# The Babylon Bee vs ESN

The clearest difference is monetization model: ESN at free against The Babylon Bee's free with in-app purchases. ESN also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 26.0). The Babylon Bee's advantage is ratings volume (63K vs 1) and chart position (#189 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for The Babylon Bee against 5.0 for ESN. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Babylon Bee has 63K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

The Babylon Bee ships an update every 3 weeks, ESN every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | The Babylon Bee | ESN |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (63K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-babylon-bee/id1475189792/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/esn/id6758865914/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **63K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 94.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#189** | — |
| Size | 16 MB | 33 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [The Babylon Bee, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1475189791) | [Jeffrey Hokenson](https://appshunter.io/developer/1853275522) |

## What reviewers say

### The Babylon Bee

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-babylon-bee/id1475189792)

**Currently charting:** #189 Top Free · News (US App Store)

Access satirical news content with this app. Browse headlines, share articles, and listen to a podcast. Members-only features are available for logged-in users.

**Highlights:** Browse headlines, Share articles, Bookmark articles, Listen to podcast, Members-only features

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Funny and entertaining content
- 🤗 Brightens up the day
- 💯 Reliable and trustworthy news source
- 🔍 Insightful commentary on current events
- 🧠 Intelligent and thought-provoking satire

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional app crashes or freezes
- 🔌 Unreliable app performance
- 🙄 Some users find the satire too biased

**Reported bugs**

- Login issues
- Compatibility problems with older devices

**Requested features**

- Expand content beyond politics and religion
- Improve app stability and reliability
- Add more sharing options and social integration


### ESN

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/esn/id6758865914)

Get essential news quickly with smart bullet-point summaries and an intuitive swipe interface. Access full articles for deeper context when needed. Designed for busy professionals to stay informed without information overload.

**Highlights:** Smart bullet summaries, Swipe-to-browse interface, AI-curated daily feed, One-tap full articles, Save for later, Breaking news alerts, Multiple topics

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is The Babylon Bee free?

The Babylon Bee is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is ESN free?

ESN is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, The Babylon Bee or ESN?

ESN is rated higher. The Babylon Bee averages 4.9 out of 5 from 63K ratings, while ESN averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do The Babylon Bee or ESN have ads?

Neither The Babylon Bee nor ESN shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, The Babylon Bee or ESN?

The Babylon Bee ships an update every 3 weeks, and ESN every 2 weeks. Most recently, The Babylon Bee was updated on October 24, 2026 and ESN on October 7, 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.*