Comparison

FastDemocracy vs CalMatters

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

Head to head
About

FastDemocracy

Stay informed about legislative and regulatory developments across the US Congress and all 50 states. This app provides real-time alerts, bill tracking, and collaboration tools to help you manage government relations and advocacy efforts efficiently.

Highlights
  • Real-time legislative data
  • Bill similarity detection
  • Hearing notifications
  • Collaboration tools
  • Regulation tracking
  • Bill list organization
Features
Read full description

Track legislative bills and Regulations in Congress and all 50 states on the go! FastDemocracy's easy to use bill tracker gives you the tools for a successful government relations strategy. Our app features real-time legislative data across the country, and alerts you of new bill developments. Get real-time legislative alerts, hearing notices, bill similarity detection, collaboration and public engagement tools. We're here to save you time and give you the insights you need for government advocacy. Track legislation across US Congress and all 50 states, with best-in-class data quality and reliability. Add notes, collaborate and organize your priority legislation into bill lists. Stay on top of legislative developments with real-time alerts, hearing notifications, amendments, and news. Categorize your bills and collaborate by creating bill notes, whip lists, legislator lists, and regulatory lists. With just a few taps, you research and collaborate on bills, add hearings to your calendar, search voting records and even share your priority legislation on your website. Our patent-pending bill similarity detection algorithms detect relevant language in bills and amendments - all within seconds. Now you can even track regulations in all 50 states and Federal.

About

CalMatters

Access in-depth, nonpartisan news and analysis focused on California's quality of life issues. Hold leaders accountable with investigative journalism covering the Golden State and its global economic impact.

Highlights
  • In-depth news analysis
  • Focus on quality of life issues
  • Investigative journalism
  • Accountability reporting
  • Covers California and its economy
Features
Read full description

CalMatters is a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization bringing Californians stories that probe, explain and explore solutions to quality of life issues while holding our leaders accountable. We are the only journalism outlet dedicated to covering America’s biggest state, 39 million Californians and the world’s fifth largest economy.

Screenshots

FastDemocracy4 screens
CalMatters4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: FastDemocracy at 82% against CalMatters's 50%. FastDemocracy also leads on monetization model (free vs ad-supported). CalMatters's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On price, ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CalMatters holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 30 and 18 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 82% of FastDemocracy's written reviews are positive against 50% of CalMatters's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FastDemocracy ships an update every 6 months, CalMatters every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
FastDemocracy versus CalMatters: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFastDemocracyCalMatters
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (30 ratings)5.0 (18 ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.8% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings30 — better18
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
Best chart rank—#195 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB53 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperFastDemocracy Corp.CalMatters

Customer experience

FastDemocracy

All ratings30 ratings
Positive86.7%
Neutral3.3%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews33 reviews
Positive81.8%
Neutral6.1%
Negative12.1%

CalMatters

All ratings18 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

FastDemocracy

No in-app purchases

None

CalMatters

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is FastDemocracy free?
FastDemocracy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CalMatters free?
CalMatters is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, FastDemocracy or CalMatters?
CalMatters is rated higher. FastDemocracy averages 4.6 out of 5 from 30 ratings, while CalMatters averages 5.0 from 18 ratings.
Do FastDemocracy or CalMatters have ads?
Neither FastDemocracy nor CalMatters shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FastDemocracy or CalMatters?
FastDemocracy ships an update every 6 months, and CalMatters every 2 weeks. Most recently, FastDemocracy was updated on October 29, 2026 and CalMatters on October 27, 2026.

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