Comparison

Nextplus vs Parent Circle

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

Head to head
About

Nextplus

Get a free US phone number for unlimited texting and calling to US and Canadian numbers. Works over WiFi and allows you to communicate without sharing your personal number. Offers inexpensive outbound calls and can turn devices like iPod touch into phones.

Highlights
  • Free US phone number with selectable area code
  • Unlimited free texting (SMS, MMS, group chat)
  • Free inbound phone calls
  • Toll-free calling worldwide
  • Inexpensive outbound calls
  • WiFi calling and texting
  • No contracts or surprise costs
Features
Read full description

Nextplus lets you stay in touch with people around the world without giving out your real number. With Nextplus you'll get: - A free US Phone number so friends can call & text you (you pick the area code) - Free texting (SMS, MMS + group chat) to any US or Canadian mobile number - Free inbound phone calls - Toll-free calling from anywhere in the world with no restrictions! - Inexpensive outbound phone calls - Works great over WiFi so you don’t even need a 3G/4G connection. - No contracts, no “surprise” costs. - Turn your iPod touch into a phone! HOW IT WORKS Unlike other app-to-app messengers, we let you call and text ANY phone number! Nextplus works across all your devices so you'll never miss a message. All you need is WiFi - no 3G/4G connection required! Your friend’s phone company charges us small fees to deliver texts and calls on their networks. Rather than force you to pay, we let you view a few banner ads or watch a quick video. If you choose, you can pay a buck or two and make those ads disappear. The choice is yours! IN APP SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS - Keep Your Number for 1 year $1.99 / Remove Banner Ads for 1 month $0.99 / Remove Banner Ads for 1 year $5.99 / Unlimited Ad-Free calls to Mexico (landlines) for 1 month $6.99 / Unlimited Ad-Free Calls to Mexico (mobile) for 1 month $29.99/ Unlimited Ad-Free calls to US & Canada for 1 year $19.99 - If you choose to subscribe to a plan, you will be charged a price according to the plan selected in your country. The price will be shown in the app before you complete the payment. - Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of your current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, at the purchase price listed above - You may manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal by going to your iTunes Account Settings and then "Manage Subscriptions" - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription * IMPORTANT: - We do not support 911 in the US - In order to place most outbound phone calls you will need to purchase credits within the App - If push notifications are not enabled, you may not receive messages and calls Terms of Use: https://textplus.com/textplus-terms-of-use/ Privacy Policy: https://textplus.com/textplus-privacy-policy/ Subscription Products: • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication

About

Parent Circle

Features
Read full description

Parent Circle A safe, supportive space for new parents. Parent Circle is designed for those navigating pregnancy, maternity, paternity, and early parenthood — a place to share, connect, and feel understood. What you can do: • Share how you're feeling — openly or anonymously • Get support from parents who truly understand • Comment and react with encouragement, support and care • Connect privately through messages • Follow and discover other parents • Stay in the loop with real-time notifications Built for real life Whether you're: • Feeling overwhelmed • Celebrating a win • Struggling with sleep, feeding, or mental health • Or just need to vent… You’re not alone here. Your space, your choice • Post anonymously when you need privacy • A respectful, supportive community • Designed to feel safe, calm and judgment-free Why Parent Circle? Because parenting is amazing… but also hard. And sometimes you just need someone who gets it. Join Parent Circle today

Screenshots

Nextplus4 screens
Parent Circle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Parent Circle at none against Nextplus's 10. Parent Circle also leads on ads (none vs shown). Nextplus's advantage is chart position (#113 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Nextplus sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Parent Circle asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Nextplus versus Parent Circle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNextplusParent Circle
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (89K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews44.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings89K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#113 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better16.2
Further details — not scored
Size201 MB16 MB
Age rating17+12+
DevelopertextPlus, Inc.Josh Griffin

Bugs and requests

Nextplus

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes after updates
  • Unable to create account
  • Number reclamation issues
  • Inability to send/receive texts and calls

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to log out of the app
  • Improved notification system
  • Better message delivery reliability
  • Streamlined user interface

Parent Circle

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Nextplus

Subscriptions4
  • Premium Bundle Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Keep My Number$9.991 Year
  • Premium Number Bundle Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Unlimited Calls to US & CA$44.991 Year
One-time4
  • 100 Credits2 variants$0.99
  • 500 Credits2 variants$4.99
  • 1,000 Credits$9.99
Show 1 more
  • 2,000 Credits$19.99
None

Parent Circle

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Nextplus free?
Nextplus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Parent Circle free?
Parent Circle is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Nextplus or Parent Circle have ads?
Nextplus shows ads; Parent Circle does not.
Which is updated more often, Nextplus or Parent Circle?
Nextplus ships an update every 3 weeks, and Parent Circle every 3 weeks. Most recently, Nextplus was updated on November 7, 2026 and Parent Circle on October 24, 2026.

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