NixringRoboKiller alternative for iPhone, and what a list can and cannot do
RoboKiller answers spam calls and works from an enormous database. Nixring does neither. If you are comparing the two, the honest question is which limitation you can live with.
Nixring is free to download. iOS 17.0 or later.
Side by side
Two different machines
| RoboKiller | Nixring | |
|---|---|---|
| Answers spam calls | Yes, answer bots | No |
| Database | Described as 1.4 billion analysed calls | 80 numbers plus your own |
| Works with no service behind it | No | Yes, everything is on the phone |
| App Store rating | 4.5 from 414,000 ratings | 5.0 from 2 ratings |
| Privacy label lists contacts | Yes | No |
| Privacy label lists audio or user content | Yes | No |
| Free call blocking | Free to download with paid tiers | Yes, with the built-in list |
| Paid tier | Listed from 4.99 to 89.99 USD | 4.99 USD per week or 29.99 USD per year |
The API nobody can get around
Why Nixring cannot answer a call
Apple gives third-party apps one route into call blocking, the Call Directory extension. It is a list. You publish numbers ahead of time and iOS matches against them. There is no hook that runs when a call arrives, no way to pick up, no way to play audio, and no way to find out afterwards that anything happened.
An app that answers calls therefore is not doing it through that API. It is a telephone service you route your calls into, which is a real product with real advantages and a completely different set of things it needs from you. Nixring has no service, no telephone infrastructure and no server, so it is not an option here.
The consequence for the shield screen. Because iOS never reports a blocked call back, no honest iPhone app can show you a true count of calls it stopped. Nixring shows the number of entries currently shielding you and a real count of texts moved to Junk. Any iPhone app showing a precise blocked-calls total is counting something else.
What is left that works
The parts a list still does well
- Ranges that never move. Premium-rate and shared-cost blocks are allocated by a regulator, so a rule written once keeps working. See how a prefix rule expands.
- Callback bait. One ring scams call from a small set of international ranges. Thirty of those prefixes are in the built-in list already, covered on the one ring page.
- Your own repeat offenders. The number that calls you every Tuesday goes in once and stays blocked.
- No battery cost. Nothing runs in the background. iOS holds the list and does the matching itself.
Free call blocking, no service behind it, nothing to sign up for.
Questions
Frequently asked
Can any iPhone app answer a spam call for me?
Not through the Call Directory API, which is what an app uses to block numbers. Apps that answer calls do it by routing your calls through their own telephone service, which is a different mechanism with different requirements. Nixring does not do this and has no service to route anything through.
Is Nixring cheaper than RoboKiller?
The free tier is, because call blocking with the built-in list costs nothing. RoboKiller is free to download with paid tiers listed on the App Store from 4.99 to 89.99 US dollars. Nixring Pro is 4.99 US dollars per week or 29.99 US dollars per year.
Which one blocks more calls?
RoboKiller, without question. It describes a database of 1.4 billion analysed calls. Nixring ships with 80 numbers. If you are under heavy robocall pressure and want the widest net, RoboKiller is the stronger tool and this page will not pretend otherwise.
Why would anyone pick the smaller list?
Because of what the bigger net costs. RoboKiller's App Store privacy label lists contacts, contact info, coarse location, identifiers and user content including audio, with tracking across apps. Nixring's lists no contacts, no location and no user content. Some people will trade coverage for that and some will not.
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