# Forbes vs FT Digital Edition

The clearest difference is ads: FT Digital Edition at none against Forbes's shown. FT Digital Edition also leads on ratings volume (2.9K vs 170). Forbes's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and review sentiment (80% vs 63%). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Forbes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month and FT Digital Edition sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $16.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Forbes against 4.8 for FT Digital Edition. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FT Digital Edition has 2.9K ratings behind it against 170, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Forbes's written reviews are positive against 63% of FT Digital Edition's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 19, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Forbes | FT Digital Edition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (170 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/forbes/id1638757310/reviews) | [4.8 (2.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ft-digital-edition/id6449040684/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 170 | **2.9K** |
| Positive reviews | **80.0% of reviews** | 63.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#122** | — |
| Size | 98 MB | 47 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.1** | 17.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Forbes Media LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/310628793) | [Financial Times Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/322310071) |

## What reviewers say

### Forbes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/forbes/id1638757310)

**Currently charting:** #122 Top Free · News, #196 Top Grossing · News (US App Store)

Access actionable business news, in-depth reporting, and market insights across entrepreneurship, investing, and technology. Stay informed with breaking news, curated content, and powerful search tools to navigate a rapidly evolving world.

**Highlights:** Actionable business news, In-depth reporting, Market-moving insights, Breaking news alerts, Tabbed content channels, Enhanced search functionality, Article saving

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly | $12.99 | per month |
| Annual | $89.00 | per year |


### FT Digital Edition

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ft-digital-edition/id6449040684)

Access the daily Financial Times newspaper delivered to your device. Enjoy exclusive digital magazines, translated articles, and a decade of archives. Listen to audio versions of top stories and read offline.

**Highlights:** Daily newspaper delivered to device, Exclusive digital magazines, Translated articles in 30+ languages, Browse 10 years of previous editions, Audio versions of top stories, Download for offline reading, Global editions and classic layout

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| FT Digital Edition Monthly | $16.99 | per month |
| FT Digital Edition | $45.00 | per 3 months |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Smooth, savvy, and clean interface
- 👍 Streamlined and intuitive app experience
- 👍 Excellent for offline reading
- 👍 Automatic downloads of the latest edition
- 👍 Ability to access different regional editions

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Connectivity issues, app unable to connect at times
- 🐛 Struggles with unfamiliar IP addresses when traveling
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes, especially on the cookie page
- 🐛 Counterintuitive and clunky user interface
- 🐛 Formatting issues, with text and images not rendering properly

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to log in and access the subscription
- Rendering issues with hyphens and other special characters
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between online and offline modes

**Requested features**

- Implement a full-screen mode for better reading experience
- Add a dark mode option for comfortable reading
- Improve the text-to-speech (audio) functionality to handle non-text elements better
- Introduce a search feature to easily find articles and content
- Enhance the offline reading capabilities to ensure consistent availability


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Forbes free?

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

### Is FT Digital Edition free?

FT Digital Edition is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Forbes or FT Digital Edition?

Forbes and FT Digital Edition are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 170 and 2.9K ratings respectively.

### Do Forbes or FT Digital Edition have ads?

Forbes shows ads; FT Digital Edition does not.

### Which is updated more often, Forbes or FT Digital Edition?

Forbes ships an update every 3 weeks, and FT Digital Edition every 3 weeks. Most recently, Forbes was updated on October 19, 2026 and FT Digital Edition on October 19, 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.*