The Big Issue UK vs Bylines
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Big Issue UK
Access a weekly news and entertainment magazine with a social justice focus. Explore inspiring community stories and vendor updates. Support a mission to help vulnerable people in the UK.
- Award-winning weekly publication
- Big Community channel with inspiring stories
- Vendor updates and news
- Save favorite articles
- Offline reading
- Night mode and adjustable text size
- Share stories via social media
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The Big Issue is Britain’s only news and entertainment weekly magazine with a social justice focus and a commitment to prevent homelessness, poverty and provide a means for society’s most marginalised to earn a living. Engaging and thought-provoking we take an irreverent look at life, culture and politics challenging orthodoxy through righteous columnists, critics and award-winning features. The Big Issue app provides access to our award-winning weekly publication PLUS our new Big Community channel which provides uplifting and inspiring stories about people and businesses coming together to support the most vulnerable in society. The Big Issue exists to create opportunity for the most vulnerable and marginalised people in the UK to improve their lives. In 2020, the world has changed significantly, and life has not returned to normal, our vendors need your support more than ever and our mission is more important and more challenging than it has been in our 29-year history. Every purchase goes towards supporting The Big Issue’s mission to help the most vulnerable people in the UK to improve their lives. App Features - The Big Issue app is free which gives access to our Big Community channel. - Read each magazine every Monday, before it goes on general sale - Stay plugged into our Big Community channel – live story feed, curated to provide positive and inspiring stories of people working together in the teeth of adversity - Big Issue vendor update – fascinating daily news on how our network of vendors are coping at this time - Fully optimised for your iPad and iPhone - Save your favourite articles to the Saved Articles section - Choose the number of issues saved on your device to save on memory - Easy reading with our night mode and adjustable text size - Download the edition and read offline at your leisure - Share your favourite stories with family and friends through Twitter and Facebook Terms of Use: https://www.bigissue.com/terms-of-use/
Bylines
Access all content from the Byline Network, including regional publications, TV videos, and articles. This app serves as a central hub for citizen journalism, allowing users to read, share, and stay updated on the latest news.
- Access Byline Network content
- Read regional publications
- Watch Byline TV videos
- Browse Byline Times articles
- Share articles
- Refresh for new content
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The Bylines app pulls together all the up-to-date streams from everything Byline(s). That means all the publications of the Bylines Network of regional publications, plus Byline TV videos and Byline Times articles. It’s your one-stop-shop for exploring the Byline universe! Read the latest Bylines publication for your region, or browse all Byline channels. Share articles, visit the home site for any of the streams for more in-depth reading, and pull-down to refresh at any time to check for new articles. Stay up to date with the latest in citizen journalism.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Bylines at none against The Big Issue UK's 10. Bylines also leads on review sentiment (87% vs 67%) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 7 months). The Big Issue UK's advantage is ratings volume (22 vs 3). On price, rating, ads and device support 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 Big Issue UK sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $33.99 per 3 months. Bylines asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for The Big Issue UK against 5.0 for Bylines. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Big Issue UK has 22 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of The Big Issue UK's written reviews are positive against 87% of Bylines's.
The Big Issue UK ships an update every 7 months, Bylines every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.
| Parameter | The Big Issue UK | Bylines |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (22 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 86.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 22 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The Big Issue Group Ltd | Cliff Mitchell |
Customer experience
The Big Issue UK
Bylines
In-app purchases
The Big Issue UK
- 3-month Subscription$33.993 Months
- 12-month Subscription$134.991 Year
- Issue#1418$2.99
- Issue#1422$2.99
- Issue#1423$2.99
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Issue#1426$2.99
- Issue#1435$2.99
- Issue#1447$2.99
- Issue#1517$2.99
- Issue#1610$3.99
Bylines
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is The Big Issue UK free?
Is Bylines free?
Which has better reviews, The Big Issue UK or Bylines?
Do The Big Issue UK or Bylines have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Big Issue UK or Bylines?
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