# Signal vs Digital Stack

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Digital Stack at none against Signal's 1. Digital Stack also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 68%). Signal's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks) and chart position (#12 vs unranked). On price, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Signal sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. Digital Stack asks for nothing beyond the download.

Signal ships an update weekly, Digital Stack every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Signal | Digital Stack |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (1.1M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/signal-private-messenger/id874139669/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1.1M** | — |
| Positive reviews | 67.7% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | **#12** | — |
| Size | 238 MB | 40 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Signal Messenger, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/874139672) | [Digital Stack Operations Pty Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1789263813) |

## What reviewers say

### Signal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/signal-private-messenger/id874139669)

**Currently charting:** #12 Top Free · Social Networking, #147 Top Grossing · Social Networking, #152 Top Free (US App Store)

A secure messaging app prioritizing privacy with end-to-end encryption for texts, voice, and video calls. It offers group chats, disappearing stories, and file sharing, all without collecting user data. This non-profit service is funded by donations.

**Highlights:** End-to-end encrypted messaging, Encrypted voice and video calls, Group chats up to 1,000 people, Disappearing Stories, File sharing, Non-profit, donation-supported

**Features:** Apple Wallet, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Signal Secure Backups | $1.99 | per month |

**What reviewers like**

- 🔒 Security and privacy
- 👍 Ease of use
- 🚀 Great call quality
- 🚀 Smooth and pleasant user interface
- 🔒 End-to-end encryption

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Delayed message delivery
- 🐛 Inconsistent image/video quality
- 🐛 Buggy call functionality
- 🐛 Inability to edit sent messages
- 🐛 Unreliable notifications

**Reported bugs**

- Problem retrieving data, resulting in lost message history
- Keyboard covering the current conversation
- Inconsistent behavior when attaching photos/videos
- Scrolling issues when reading through messages
- Inability to recover message history after device change

**Requested features**

- Add filters and customization options
- Allow adding music to stories
- Implement a sticker store
- Add ability to pin messages in group chats
- Allow new members to view previous group messages


### Digital Stack

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/digital-stack/id1341996024)

This app serves as a mobile extension for existing users of a franchise marketing platform. It allows for collaborative planning, post scheduling, and access to image/video templates and an asset library.

**Highlights:** Collaborative planner, Build and schedule posts, Image and video templates, Asset library access

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Signal free?

Signal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Digital Stack free?

Digital Stack is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Signal or Digital Stack have ads?

Neither Signal nor Digital Stack shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Signal or Digital Stack?

Signal ships an update weekly, and Digital Stack every 3 weeks. Most recently, Signal was updated on November 11, 2026 and Digital Stack on November 2, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*