# Substack vs The Elkhart Truth

The clearest difference is ads: Substack at none against The Elkhart Truth's shown. Substack also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 months) and chart position (#4 vs unranked). The Elkhart Truth's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Substack sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and The Elkhart Truth sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Substack ships an update every 5 days, The Elkhart Truth every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Substack | The Elkhart Truth |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | **#4** | — |
| Size | 244 MB | 102 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Substack, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1581650859) | [Paxton Media Group LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/431477409) |

## What reviewers say

### Substack

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

**Currently charting:** #4 Top Free · News, #16 Top Grossing · News, #150 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


### The Elkhart Truth

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-elkhart-truth/id6784346941)

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Elkhart Truth monthly subscription | $1.99 | per month |
| Elkhart Truth annual subscription | $78.00 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Substack free?

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

### Is The Elkhart Truth free?

The Elkhart Truth is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Substack or The Elkhart Truth have ads?

The Elkhart Truth shows ads; Substack does not.

### Which is updated more often, Substack or The Elkhart Truth?

Substack ships an update every 5 days, and The Elkhart Truth every 3 months. Most recently, Substack was updated on November 13, 2026 and The Elkhart Truth on November 10, 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.*