# Konstella vs BuyNothing

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Konstella at none against BuyNothing's 6. Konstella also leads on review sentiment (56% vs 27%) and rating (4.5 vs 4.3). BuyNothing's advantage is chart position (#204 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. BuyNothing sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Konstella asks for nothing beyond the download.

Konstella holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 780 and 2.1K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Konstella's written reviews are positive against 27% of BuyNothing's.

Konstella ships an update every 4 days, BuyNothing every 8 days. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Konstella | BuyNothing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (780 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/konstella/id960556868/reviews)** | [4.3 (2.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/buynothing/id1557679959/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 780 | **2.1K** |
| Positive reviews | **56.3% of reviews** | 26.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 days** | Every 8 days |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | **#204** |
| Size | 24 MB | 77 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **16.0** |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Konstella Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/967535902) | [Buy Nothing Project, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1557679961) |

## What reviewers say

### Konstella

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/konstella/id960556868)

This app facilitates communication and community building for parent organizations like PTAs and PTOs. It enables the creation of announcements, newsletters, volunteer sign-ups, and event postings, while also simplifying fee collection and donations. Parents can also form interest-based social groups to connect with each other.

**Highlights:** Create announcements and newsletters, Manage volunteer sign-ups, Organize events, Collect fees and donations, Form interest-based social groups

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Helps stay connected and scheduling
- 👍 Gets the Job Done
- 🚀 GAME CHANGER— school comms FINALLY all in ONE PLACE!
- 👍 Wonderful to be connected
- 👍 Awesome

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Am I the only one whose kid moved schools?
- 🐛 Buggy
- 🐛 Not improving
- 🐛 Worse app ever
- 🐛 can't mark all notifications as read

**Reported bugs**

- Can't delete an odd committee thread even after leaving the group
- No longer spell check and the bullets/numbers don't work
- Scrolling issues, can't select and copy text, can't bookmark or set aside important messages, can't open links from messages, impossible to organize messages and events
- Impossible to update my kids school, no way to contact Konstella, no way to remove the old profile and add a new one
- Group chat function issues - messages not loading, group disappearing and reappearing

**Requested features**

- Dark mode option
- Messages need Like buttons
- Mute button to selectively mute members
- Ability to have dates hyperlinked to iPhone calendar


### BuyNothing

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/buynothing/id1557679959)

**Currently charting:** #204 Top Free · Social Networking (US App Store)

Connect with your local community to give, receive, share, lend, and borrow items. This app fosters a gift economy, building connections through sharing, inspired by the BuyNothing® Project.

**Highlights:** Give and receive items locally, Lend and borrow goods, Hyper-local community sharing, Gift economy model, Build community connections, Express gratitude

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sustaining Member | $3.99 | per month |
| Buy Nothing Pro | $3.99 | per month |
| Sustaining Member | $5.49 | per month |
| Buy Nothing Pro | $29.99 | per year |
| Sustaining Member | $38.49 | per year |
| Sustaining Member | $54.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🤝 Friendly community interactions
- ♻️ Promotes sustainability and reducing waste
- 🌍 Global reach beyond local groups
- 🏠 Hyper-local focus when set up properly
- 📦 Smooth gifting and receiving process

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and unreliable app functionality
- 📍 Difficulty filtering for local posts
- 🔑 Login and account issues
- 💬 Inconsistent notifications and messaging
- 💰 Paywall for key features

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent app crashes and freezes
- Login issues and inability to reset passwords
- Inconsistent location settings and radius
- Unreliable notifications and messaging
- Inability to edit or update posts

**Requested features**

- Search function to find specific posts
- Ability to edit and update posts
- Improved organization and sorting of posts
- Syncing across multiple devices
- More robust moderation and community tools


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Konstella free?

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

### Is BuyNothing free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Konstella or BuyNothing?

Konstella is rated higher. Konstella averages 4.5 out of 5 from 780 ratings, while BuyNothing averages 4.3 from 2.1K ratings.

### Do Konstella or BuyNothing have ads?

Neither Konstella nor BuyNothing shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Konstella or BuyNothing?

Konstella ships an update every 4 days, and BuyNothing every 8 days. Most recently, Konstella was updated on September 25, 2026 and BuyNothing on September 25, 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.*