theSkimm vs Black
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
Black
Discover news and stories from influential voices in Black culture. Curate your personal feed, share content with friends, and receive timely updates. Explore content tailored to your interests from top publications.
- Personalized news feed
- Story recommendations
- Share stories with friends
- Push notifications
- Explore by interest
- Curated publications
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Black® collects the news & stories from the world’s greatest influencers of black culture. With all of your black news in one place, it has never been easier to discover the stories that keep you informed, engaged, and inspired. JOIN US ON OUR MISSION TO CHANGE THE GAME. - Create your own feed of stories from the publications you know and trust. - Read, recommend, and share stories with your friends using Facebook, Twitter, iMessage, and Email. - Explore stories that are just for you and based on your interests. - Receive timely push notifications that will keep you in the know. Featured Publications: - The Root - Atlanta Black Star - OkayAfrica - News One - Blavity - BET - Black Enterprise - Ebony - Essence - HuffPost Black Voices - Hello Beautiful - and more! We'd love to hear any feedback you have about Black®. Reach out to our team at team@black.news. Oh, did we mention that we're 100% Black Owned?
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Black at none against theSkimm's 2. Black also leads on review sentiment (67% vs 41%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). theSkimm's advantage is ratings volume (13K vs 675). On price, rating, ads and device support 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. Black asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for theSkimm against 4.7 for Black. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: theSkimm has 13K ratings behind it against 675, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 41% of theSkimm's written reviews are positive against 67% of Black's.
theSkimm ships an update every 2 months, Black fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | theSkimm | Black |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (13K ratings) — better | 4.7 (675 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 40.7% of reviews | 67.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 13K — better | 675 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 94 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | theSkimm | Langston, LLC |
Customer experience
theSkimm
Black
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
Black
From 675 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ⭐ Excellent app for news about the black community
- 🌟 Informative and inspirational content
- 👍 Clean and user-friendly design
- 💯 Promotes black unity and excellence
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional app crashes and freezes
- ⏱️ Slow loading times and content refreshing issues
- 💸 Too many ads and pop-ups
- 🤖 Compatibility issues with older devices
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
Black
Reported bugs
3 issues- Login screen not functioning properly
- Inconsistent article loading and display
- Notifications not always triggering as expected
Requested features
4 requests- Customizable notification settings
- Reader mode for easier article reading
- Social sharing and discussion features
- Dedicated sections for specific topics (e.g., finance, entertainment)
In-app purchases
theSkimm
- theSkimm Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- theSkimm Yearly$29.991 Year
Black
No in-app purchases









