Comparison

The National vs Coding User

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

Head to head
About

The National

Access comprehensive coverage of Scottish news, politics, business, and culture. Enjoy insightful analysis, opinion pieces, and in-depth reporting. Stay updated with live news, read the digital paper, and enjoy interactive puzzles and audio articles.

Highlights
  • Live news updates
  • Ad-free reading experience
  • Daily digital newspapers
  • Interactive puzzles
  • Article audio player
Features
Read full description

The National is a dynamic newspaper providing comprehensive coverage of current affairs, politics, business, culture, and more. With a strong focus on national and international news, it offers insightful analysis, thought-provoking opinion pieces and in-depth reporting. As the first newspaper in Scotland to be written in support of independence, we thrive to provide our readers with top quality content covering Scottish affairs in politics & business as well as the latest sports and special features. The National app is the best way to keep up to date with all the breaking news, politics, sports and events in Scotland and gives you the following great features… • Live Updates: Get the latest Scottish news, politics and sport as it happens • Ad-Free Reading: No ads, no pop-ups, no distractions • Daily Digital Newspapers: Read the paper in full, cover to cover • Interactive Puzzles: Play new crosswords, sudoku and more every day • Article Audio Player: Listen to articles and create content playlists All subscriptions are auto-renewing. Payment for this subscription will be charged to your Apple account upon purchase. The subscription will auto-renew within 24 hours of the current subscription expiring, at the same rate as the initial purchase. Auto-renewing subscriptions can be managed via Account Settings allowing them to be turned off. No cancellations of the current subscription are allowed during the active subscription period. Privacy Policy - https://www.newsquest.co.uk/our-policies/privacy-policy/ Terms of Use - https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Coding User

Access comprehensive guides and tutorials on coding and programming. Learn about Linux, Ubuntu, Raspberry Pi, and more with illustrated content from a leading tech publisher. Carry your coding knowledge with you anytime, anywhere.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step coding guides
  • Latest tech build publications
  • Illustrated content
  • Linux, Ubuntu, Raspberry Pi tutorials
  • Pocketmags account integration
  • Offline access recommended via Wi-Fi download
Features
Read full description

Coding and programming are skills that are in great demand. Being able to show that you have learnt and now understand a programming language is going to look great on a CV. Even more than that, learning to code is fun and rewarding, and will help you feel smarter and more creative. This app is designed to take you directly into the world of coding, giving you the skills to become an expert in the making. Step-by-step guides and tutorials to help you gain all the coding knowledge you need. Featuring unique and original publications on all the latest builds of key coding tools. Easy-to-understand, fully illustrated content, written with the info hungry reader in mind. Quickly improve your understanding of Linux, Ubuntu, Raspberry Pi and much more. From one of the leading publishers in tech bookazines, you can now carry Papercut’s Coding User guides to coding and programming with you at all times! ---------------------------------------------- This is a free app download. Within the app users can purchase the current issue and back issues. Subscriptions are also available within the application. A subscription will start from the latest regular issue at the time of purchase. -The subscription will renew automatically unless cancelled more than 24 hours before the end of the current period. You will be charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of the current period, for the same duration and at the current subscription rate for the product. -You may turn off the auto-renewal of subscriptions through your Account Settings, however you are not able to cancel the current subscription during its active period. -Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase and any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when a subscription to that publication is purchased. -If a subscription offers a free trial, at the end of the trial period, you will be charged the full price of the subscription. You may cancel a subscription during its free trial period via the subscription settings on your iTunes account. This must be done 24 hours before the end of the subscription period to avoid being charged. Users can register for/ login to a pocketmags account in-app. This will protect their issues in the case of a lost device and allow browsing of purchases on multiple platforms. Existing pocketmags users can retrieve their purchases by logging into their account. We recommend loading the app for the first time in a wi-fi area so that all issue data is retrieved. If your app will not load past the splash page after a first install or an update, please delete and reinstall the app from the App Store Help and frequently asked questions can be accessed in-app and on pocketmags. If you have any problems at all please do not hesitate to contact us: help@pocketmags.com -------------------- You can find our privacy policy here: http://www.pocketmags.com/privacy.aspx You can find our terms and conditions here: http://www.pocketmags.com/terms.aspx

Screenshots

The National4 screens
Coding User4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Coding User at free with in-app purchases against The National's subscription. Coding User also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). The National's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 5 months vs every 25 months). On price, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. The National sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $4.49 per 7 days and Coding User sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The National ships an update every 5 months, Coding User every 25 months. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
The National versus Coding User: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe NationalCoding User
PriceFreeFree
Rating—1.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews21.4% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 months — betterEvery 25 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size138 MB43 MB
Age rating+174+
DeveloperNewsquestPapercut

Customer experience

The National

Written reviews28 reviews
Positive21.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative64.3%

Coding User

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

9 purchases

The National

Subscriptions9
  • Weekly Subscription$4.497 Days
  • Weekly Subscription$4.997 Days
  • Monthly Subscription$14.491 Month
Show 6 more
  • Monthly Subscription$16.991 Month
  • Quarterly Subscription$40.993 Months
  • Quarterly Subscription$46.993 Months
  • 6 Month Subscription$76.996 Months
  • 6 Month Subscription$89.996 Months
  • Annual Subscription2 variants$129.991 Year
13 purchases

Coding User

Subscriptions1
  • Coding User$9.991 Year
One-time12
  • Spring 2023 (id:704054)$3.99
  • Raspberry Pi Ma... (id:763560)$4.99
  • The Python Manual (id:763563)$4.99
Show 9 more
  • Linux Open Sour... (id:763562)$4.99
  • Linux, Tips, Ha... (id:764418)$4.99
  • Coding for Begi... (id:764659)$4.99
  • Raspberry Pi – ... (id:764715)$4.99
  • The Ubuntu Manual (id:763561)$4.99
  • Python Manual (id:805973)$7.99
  • Linux Manual (id:805910)$7.99
  • Complete Raspbe... (id:805908)$7.99
  • Raspberry Pi Tr... (id:809261)$9.99

Questions

Is The National free?
The National is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Coding User free?
Coding User is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do The National or Coding User have ads?
Coding User shows ads; The National does not.
Which is updated more often, The National or Coding User?
The National ships an update every 5 months, and Coding User every 25 months. Most recently, The National was updated on October 10, 2026 and Coding User on October 2, 2026.

Other comparisons