sprout.spot vs dumb MESSAGE
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
sprout.spot
Connect with others through customizable profiles and dedicated feeds for any interest. This platform prioritizes community funding and user privacy, offering a clutter-free social experience without algorithmic interference.
- Algorithm-free social feed
- Customizable profiles with widgets
- Create dedicated feeds for any interest
- Community-funded and privacy-focused
- User-generated content on profiles
- Find people in shared fandoms
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sprout is a new kind of social network. we make it really easy for you to express yourself on here. link your last.fm, let your friends write or draw on your profile... you can do it all. if you're into something, you can just make a feed for it, and anyone else who likes it can start posting in it immediately. it's very easy to find people in the same fandoms as you. we're funded entirely by the community, and we'll never sell out to big companies or sell ur data .
dumb MESSAGE
Collaborate on a shared pixel canvas with friends in real-time. Draw, stamp images, or use dictation to add text to the evolving artwork. Experience a minimalist social interaction without feeds or typing indicators.
- Shared pixel canvas
- Real-time drawing
- Stamp images as pixels
- Dictation to pixel text
- Day and Night modes
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: dumb MESSAGE at none against sprout.spot's 10. dumb MESSAGE also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). sprout.spot's advantage is ratings volume (188 vs 1). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. sprout.spot sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. dumb MESSAGE asks for nothing beyond the download.
dumb MESSAGE holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: sprout.spot has 188 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
sprout.spot ships an update fortnightly, dumb MESSAGE every 2 days. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.
| Parameter | sprout.spot | dumb MESSAGE |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (188 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 87.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 188 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 93 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sprout Spot, LLC | Matt Jakob |
In-app purchases
sprout.spot
- profile badge2 variants$0.99
- $5 donation$4.99
- $10 donation$9.99
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- $10 donation$24.99
- $25 donation$24.99
- $50 donation2 variants$49.99
- $100 donation2 variants$99.99
dumb MESSAGE
No in-app purchases
