# Substack vs BTV City App

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: BTV City App at none against Substack's 10. Substack's advantage is chart position (#4 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Substack sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. BTV City App asks for nothing beyond the download.

Substack ships an update every 5 days, BTV City App weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Substack | BTV City App |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (570K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/substack/id1581650857/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **570K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 72.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Weekly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | **#4** | — |
| Size | 244 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 26.2 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple TV** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Substack, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1581650859) | [City of Burlington (VT)](https://appshunter.io/developer/1692051077) |

## What reviewers say

### Substack

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

**Currently charting:** #4 Top Free · News, #16 Top Grossing · News, #145 Top Free (US App Store)

Discover and connect with creators, ideas, and communities through videos, writing, and podcasts. Subscribe for free or upgrade to access exclusive content and engage directly with your favorite artists and writers. Enjoy ad-free viewing and listening, and participate in live events and group chats.

**Highlights:** Support creators, Ad-free videos and podcasts, Real-time connection, Explore independent ideas, Livestreams and group chats, Subscribe to favorites

**Features:** Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hung Up (Monthly) | $4.99 | per month |
| The Dworkin Report (Monthly) | $4.99 | 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 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 |

**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


### BTV City App

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/btv-city-app/id6759347398)

**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 BTV City App free?

BTV City App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Substack or BTV City App have ads?

Neither Substack nor BTV City App shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Substack or BTV City App?

Substack ships an update every 5 days, and BTV City App weekly. Most recently, Substack was updated on November 13, 2026 and BTV City App on November 9, 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.*