Chatbooks vs Aura Frames
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chatbooks
Effortlessly transform your phone's photos into beautiful, personalized photo books and prints. Create custom albums with ease, choosing from various sizes and cover options, and have them delivered directly to your door with free shipping.
- Create personalized photo books
- Order photo prints
- Subscription photo book service
- Customizable book sizes and covers
- Add captions and collages
- Free standard shipping
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Your memories deserve to be enjoyed, not trapped on your phone! The Chatbooks app makes it easy (like 10-minutes-or-less easy!) to turn them into personalized photo books and photo prints, delivered right to your door with free standard shipping. Our bestselling Monthbooks photo book subscription makes it easier than ever to turn your everyday moments into a stunning photo book collection. Simply choose your delivery schedule, cover style, and photo book size to get started. The best part? It only takes 5 minutes to print each 30-60 page photo book. Add photos right from your phone camera roll in the Chatbooks app, edit, and send to print in just a few taps. Cancel anytime and always enjoy free shipping on any Chatbooks photo book subscription. Need to print life’s big milestones, or give a meaningful personalized gift? Our Classic Photo Books are the perfect custom photo books. Simply select your size (6x6", 8x8", or 10x10"), cover type (softcover or hardcover), and chic cover color, or browse hundreds of designer covers. Add up to 366 pages of memories by uploading photos from your phone, then edit your book by easily adding collages, captions, and more. We’ve got you covered with our Love Chatbooks Guarantee and Toddler Insurance—so whether it’s a printing issue or a juice spill, we’ll make it right. You make the memories. We’ll help you print them. Millions of Chatbookers use the Chatbooks app to print their photos—join them today!
Aura Frames
Effortlessly display and share your cherished photos with loved ones. This smart photo frame app allows you to preload images, connect your frame to Wi-Fi quickly, and invite family to contribute their own memories. Relive moments together and share unlimited photos and videos.
- Preload photos and messages for gifts
- Quick Wi-Fi frame setup
- Invite family to share photos
- Unlimited photo and video sharing
- Scan prints and artwork
- Relive shared memories
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Aura is a smart photo frame that makes displaying and sharing photos delightfully simple. Get the free Aura app to view and share your photos, get your frame set up, and more: - Preload photos or write a message before giving Aura as a gift - Connect your frame to WiFi - in less than 5 minutes! - Invite family members to share their photos to your frame - Share unlimited photos and videos to an Aura frame - See what your family has added, and relive memories together - Scan prints and artwork with your phone or tablet's camera With Aura, you can share those meaningful moments and memories that are only meant to be shared with the people closest to you.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Aura Frames at free against Chatbooks's free with in-app purchases. Aura Frames also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 9 days) and chart position (#63 vs #192). Chatbooks's advantage is ratings volume (250K vs 28K). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Chatbooks against 4.8 for Aura Frames. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chatbooks has 250K ratings behind it against 28K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 64% of Chatbooks's written reviews are positive against 62% of Aura Frames's.
Chatbooks ships an update every 9 days, Aura Frames every 4 days. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.
| Parameter | Chatbooks | Aura Frames |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (250K ratings) | 4.8 (28K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 64.5% of reviews — better | 62.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 250K — better | 28K |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #192 | #63 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 236 MB | 280 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Chatbooks, Inc. | Aura Home, Inc. |
Customer experience
Chatbooks
Aura Frames
User reviews
Chatbooks
From 250K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ⭐ Excellent customer service
- 🚀 Easy to use app
- 💎 High-quality photo books
- 🎁 Great gift option
- 📚 Convenient way to preserve memories
Room to improve
- 🐛 Glitchy app with syncing issues
- 🕰️ Slow shipping and long delays
- 💰 Expensive for international users
- 📷 Poor photo quality
- 🤯 Frustrating user experience
Aura Frames
From 28K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use app
- 👍 Ability to share photos with family
- 👍 Great quality of photos on frame
- 👍 Convenient way to display family photos
- 👍 Helpful for grandparents to stay connected
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes and freezes frequently
- 🐛 Issues with uploading and displaying photos
- 🐛 Inconsistent WiFi connectivity
- 🐛 Limited customization options for photo display
- 🐛 Buggy software after recent updates
Bugs and requests
Chatbooks
Reported bugs
4 issues- Photos not uploading correctly
- Locked books being edited unexpectedly
- Inconsistent app behavior across devices
- Incorrect shipping information
Requested features
4 requests- More layout and customization options
- Ability to select photos from different albums
- Option to change book title/cover
- Improved in-app navigation
Aura Frames
Reported bugs
5 issues- App crashes when trying to upload photos
- Frame randomly disconnects from WiFi
- Live Photos feature not working as expected
- Inability to delete individual photos from frame
- Inconsistent behavior when changing WiFi networks
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to organize photos into albums
- Implement manual photo sorting and ordering
- Allow more control over photo display timing
- Integrate with cloud storage services like OneDrive
- Improve photo positioning and cropping algorithms
In-app purchases
Chatbooks
No in-app purchases
Aura Frames
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Chatbooks free?
Is Aura Frames free?
Which has better reviews, Chatbooks or Aura Frames?
Do Chatbooks or Aura Frames have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chatbooks or Aura Frames?
Which is more popular, Chatbooks or Aura Frames?
Other comparisons
