Peanut vs Pie
Peanut and Pie are both friendship apps that help you meet people in real life, but they take different approaches. Here’s how they stack up across pricing, format, cities, and more.
Side-by-side comparison · Updated 2026
At a glance
Pricing
Both Peanut and Pie fall in the Free price range. Peanut: Free with optional Peanut Plus subscription ($8.99–$99.99). Pie: Completely free — no subscriptions, no paywalls.
Format & matching
Peanut uses groups of 1:1 and groups, compared to Pie’s Varies, and both use interest-based matching.
How they work
Peanut: Download the app and create a profile with your name, location, and stage of motherhood — whether you're trying to conceive, pregnant, or raising kids of any age. Set your interests and what you're looking for (advice, playdates, local friends, or just someone to talk to). Peanut shows you other women nearby who match your criteria. Swipe to wave, and if you both wave, you're matched and can start chatting. From there, you can join group conversations on specific topics, participate in community Q&A threads, or set up in-person meetups.
Pie: Download the app and set your city — Pie is live in Chicago, Austin, Bay Area, and Columbus. Your home feed shows free, in-person events happening nearby, filtered by your interests. Tap an event to see who's going, RSVP, and add it to your calendar. After you attend, Pie starts learning who you vibe with and surfaces a personalized feed of friend and friend-of-friend activity. You can also host your own events — keep them private or broadcast them to the whole network using 'snowball mode.' There's a built-in chat for coordinating plans and sharing photos after the fact.
What to love
Peanut: Largest dedicated community for mothers — 5 million+ users means you'll actually find people nearby. Stage-based matching (TTC, pregnancy, newborn, toddler, etc.) connects you with women in the same chapter. Swipe mechanic feels natural and low-pressure for introverted new moms. Group discussions and Q&A threads provide real support beyond just friend-matching. Selfie verification and moderation create a genuinely safe space.
Pie: Completely free — no premium tier, no paywalls, no catch. Event-first model means you're bonding over shared experiences, not forced small talk. The friend-of-friend feed creates organic social discovery that feels natural. You can host your own events, giving you control over the vibe. 4.7-star rating with 1,000+ reviews suggests people genuinely love using it.
Reality check
Peanut: Heavily focused on motherhood — not useful if you're looking for general adult friendships. Free tier is limited; seeing who waved at you and premium filters require Peanut Plus. Some areas have sparse user density, especially outside major metros. The Bumble-style swiping can feel transactional when you're sleep-deprived and just want a friend.
Pie: Only available in four cities — if you're not in Chicago, Austin, Bay Area, or Columbus, you're out of luck. No algorithmic matching — you have to browse and choose events yourself. Event quality depends on what's happening in your area on any given week. As a PBC (Public Benefit Corporation), long-term monetization strategy is unclear.
Søren's take
On Peanut: Peanut fills a gap that honestly shouldn't exist — new mothers are among the most socially isolated people in any city, and most friendship apps aren't built for them. The stage-based matching is smart: a mom with a newborn and a mom with a five-year-old have very different lives. The community features (groups, Q&A, resources) elevate it beyond a simple matching app. If you're a new mom feeling isolated, download this before anything else on Søren.
On Pie: Pie is refreshingly simple in a space full of personality quizzes and subscription paywalls. The pitch is: here are free events near you, go to them, meet people. That's it. No matching algorithm, no premium tier, no gamification. The friend-of-friend social graph that builds over time is genuinely clever — it mimics how real-life social circles actually form. The catch is geographic: four cities is a small footprint, and if yours isn't on the list, you're waiting. But if you're in Chicago, Austin, or the Bay Area and want a zero-cost way to build a social life, Pie is the obvious first download.
