Comparison

Idler vs UnHerd

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

Head to head
About

Idler

This bi-monthly journal offers a fun, fulfilling escape from busy life with interviews, essays, history, philosophy, and arts coverage. Discover content on the good life, including recipes and guides, to make you feel better about life.

Highlights
  • Interviews and essays on the good life
  • Coverage of history, philosophy, and arts
  • Beautiful photography and original illustration
  • Recipes and practical guides
  • Digital journal format
  • Purchase current and back issues
Features
Read full description

The Idler was launched by Tom Hodgkinson back in 1993 with the intention of providing a dose of fun, freedom and fulfilment in a busy world. We're now a bi-monthly journal, and in every issue you'll find an enthralling mix of interviews, essays on the good life, history, philosophy, arts coverage, beautiful photography and original illustration. You'll find much to laugh at and much useful stuff as well, from Modern Toss to recipes for making bacon and guides to beekeeping. If you've ever felt that there's more to life than boring jobs, then why not join us? The Idler is a cheering read that makes you feel better about life. So study the art of living and download our app. ---------------------------------------------- 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 issue. Available subscriptions are: 12 months: £39.99 / $40.99 / €44.99 (6 issues) -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. 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 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

About

UnHerd

Access a curated collection of articles, videos, and podcasts from a leading publication. Save content for offline reading and receive timely notifications for new editions and must-read pieces. Customize your feed with UK or US editions.

Highlights
  • Offline article reading
  • Content notifications
  • All content in one place
  • UK or US edition feeds
  • Save favorite articles
Features
Read full description

The brand new UnHerd app offers readers the best app experience, wherever you are, with the ability to store up your favourite articles to be read later. Key Features: • The best experience - read UnHerd wherever you are • Notifications we’ll make sure to notify you of the new daily edition, or a piece we really think you shouldn’t miss • All our content in one place from videos, podcasts to the latest articles, the app brings you all of UnHerd’s content in one place • Read articles while you're offline • Choose between the UK or US edition timeline to get the most relevant stories in your feed Please note: Watching video may incur additional mobile network and/or WiFi charges.

Screenshots

Idler4 screens
UnHerd4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: UnHerd at 62% against Idler's 0%. Idler's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, 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. Idler sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $35.99 per year and UnHerd sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Idler versus UnHerd: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIdlerUnHerd
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.8 (858 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews61.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—858 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS10.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size72 MB37 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperJellyfish Connect LimitedUnHerd

Customer experience

Idler

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

UnHerd

All ratings818 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral1.6%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews60 reviews
Positive61.7%
Neutral5.0%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

Idler

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

UnHerd

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App frequently logs users out
  • Inconsistent content availability between app and website
  • Recaptcha issues preventing commenting

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add audio/podcast option for articles
  • Improve app stability and login experience
  • Provide better content discoverability
  • Enhance subscription management features

In-app purchases

14 purchases

Idler

Subscriptions1
  • The Idler 12M Auto Sub$35.991 Year
One-time13
  • Idler 64, Jan/F... (id:802489)$6.99
  • Idler 67, July/... (id:802457)$6.99
  • Nov/Dec 2019 (id:802453)$6.99
Show 10 more
  • Idler May/June ... (id:803095)$6.99
  • Idler 60, May/J... (id:806422)$7.99
  • Issue 58, Jan/F... (id:806424)$7.99
  • May/Jun 2023 (pp:916458)$7.99
  • Jan/Feb 2024 (pp:1026908)$7.99
  • Idler 96, May/... (pp:1046845)$7.99
  • Idler 97, July... (pp:1046840)$7.99
  • Idler 101, Mar... (pp:1112908)$7.99
  • #73, July/Aug 2020 (id:808531)$9.99
  • May-Jun 2021 (id:808571)$9.99
2 purchases

UnHerd

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly membership1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • Yearly membership$69.001 Year

Questions

Is Idler free?
Idler is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is UnHerd free?
UnHerd is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Idler or UnHerd have ads?
Neither Idler nor UnHerd shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Idler or UnHerd?
Idler ships an update every 2 months, and UnHerd every 2 months. Most recently, Idler was updated on October 9, 2026 and UnHerd on October 29, 2026.

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