Peek vs Xplore Austin
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Peek
Connect with people around you in real-time through live group chats. This app facilitates authentic conversations based on physical proximity, ideal for students to find classmates, study partners, or new friends on campus.
- Live location-based group chats
- University, major, and class-based chats
- Automatic class group chats
- Conversation prompts
- Expiring chats
- Community chats at favorite places
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Campus curiosity just became competitive. PEEK by Butterfly Social Network is a social discovery app that turns profile views into a guessing game. Discover students from your university or explore profiles from universities everywhere, then take a peek at anyone who catches your attention. When someone visits your profile, you’ll receive three possible profiles and have 10 seconds to guess who peeked. Guess correctly, and you can connect with them. Guess incorrectly, and their identity stays a mystery forever. HOW PEEK WORKS • Discover people from your university • Explore students through the All Universities tab • Check out profiles and learn more about the people around you • Grow your Aura with every Peek • Peek at someone who catches your attention • Choose between three possible profiles when someone peeks at you • Guess correctly to unlock the connection • Start chatting and see where it goes PEEK makes meeting people feel exciting again. No endless swiping, forced introductions, or awkward first messages. It adds a little curiosity, mystery, and campus competition to your life. Whether you’re looking for new friends, classmates, campus connections, or someone you’ve secretly noticed, it all starts with one peek. Someone peeked at you. Can you guess who?
Xplore Austin
Discover local businesses, student deals, and campus events recommended by UT students. Connect with friends, find study spots, and support local ventures. Earn rewards for exploring Austin.
- Discover local businesses near UT campus
- Read verified student reviews
- Access exclusive student discounts
- RSVP to campus events
- Connect with friends
- Interactive map with filters
- Earn rewards and level up
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Built by UT students. Find the best study spots, coffee shops, cheap eats, and local businesses near West Campus. No more gatekeeping. Xplore Austin is the UT student's guide to discovering the best local businesses near campus. Find coffee shops, restaurants, study spots, and student-run businesses—all reviewed and recommended by fellow Longhorns. PEER-TRUSTED REVIEWS See what other UT students really think. No fake reviews, just honest feedback from verified students with @utexas.edu emails. DISCOVER LOCAL GEMS Support small businesses and student-run ventures. Find hidden gems you won't see on other apps. EXCLUSIVE DEALS & EVENTS Access student discounts, happy hours, and campus events. Never miss out on what's happening around UT. CONNECT WITH LONGHORNS See where your friends eat, study, and hang out. Join group channels to discuss the best coffee spots, late-night eats, and study locations. EARN REWARDS Gain points and badges for exploring Austin. Level up from Newbie to West Campus Wizard as you discover new places. INTERACTIVE MAP Find businesses near you with real-time distances and directions to your favorite spots. FEATURES: - Browse 30+ local businesses near UT campus - Read verified student reviews and ratings - Save favorites and create collections - Discover exclusive student deals and discounts - RSVP to campus events and happy hours - Join community channels (Coffee Talk, Study Spots, Late Night Eats) - Earn points, badges, and level up - Interactive map with category filters - Upload photos with reviews - Connect with friends and see their recommendations - Direct messaging with other students - Student business owners can claim and manage their listings - Block users and report inappropriate content CATEGORIES: Coffee Shops - Study spots and caffeine fixes Restaurants - From tacos to fine dining Desserts - Sweet treats and boba Study Spots - Quiet places to focus Student-Run - Support fellow Longhorns Fitness - Gyms and workout spots Entertainment - Fun activities near campus GUEST MODE: Not a UT student? Explore as a guest to see what makes our community special. EXCLUSIVELY FOR UT STUDENTS: Full access requires a valid @utexas.edu email address. Built by students, for students. Discover Austin the Longhorn way. Hook 'em!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Xplore Austin at 5.0 against Peek's 4.5. Xplore Austin also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly). Peek's advantage is ratings volume (39 vs 10). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Xplore Austin holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 39 and 10 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 94% of Peek's written reviews are positive against 100% of Xplore Austin's.
Peek ships an update fortnightly, Xplore Austin every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Peek | Xplore Austin |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (39 ratings) | 5.0 (10 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 94.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 39 — better | 10 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 85 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Butterfly Social Network, Inc. | Rasika Patel |
Customer experience
Peek
Xplore Austin
Bugs and requests
Peek
Reported bugs
2 issues- Login issues
- Compatibility problems on older devices
Requested features
3 requests- More customization options
- Improved event discovery
- Better privacy controls
Xplore Austin
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Peek
No in-app purchases
Xplore Austin
No in-app purchases









