Comparison

The Ken vs FT Digital Edition

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

Head to head
About

The Ken

Access in-depth business journalism from India with original stories, podcasts, and infographics. Enjoy offline reading, community interaction, and personalized features. A subscription unlocks full content and premium benefits.

Highlights
  • Deeply reported original stories
  • Immersive podcasts with transcripts
  • Rich infographics for visual understanding
  • Offline reading and saving
  • Subscriber community interaction
  • Personalized reading experience (dark mode, font size)
Read full description

Experience powerful business journalism that connects the dots with The Ken, India’s pioneering media publication. Read deeply reported, original stories, immersive podcasts, rich infographics, and sharp newsletters from some of the best reporters and writers in the region, to understand not just the news, but why it’s happening and what comes next. Go ahead and subscribe to our top-rate app. You’ll love it because it lets you: Read our stories and newsletters on the go: Browse, search, and save stories and newsletters you want to read while you’re travelling, commuting, or on that flight, even without an active internet connection. Never encounter a paywall once you have a subscription: Paywalled publications need you to be signed in all the time on your browser. On our mobile app, just login once, and it’s there all the time. We deep-link to our mobile app in all the emails we send, so this gives you a seamless experience. Flip through stunning visual stories about businesses: Our infographics are as rich as the stories we write. If you are short on time, you can simply flip through our infographics and get the story. It’s perfect for those occasions when you want to visually understand businesses, without having to read longform articles. Browse and read transcripts of our widely loved podcasts: A collection of original podcasts that cover the most interesting workplaces, careers, and business trends, along with candid conversations with founders and business leaders. Charting consistently on all major podcast platforms. Interact with other subscribers: Our community comprises some of the sharpest and most ambitious CXOs, leaders, executives, and students. Read their comments, reply to them, and join the debate. All from your phone. In addition, subscribers can gift and unlock stories for non-subscribers, and personalise their reading experience with features such as dark mode, adjustable font sizes, and much more. Haven’t made up your mind? No problem. You can still sign up and enjoy the free experience. Subscription: Access to The Ken requires a subscription. You can purchase a subscription to The Ken via our app. You can also sign up for free to experience our journalism and products. What you get when you subscribe via our app: - Complete access to all our products—stories, newsletters, visual stories, and podcasts - Unlimited archive access - Gift 10 premium stories per month and 5 subscriptions to your loved ones. - Upto 3 devices allowed per subscription - Device access— Mobile + iPad - Priority access to new product offerings, community features, and events - Daily morning emails and weekly recap emails - Get alerts and notifications to stay updated Payment and auto renewal terms: If you subscribe to The Ken via this app, payment will be charged by Apple to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription will get automatically renewed unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. To cancel, please turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can turn off auto-renew at any time from your iTunes account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. Terms of Use: Privacy Policy - The Ken : https://the-ken.com/privacy-policy/ Terms and Conditions - The Ken : https://the-ken.com/terms-and-conditions/ Apple Terms and Conditions : https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/ If you have any questions or feedback, just email support@the-ken.com.

About

FT Digital Edition

Access the daily Financial Times newspaper delivered to your device. Enjoy exclusive digital magazines, translated articles, and a decade of archives. Listen to audio versions of top stories and read offline.

Highlights
  • Daily newspaper delivered to device
  • Exclusive digital magazines
  • Translated articles in 30+ languages
  • Browse 10 years of previous editions
  • Audio versions of top stories
  • Download for offline reading
  • Global editions and classic layout
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Your daily Financial Times newspaper, delivered to your device when it goes to print. Now with search to quickly find and save articles across editions. WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT FROM THE FT APP • View global print editions editions in 3 reading modes • Editor-curated news in a classic newspaper layout • Exclusive digital access to FT magazines normally available only in print • Translate articles into 30+ languages • Access previous editions of the newspaper dating back 15 years APP FEATURES: • Search for and save articles across editions • Listen to articles with AI audio • Download editions to read offline • Set alerts to stay ahead of the day's news • Change the font size for easier reading EXCLUSIVE MAGAZINES INCLUDE: • HTSI (formerly ‘How To Spend It’): The FT's weekly, multi-award-winning luxury lifestyle magazine covering fashion, design, and the arts • FT Weekend Magazine: A supplement to the weekend edition of the Financial Times, featuring long-form journalism, investigations, photography, and international reporting • FT Wealth: Insights into wealth management and luxury living • The Art of Fashion: A special edition exploring the intersection of art and fashion • Business Education: Insights into executive education, MBA programs, and leadership development READING MODES • Headline view for quick browsing • Article view optimized for reading • Replica view to enjoy the full newspaper layout IS FT DIGITAL EDITION FOR YOU? Whether you're navigating global markets, exploring culture, or seeking fresh perspectives, the FT Digital Edition delivers expert, independent journalism you can trust. From Wall Street to Hong Kong, FT covers markets, politics, technology, climate policy, and industry-leading social research. Track economic shifts, follow business trends, and explore cultural movements with FT’s analysis and expertise. With reporting from over 50 countries, translation available in 30+ languages, and exclusive magazine content—including HTSI, FT Weekend Magazine, and FT Wealth—the FT Digital Edition is for those who think critically about the world. Whether you're planning your next trip to a cultural capital, deepening your understanding of global finance, or seeking fresh literary and lifestyle insights, stay engaged, informed, and inspired with FT. FINANCIAL TIMES ADVANTAGE: • Accurate, independent, and insightful journalism since 1888 • Unbiased reporting: expert commentary and analysis on business, politics, economics, finance, and more • Coverage across arts, real estate, fashion, food, books, technology, and beyond WHAT DOES IT COST? The FT Digital Edition offers comprehensive coverage and great value. Monthly pricing starts from $12.99, with discounts available for longer terms. Subscribe via the app or at https://www.ft.com/todaysnewspaper Terms and conditions apply. Read them at ft.com/terms We respect your privacy. Read our privacy policy at ft.com/privacy

