — dictation turns your words into pixel type on the canvas • DAY mode is reflective gray. NIGHT mode glows green

Screenshots

ThingsBook4 screens
dumb MESSAGE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: dumb MESSAGE at every 2 days against ThingsBook's fortnightly. ThingsBook's advantage is chart position (#54 vs unranked). 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ThingsBook ships an update fortnightly, dumb MESSAGE every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
ThingsBook versus dumb MESSAGE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThingsBookdumb MESSAGE
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (1.5K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews72.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.5K — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#54 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size128 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNaver U.Hub Inc.Matt Jakob

In-app purchases

None

ThingsBook

No in-app purchases

None

dumb MESSAGE

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ThingsBook free?
ThingsBook is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is dumb MESSAGE free?
dumb MESSAGE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ThingsBook or dumb MESSAGE have ads?
Neither ThingsBook nor dumb MESSAGE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ThingsBook or dumb MESSAGE?
ThingsBook ships an update fortnightly, and dumb MESSAGE every 2 days. Most recently, ThingsBook was updated on September 28, 2026 and dumb MESSAGE on September 8, 2026.

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