Comparison

Backpack vs Rift Chat

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

Head to head
About

Backpack

This social media app focuses on sharing curated moments with a limited number of items each week. Content resets weekly, encouraging intentional sharing without follower counts or endless scrolling. Connect with friends through a private feed and discover nearby users.

Highlights
  • Limited item slots per week
  • Weekly content reset
  • No follower counts
  • Friends-only feed
  • Nearby user discovery
  • Curated weekly snapshots
Features
Read full description

Backpack is a small, friendly place for sharing a few of the little things that represent you and your daily life. Pack your slots with music, photos, movies, books, thoughts and more, and keep adding all week. Add your friends and you'll see what they're carrying too, and anything of theirs you love, you can repost into your pocket. Then every week your backpack wipes clean and you start fresh with whatever you're into next. What's inside: - Slots to pack with music, photos, GIFs, thoughts, links and more - A pocket for reposting what your friends packed - A quiet, friends-first feed with no follower counts and no algorithm - A fresh start every week, at the same time for everyone No follower counts to chase. No endless scroll to steal your time. No algorithms or "influencers" or incessant content to consume. Just a concise, honest snapshot of your week that you curate intentionally, and share with the friends who are actually part of your life. Pack your slots and share your own real-life inventory! Terms of Use: https://mybackpack.lol/legal/terms Privacy Policy: https://mybackpack.lol/legal/privacy

About

Rift Chat

Connect with communities, friends, and groups through real-time chat and voice channels. Enjoy private direct messages with end-to-end encryption for secure conversations. This platform offers a focused communication space without advertisements or user tracking.

Highlights
  • Create or join Shards
  • Talk in channels
  • Direct messages
  • Voice chat
  • End-to-end encryption for DMs
  • Ad-free experience
  • No behavioral tracking
Read full description

Rift is a chat and voice app for communities, friends, and real-time hangouts. Create or join Shards, talk in channels, message friends in DMs, and hop into voice. Direct messages use end-to-end encryption so Rift cannot read your DM text. Built for people who want a focused place to talk without ads or behavioral tracking, loaded with features and versatility.

Screenshots

Backpack4 screens
Rift Chat2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Rift Chat at none against Backpack's 2. Backpack's advantage is ratings volume (8 vs 2). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. Backpack sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Rift Chat asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Backpack against 5.0 for Rift Chat. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 2 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Backpack ships an update weekly, Rift Chat every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Backpack versus Rift Chat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBackpackRift Chat
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (8 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings8 — better2
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size64 MB101 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperJared Heath DefrieseRift Communications LLC

Customer experience

Backpack

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Rift Chat

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Backpack

Subscriptions2
  • Backpack+ Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Backpack+ Yearly$29.991 Year
None

Rift Chat

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Backpack free?
Backpack is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Rift Chat free?
Rift Chat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Backpack or Rift Chat?
Backpack and Rift Chat are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 8 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Backpack or Rift Chat have ads?
Neither Backpack nor Rift Chat shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Backpack or Rift Chat?
Backpack ships an update weekly, and Rift Chat every 2 weeks. Most recently, Backpack was updated on October 31, 2026 and Rift Chat on November 6, 2026.

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