Comparison

NewsPal vs Stacks

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

Head to head
About

NewsPal

Save your favorite websites to read later without an internet connection. Automatically download fresh content while you sleep, with AI-powered updates. Enjoy an ad-free experience and keep your data private.

Highlights
  • Offline website reading
  • Scheduled content downloads
  • AI-powered auto-updates
  • Ad and tracker removal
  • Privacy-focused, no login required
  • Expandable download limits via subscription
Features
Read full description

THE PLACE FOR UNINTERRUPTIBLE READING EXPERIENCE. Are you sick and tired of being forced to play games when you're stuck on the subway? So were we, so we built NewsPal - an app which saves your favorite websites and let you read them later, without any Internet connection. NewsPal downloads every single layer of a website, allowing you to navigate and access your content from anywhere, even in your underground bunker. SET IT AND FORGET IT! NewsPal provides the ability to set download schedulers. This means that you can set NewsPal to automatically grab the latest version of your favorite websites while you sleep and every day you have a fresh copy ready to go for the morning commute. We use an AI-powered autoupdate feature, which will learn your usage pattern, and will adjust your content refresh time respectively. NO ADS, YOUR DATA IS YOURS! Enjoy Ad-Free reading - NewsPal automatically attempts to remove the advertisements and trackers of any website it downloads. You do not need to login to NewsPal: we do not collect your personal information, preferences and interests, and will never sell your data. NEWSPAL PREMIUM You can buy a NewsPal Premium subscription to expand beyond the free-tier 200 MB download limit. NewsPal Premium subscription price starts at $0.99 USD/month or $7.99 USD/year. Prices are in US dollars, may vary in countries other than the US and are subject to change without notice. If you choose to purchase NewsPal Premium, payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Auto-renewal may be turned off at any time by going to your settings in the iTunes Store after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when you purchases a subscription. Privacy policy: https://www.forestudio.ca/newspal/policy.html Terms & Conditions: https://www.forestudio.ca/newspal/terms.html

About

Stacks

A distraction-free reader for newsletters, blogs, and podcasts that downloads content for offline access. Enjoy your favorite content anywhere, even without an internet connection, with smart automatic downloads and a clean interface.

Highlights
  • Fully offline content access
  • Smart automatic downloading
  • Distraction-free reading interface
  • Built-in podcast player
  • Fast full-text search
  • Private by design, no account needed
Features
Read full description

Stacks is a calm, fully offline reader for the newsletters, blogs, and podcasts you already follow. Add any Substack or RSS feed and Stacks downloads the full articles, images, and podcast episodes to your iPhone so you can read and listen anywhere, even with no signal. On a plane, on the subway, off the grid: nothing buffers, nothing reloads. WHY YOU'LL LIKE IT • Truly offline — full article text, images, and audio are stored on your device for reading and listening with no connection. • A clean, distraction-free reader with adjustable text size, light and dark themes, and a built-in podcast player. • Smart automatic downloading keeps your latest posts ready and manages storage for you. • Fast full-text search across everything you've saved. • Collapsible comment threads, when you want them. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Stacks has no servers of its own, no account, and no analytics. Everything it downloads stays on your device and goes nowhere else. No tracking, no ads. No account is required: just add a feed and pull to refresh. ——— Not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Substack Inc.

Screenshots

NewsPal4 screens
Stacks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Stacks at 5.0 against NewsPal's 4.1. Stacks also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 6) and update cadence (daily vs every 2 months). NewsPal's advantage is ratings volume (25 vs 2) and device support (3 vs 1). On price and ads 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. NewsPal sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Stacks asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Stacks holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NewsPal has 25 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of NewsPal's written reviews are positive against 100% of Stacks's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NewsPal ships an update every 2 months, Stacks daily. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
NewsPal versus Stacks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNewsPalStacks
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (25 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings25 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFORE STUDIO LTD.Richard Russell

Customer experience

NewsPal

All ratings24 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral4.2%
Negative20.8%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative12.5%

Stacks

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

6 purchases

NewsPal

Subscriptions6
  • Bronze - Up to 500 MB$0.991 Month
  • Gold - Up To 2 GB$1.991 Month
  • Platinum - Up to 10 GB$3.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Bronze - Up to 500 MB$7.991 Year
  • Gold - Up to 2 GB$15.991 Year
  • Platinum - Up to 10 GB$29.991 Year
None

Stacks

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NewsPal free?
NewsPal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Stacks free?
Stacks is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NewsPal or Stacks?
Stacks is rated higher. NewsPal averages 4.1 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while Stacks averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do NewsPal or Stacks have ads?
Neither NewsPal nor Stacks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NewsPal or Stacks?
NewsPal ships an update every 2 months, and Stacks daily. Most recently, NewsPal was updated on November 3, 2026 and Stacks on October 31, 2026.

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