Screenshots

The Ken4 screens
FT Digital Edition4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: FT Digital Edition at free with in-app purchases against The Ken's subscription. FT Digital Edition also leads on ratings volume (3K vs 132) and chart position (#199 vs unranked). The Ken's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.6). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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 Ken sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $25.00 per month and FT Digital Edition sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $16.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FT Digital Edition holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FT Digital Edition has 3K ratings behind it against 132, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of The Ken's written reviews are positive against 63% of FT Digital Edition's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Ken ships an update every 9 days, FT Digital Edition every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
The Ken versus FT Digital Edition: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe KenFT Digital Edition
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (132 ratings)4.8 (3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.4% of reviews63.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1323K — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank—#199 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size83 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKenrise Media Private LimitedFinancial Times Ltd.

Customer experience

The Ken

All ratings132 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral2.3%
Negative6.1%
Written reviews63 reviews
Positive52.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative33.3%

FT Digital Edition

All ratings2,876 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral1.4%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews93 reviews
Positive63.4%
Neutral7.5%
Negative29.0%

User reviews

The Ken

From 132 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✨ High-quality content
  • 🧠 Deep insights and analysis
  • ✍️ Excellent storytelling
  • 👍 Clean interface
  • 🚀 Smooth navigation

Room to improve

  • 📉 Content quality degraded
  • 👎 No specific insights
  • 👎 Distinctive content copied
  • 🐛 App glitching on iOS
  • 🐛 Crashes when clicking Explore

FT Digital Edition

From 3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Smooth, savvy, and clean interface
  • 👍 Streamlined and intuitive app experience
  • 👍 Excellent for offline reading
  • 👍 Automatic downloads of the latest edition
  • 👍 Ability to access different regional editions

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Connectivity issues, app unable to connect at times
  • 🐛 Struggles with unfamiliar IP addresses when traveling
  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes, especially on the cookie page
  • 🐛 Counterintuitive and clunky user interface
  • 🐛 Formatting issues, with text and images not rendering properly

Bugs and requests

The Ken

Reported bugs

16 issues
  • App crashes when clicking Explore
  • Most stories cannot be opened
  • App says 'Something went wrong'
  • Frequent update requests
  • App crashes frequently
Show 11 more
  • Newsletter section in the iOS app for iPads refuses to load
  • Unable to login
  • App stopped refreshing
  • App gets stuck while reading stories and doesn't scroll
  • Saved stories not showing up
  • Unable to open articles in the app ('Something went wrong')
  • App times out in 10-15 mins
  • Keyboard blocks navigation on search screen
  • App refreshes to story feed when returning
  • Cannot resize text
  • App crashes all the time

Requested features

17 requests
  • Listen to podcasts in background without downloading
  • Audio version of articles
  • Highlighting feature
  • Save notes within the app
  • Option to zoom in on images/infographics
Show 12 more
  • Save for later option for linked articles
  • Search functionality within the app
  • iPad optimized app
  • Offline reading support
  • Internal dictionary or highlight/search
  • Lookup feature (iOS inbuilt dictionary)
  • Dark mode
  • Grace period for accessing previous content after subscription ends
  • Improve app for iPad
  • More monetary incentives for non-subscribers
  • Voice to text option for articles
  • Remember notification preference

FT Digital Edition

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to log in and access the subscription
  • Rendering issues with hyphens and other special characters
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between online and offline modes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Implement a full-screen mode for better reading experience
  • Add a dark mode option for comfortable reading
  • Improve the text-to-speech (audio) functionality to handle non-text elements better
  • Introduce a search feature to easily find articles and content
  • Enhance the offline reading capabilities to ensure consistent availability

In-app purchases

2 purchases

The Ken

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium$25.001 Month
  • Yearly Premium$150.001 Year
2 purchases

FT Digital Edition

Subscriptions2
  • FT Digital Edition Monthly$16.991 Month
  • FT Digital Edition$45.003 Months

Questions

Is The Ken free?
The Ken is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is FT Digital Edition free?
FT Digital Edition is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Ken or FT Digital Edition?
FT Digital Edition is rated higher. The Ken averages 4.7 out of 5 from 132 ratings, while FT Digital Edition averages 4.8 from 3K ratings.
Do The Ken or FT Digital Edition have ads?
Neither The Ken nor FT Digital Edition shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Ken or FT Digital Edition?
The Ken ships an update every 9 days, and FT Digital Edition every 3 weeks. Most recently, The Ken was updated on October 24, 2026 and FT Digital Edition on October 25, 2026.

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