theSkimm vs Good News Network
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
theSkimm
Stay informed with daily news summaries, in-depth articles on career, health, and finance, and engaging podcasts. Discover personalized recommendations and integrate events into your calendar to live smarter.
- Daily news summaries
- In-depth articles
- Podcasts
- Personalized calendar integration
- Curated recommendations
- Career, health, and finance topics
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Meet: theSkimm app. We’ve got you covered on all the news and info you need to start your day. Think: news, podcasts, curated picks, and a personalized calendar to help you live your smartest life. Try the app for free. After that, pay less than a cup of coffee a month. Wake up with us. It all starts with the Daily Skimm – the morning newsletter that connects the dots on how the biggest stories affect your life. Dive deeper. We help you navigate the complicated topics around your career, health, and wallet. Listen in. Meet our podcasts: “Skimm This” explains the week’s biggest stories. “Skimm’d from the Couch” features advice from female leaders. Stay up-to-date. Our calendar integrates with yours so you never miss important moments, like awards shows, elections, and more. Discover more. We Skimm your shopping cart, streaming queue, and bookshelf. We'll help you discover things quicker, so you can spend your downtime smarter. ------- In-app purchase subscription required. All monthly subscriptions begin with a free trial, after which a recurring charge of $2.99 per month. All yearly subscriptions are charged $29.99 at the time of purchase, with a recurring charge billed annually. Details: - Subscription options: monthly subscription of $2.99 per month, or yearly subscription of $29.99 per year - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period - theSkimm's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use can be visited at http://theskimm.com/privacy - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication
Good News Network
Discover uplifting and inspiring stories from around the globe. This app provides a daily feed of positive news, offering an alternative to the usual negative reports. Enjoy an ad-free experience with an optional subscription.
- Daily positive news feed
- Uplifting and inspiring stories
- Ad-free experience
- Global news coverage
- Trusted source for good news
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Tired of the constant negative news reports? The Good News Network app delivers daily positive news from around the world right to your phone. Trusted by millions of readers for 22 years, GoodNewsNetwork.org is #1 on Google for 'good news'. Our 590,000 fans on Facebook love our daily feed of uplifting, inspiring stories — Daily Dose of News to Enthuse! Via in-app subscription, enjoy an ad-free experience for $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year. Cancel anytime. Your subscription will automatically renew each month or year, and your credit card will be charged through your App Store account. You can turn off auto-renew at any time in your App Store account settings. For information about our privacy policy, please click here: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/privacy-policy/ For more information about our terms of use, please click here: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/more/legal/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: theSkimm at free with in-app purchases against Good News Network's subscription. theSkimm also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (13K vs 820). Good News Network's advantage is review sentiment (63% vs 41%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. theSkimm sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Good News Network sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
theSkimm holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: theSkimm has 13K ratings behind it against 820, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 41% of theSkimm's written reviews are positive against 63% of Good News Network's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
theSkimm ships an update every 2 months, Good News Network every 3 months. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.
| Parameter | theSkimm | Good News Network |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (13K ratings) — better | 4.5 (820 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 40.7% of reviews | 62.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 13K — better | 820 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 28 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | theSkimm | Good News Network, LLC |
Customer experience
theSkimm
Good News Network
User reviews
theSkimm
From 13K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📰 Concise and informative news
- 🗓️ Helpful calendar integration
- 🎧 Useful audio content
- 👍 Easy to stay informed
- 🤗 Entertaining and engaging
Room to improve
- 🤑 Paid subscription required
- 🗣️ Perceived political bias
- 🔗 Accidental link clicks while scrolling
- 🚫 Limited content for non-US users
Good News Network
From 820 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌟 Uplifting and inspiring stories
- 👍 Provides a positive news alternative
- 🌍 Covers a wide range of good news globally
- 💡 Restores faith in humanity
- 😊 Brightens the day
Room to improve
- 🔍 Inconsistent content quality
- 🔍 Occasional political bias in articles
- 💤 Stale or outdated content
- 🔍 Lack of relevant news coverage
- 🔍 Excessive and intrusive advertisements
Bugs and requests
theSkimm
Reported bugs
2 issues- App crashes and freezes
- Issues with 'Do Not Sell My Information' feature
Requested features
4 requests- Offline content access
- More international news coverage
- Customizable news preferences
- Ability to remove ads for paid subscribers
Good News Network
Reported bugs
3 issues- Frequent crashes and app instability
- Broken article links and unresponsive content
- Slow loading times and performance issues
Requested features
5 requests- Dark mode option
- More frequent content updates
- Ability to share articles easily
- Better categorization and filtering of news
- Paid subscription option to remove ads
In-app purchases
theSkimm
- theSkimm Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- theSkimm Yearly$29.991 Year
Good News Network
- Good News Network Monthly$2.991 Month
- Good News Network - Annual$29.991 Year
Questions
Is theSkimm free?
Is Good News Network free?
Which has better reviews, theSkimm or Good News Network?
Do theSkimm or Good News Network have ads?
Which is updated more often, theSkimm or Good News Network?
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