Comparison

theSkimm vs Stream

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Daily news summaries
  • In-depth articles
  • Podcasts
  • Personalized calendar integration
  • Curated recommendations
  • Career, health, and finance topics
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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

About

Stream

Consolidate all your news feeds into a single, unified timeline. Offers a clean interface, easy import of existing lists, and support for open reading standards for a fresh user experience.

Highlights
  • Unified feed timeline
  • Simple user interface
  • Import existing lists
  • Supports open reading standards
Features
Read full description

With Stream all your feeds appear as a unified timeline. With its simple user interface, ability to import existing lists, and support for open reading standards, Stream is a great choice if you're looking for a different experience.

Screenshots

theSkimm4 screens
Stream4 screens

Verdict

The call

theSkimm and Stream both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 86% of Stream's written reviews are positive against 41% of theSkimm's. theSkimm's advantage is ratings volume (13K vs 21) and chart position (#195 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. theSkimm sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Stream sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

theSkimm holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: theSkimm has 13K ratings behind it against 21, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 41% of theSkimm's written reviews are positive against 86% of Stream's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

theSkimm ships an update every 2 months, Stream every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
theSkimm versus Stream: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametertheSkimmStream
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (13K ratings) — better4.6 (21 ratings)
Positive reviews40.7% of reviews85.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13K — better21
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#195 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB16 MB
Age rating17+17+
DevelopertheSkimmRob Fahrni

Customer experience

theSkimm

All ratings13,230 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral2.0%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews150 reviews
Positive40.7%
Neutral7.3%
Negative52.0%

Stream

All ratings21 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral9.5%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral7.1%
Negative7.1%

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

Stream

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

theSkimm

Subscriptions2
  • theSkimm Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • theSkimm Yearly$29.991 Year
4 purchases

Stream

One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$1.99
  • Large Tip$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Enormous Tip$9.99

Questions

Is theSkimm free?
theSkimm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Stream free?
Stream is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, theSkimm or Stream?
theSkimm is rated higher. theSkimm averages 4.8 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while Stream averages 4.6 from 21 ratings.
Do theSkimm or Stream have ads?
Neither theSkimm nor Stream shows ads.
Which is updated more often, theSkimm or Stream?
theSkimm ships an update every 2 months, and Stream every 3 months. Most recently, theSkimm was updated on October 21, 2026 and Stream on October 8, 2026.

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