# Substack vs The Rice Thresher

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: The Rice Thresher at none against Substack's 24. The Rice Thresher also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 72%). Substack's advantage is ratings volume (550K vs 5) and chart position (#4 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Substack sells 18 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. The Rice Thresher asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Substack against 5.0 for The Rice Thresher. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Substack has 550K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 72% of Substack's written reviews are positive against 100% of The Rice Thresher's.

Substack ships an update weekly, The Rice Thresher every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Substack | The Rice Thresher |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (550K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/substack/id1581650857/reviews) | **[5.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-rice-thresher/id6757408201/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **550K** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | 72.3% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#4** | — |
| Size | 229 MB | 33 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 17.5 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple TV** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Substack, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1581650859) | [Rice University](https://appshunter.io/developer/356271611) |

## What reviewers say

### Substack

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/substack/id1581650857)

**Currently charting:** #4 Top Free · News, #12 Top Grossing · News, #147 Top Free (US App Store)

Discover creators, ideas, and communities through videos, writing, and podcasts. Subscribe for free or upgrade to access exclusive content and connect directly with creators. Enjoy ad-free media and participate in live events.

**Highlights:** Subscribe to creators, Ad-free video and podcasts, Live streams and group chats, Explore independent ideas, Read aloud articles

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (18)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hung Up (Monthly) | $4.99 | per month |
| The Dworkin Report (Monthly) | $4.99 | per month |
| Popular Information (Monthly) | $5.99 | per month |
| Monthly | $5.99 | per month |
| Isolation Journals (Monthly) | $5.99 | per month |
| Ettingermentum (monthly) | $5.99 | per month |
| What To Cook (Monthly) | $5.99 | per month |
| The Present Age (Monthly) | $6.99 | per month |
| The Message Box (Monthly) | $7.99 | per month |
| House Inhabit (Monthly) | $8.99 | per month |
| Noahpinion (Monthly) | $9.99 | per month |
| Slow Boring (Monthly) | $9.99 | per month |
| Razib Khan (Monthly) | $10.99 | per month |
| House of Strauss (Monthly) | $11.99 | per month |
| The Dworkin Report (Annual) | $49.99 | per year |
| Annual | $59.99 | per year |
| Isolation Journals (Annual) | $59.99 | per year |
| Slow Boring (Annual) | $99.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Stable and functional app
- 🚀 Intuitive and easy to use
- 👍 Variety of great content
- 👍 Supports independent writers
- 👍 Refreshing alternative to mainstream media

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and glitchy
- 🐛 Difficult to manage subscriptions
- 🐛 Inconsistent user experience between app and website
- 🔒 Privacy concerns with data collection
- 💤 Slow performance and loading times

**Reported bugs**

- Login issues and inability to sign in
- Inconsistent behavior when archiving/deleting posts
- Playback issues with audio content
- Incompatibility with older devices or operating systems

**Requested features**

- Add search functionality within app
- Improve notification management
- Allow customization of font size and style
- Implement ability to mark articles as read/unread
- Add option to collapse/expand comment threads


### The Rice Thresher

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-rice-thresher/id6757408201)

Access Rice University's student newspaper, radio station, and yearbook. Read articles, listen to live radio, explore historical archives, and enjoy daily puzzles and games.

**Highlights:** Browse articles by section, Explore historical archives, Listen to student radio, Read yearbook content, Solve daily crosswords, Play mini-games, Receive push notifications, Save articles for offline access

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Substack free?

Substack is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is The Rice Thresher free?

The Rice Thresher is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Substack or The Rice Thresher?

The Rice Thresher is rated higher. Substack averages 4.9 out of 5 from 550K ratings, while The Rice Thresher averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.

### Do Substack or The Rice Thresher have ads?

Neither Substack nor The Rice Thresher shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Substack or The Rice Thresher?

Substack ships an update weekly, and The Rice Thresher every 4 days. Most recently, Substack was updated on October 16, 2026 and The Rice Thresher on October 5, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*