# Small Talk vs Academia

The clearest difference is update cadence: Small Talk at every 4 months against Academia's every 19 months. Academia's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Small Talk sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Academia sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Small Talk ships an update every 4 months, Academia every 19 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Small Talk | Academia |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (466 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/small-talk-daily-learning/id1272093574/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **466** | — |
| Positive reviews | 81.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 months** | Every 19 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 37 MB | 146 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.5** |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Small Talk](https://appshunter.io/developer/1272093573) | [Online Learning](https://appshunter.io/developer/1790866777) |

## What reviewers say

### Small Talk

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/small-talk-daily-learning/id1272093574)

Start your day with new knowledge, inspiration, and fun. Receive daily facts, quotes, jokes, vocabulary, historical events, and life hacks. An optional upgrade unlocks more content like recipes, riddles, and quizzes.

**Highlights:** Daily inspirational quotes, Fascinating fun facts, Daily jokes, Word of the day, On this day in history, Clever life hacks, Home and lock screen widgets

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited access | $1.99 | per month |
| Unlimited access | $9.49 | per year |
| Unlimited access | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent knowledge and insight
- 👍 Interesting facts and information
- 👍 Useful tips and advice
- 👍 Entertaining and humorous content
- 👍 Ad-free experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
- 🐛 Inaccurate or generalized information
- 💰 Unexpected subscription charges
- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🔍 Difficulty accessing subscription features

**Reported bugs**

- Subscription issues and errors
- Inconsistent or missing data
- Compatibility problems on newer devices

**Requested features**

- Dark mode option
- Ability to search saved items
- More diverse and global content
- Fact-checking sources for information
- Customizable content categories


### Academia

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/academia/id6503684036)

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Package - AT | $34.99 | one-time |
| Package - AV | $34.99 | one-time |
| Package - AW | $39.99 | one-time |
| Package - BC | $39.99 | one-time |
| Package - BD | $39.99 | one-time |
| Package - AY | $39.99 | one-time |
| Package - BE | $44.99 | one-time |
| Package - BG | $49.99 | one-time |
| Package - BH | $49.99 | one-time |
| Package - BF | $49.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Small Talk free?

Small Talk is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Academia free?

Academia is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Small Talk or Academia have ads?

Neither Small Talk nor Academia shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Small Talk or Academia?

Small Talk ships an update every 4 months, and Academia every 19 months. Most recently, Small Talk was updated on October 14, 2026 and Academia on October 3, 2026.

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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.*