The Critic vs UnHerd
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Critic
This monthly magazine offers in-depth analysis of politics, ideas, art, and literature. It aims to foster honest criticism and intellectual rigor, providing a platform for diverse voices and perspectives.
- Monthly magazine download
- Politics, ideas, art, literature coverage
- In-depth analysis
- Open-minded readership
- Purchase current and back issues
- Subscription options available
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The Critic is Britain’s new monthly magazine for politics, ideas, art, literature and much more. Co-edited by Michael Mosbacher and Christopher Montgomery, The Critic exists to push back against a self-regarding and dangerous consensus that finds critical voices troubling, triggering, insensitive and disrespectful. The point is not provocation or trolling. The point of honest criticism is to better approach truth, not deny its possibility. As we explain in our launch editorial, ossified thought and a lack of intellectual rigour are depressing features of all sides of today’s political and cultural debate. Our writers will subscribe to no editorial line nor serve the interests of any party, faction or cause. We ask them to write because we expect them to be honest, and lucidly so. Look to our contributors and fault us if they are not. ---------------------------------------------- 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
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.
- Offline article reading
- Content notifications
- All content in one place
- UK or US edition feeds
- Save favorite articles
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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
Verdict
The Critic and UnHerd both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 62% of UnHerd's written reviews are positive against 14% of The Critic's. UnHerd also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 34 months) and ratings volume (858 vs 7). The Critic's advantage is iOS requirement (11.2 vs 17.0). 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
Both are free to download. The Critic sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 3 months 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for The Critic against 4.8 for UnHerd. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: UnHerd has 858 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 14% of The Critic's written reviews are positive against 62% of UnHerd's.
The Critic ships an update every 34 months, UnHerd every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Critic | UnHerd |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (7 ratings) | 4.8 (858 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 14.3% of reviews | 61.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 858 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 34 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.2 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | LOCOMOTIVE 6960 LIMITED | UnHerd |
Customer experience
The Critic
UnHerd
Bugs and requests
The Critic
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
The Critic
- The Critic 3M Auto-Renew Sub$9.993 Months
- The Critic 12M Auto-Renew Sub1 Month trial$25.491 Year
- November 2019 (pp:667449)$5.99
- April 2020 (pp:667457)$5.99
- February 2020 (pp:667459)$5.99
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- March 2020 (pp:667458)$5.99
- April 2021 (pp:711174)$5.99
- May 2021 (pp:711169)$5.99
- June 2021 (pp:711164)$5.99
- July 2021 (id:694054)$6.99
- The Critic$39.99
UnHerd
- Monthly membership1 Month trial$9.991 Month
- Yearly membership$69.001 Year
Questions
Is The Critic free?
Is UnHerd free?
Which has better reviews, The Critic or UnHerd?
Do The Critic or UnHerd have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Critic or UnHerd?
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