Comparison

The Big Issue UK vs iPhone User

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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/

About

iPhone User

Features
Read full description

Do you want the latest iPhone news, reviews and technical help in one place? You have found it! iPhone User magazine’s high quality content is produced by our in-house expert design and editorial teams to produce the ultimate iPhone magazine for the informed user. Papercut’s iPhone User Magazine brings you the very best reviews and technical help for your iOS powered smartphone, covering all models including the iPhone 14 updates. This is the publication you will need to keep on top of the must know Apple software and iPhone hardware information and technical help from our team of Apple experts. If you use an iPhone you need to click subscribe, right now. 100% unofficial. ---------------------------------------------- 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

Screenshots

The Big Issue UK4 screens
iPhone User4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: The Big Issue UK at every 7 months against iPhone User's every 30 months. iPhone User's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. The Big Issue UK sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $33.99 per 3 months and iPhone User sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Big Issue UK ships an update every 7 months, iPhone User every 30 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
The Big Issue UK versus iPhone User: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Big Issue UKiPhone User
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (22 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings22 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 7 months — betterEvery 30 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Big Issue Group LtdPapercut

In-app purchases

14 purchases

The Big Issue UK

Subscriptions2
  • 3-month Subscription$33.993 Months
  • 12-month Subscription$134.991 Year
One-time12
  • Issue#1418$2.99
  • Issue#1421$2.99
  • Issue#1422$2.99
Show 9 more
  • Issue#1423$2.99
  • Issue#1426$2.99
  • Issue#1435$2.99
  • Issue#1447$2.99
  • Issue#1517$2.99
  • Issue#1593$3.99
  • Issue#1610$3.99
  • Issue#1658$3.99
  • Issue#1619$3.99
16 purchases

iPhone User

Subscriptions1
  • iPhone User$9.991 Year
One-time15
  • Spring 2026 (pp:1144118)$3.99
  • Summer 2026 (pp:1145430)$3.99
  • Winter 2025 (pp:1139418)$3.99
Show 12 more
  • iPhoneTricks_T... (pp:1000160)$3.99
  • Summer 2024 (pp:1051157)$3.99
  • Winter 2024 (pp:1051151)$3.99
  • Spring 2024 (pp:1051160)$3.99
  • Autumn 2024 (pp:1051154)$3.99
  • The iOS 18 Manual (pp:1121642)$5.99
  • The iPhone 16 ... (pp:1121641)$5.99
  • The iOS 15 iPh... (pp:1000163)$5.99
  • The iPhone 15 ... (pp:1003334)$5.99
  • The iOS 17 Manual (pp:1003331)$5.99
  • iPhoneSeniors_... (pp:1000157)$7.99
  • CompAppleWatch... (pp:1000151)$7.99

Questions

Is The Big Issue UK free?
The Big Issue UK is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is iPhone User free?
iPhone User is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do The Big Issue UK or iPhone User have ads?
Neither The Big Issue UK nor iPhone User shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Big Issue UK or iPhone User?
The Big Issue UK ships an update every 7 months, and iPhone User every 30 months. Most recently, The Big Issue UK was updated on October 27, 2026 and iPhone User on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons