# Speak News vs Surfboard

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Speak News at 33% against Surfboard's 0%. Speak News also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). Surfboard's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and price ($4.99 vs $9.99). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Speak News costs $9.99 and Surfboard $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Surfboard holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 33% of Speak News's written reviews are positive against 0% of Surfboard's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Speak News ships an update every 2 months, Surfboard fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Speak News | Surfboard |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $9.99 | **$4.99** |
| Rating | [4.7 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/speak-news-rss-news-reader/id1117146910/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/surfboard-rss-reader/id6475021166/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | **33.3% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | **#56** | #116 |
| Size | 23 MB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Imaja](https://appshunter.io/developer/405583561) | [Ian Leon](https://appshunter.io/developer/998975439) |

## What reviewers say

### Speak News

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/speak-news-rss-news-reader/id1117146910)

**Currently charting:** #56 Top Paid · News (US App Store)

This app reads news stories from various sources aloud using text-to-speech. It offers hands-free listening, offline access, and customizable display options. Seamlessly integrate with Siri for voice commands and enjoy a personalized news experience.

**Highlights:** Text-to-speech news reading, Siri integration for hands-free control, Offline story access, Customizable display styles, iCloud bookmark syncing, Background feed updating, Media controls on lock screen

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Surfboard

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/surfboard-rss-reader/id6475021166)

**Currently charting:** #116 Top Paid · News (US App Store)

This app acts as a personalized news aggregator, allowing users to easily organize and curate content from various online sources into a single, streamlined feed. It offers a customizable reading experience with features like dark/light mode adaptation and respects system text size settings for accessibility.

**Highlights:** Effortless URL management, Customizable content curation by topics, Streamlined single feed, SwiftUI interface, SwiftData for reliable data handling, System setting adaptation (dark/light mode), Accessibility-focused design

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Speak News free?

Speak News costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Surfboard free?

Surfboard costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Speak News or Surfboard?

Surfboard is rated higher. Speak News averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Surfboard averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Speak News or Surfboard have ads?

Neither Speak News nor Surfboard shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Speak News or Surfboard?

Speak News ships an update every 2 months, and Surfboard fortnightly. Most recently, Speak News was updated on November 2, 2026 and Surfboard on November 4, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Speak News or Surfboard?

Speak News currently peaks at #56 in the App Store charts, and Surfboard at #116. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*