Exactly vs Z21Updater
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Exactly
Access magazines and newspapers on your iPad and iPhone in their original full-color format. Enjoy interactive features like live web links and zoom capabilities. Explore free content from numerous publications or use your subscription for the latest issues.
- Full-color digital editions
- Live web links
- Zoom and swipe navigation
- Thumbnail page view
- Bookmark pages
- Offline reading sync
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Exactly brings magazines and newspapers to the iPad and iPhone in their original full-colour format. Each page is delivered just as it appeared in the print edition, but with live links to web sites, phone numbers and more. Access free content from over 80 titles, or use your Exact Editions subscription to read the latest issues on the day they're published. • Swipe pages left and right, or tap the page edges to flip to next/previous page. • Switch between single or double-page layout. • Pinch or double tap pages to zoom. • Use the animated thumbnail view to flick through the pages. • Tap any page links to web sites, email addresses, phone numbers or maps. • Tap contents-page links to jump to a particular article. • Bookmark individual pages or lists of search results. • Tap the star icon to sync for offline reading. • Network connection required otherwise.
Z21Updater
Easily update your Z21, z21, z21start, and smartRail devices. The app automatically detects connected hardware and fetches the latest firmware directly from the server when online, simplifying the update process.
- Automatic device recognition
- Direct server updates
- Simple and functional update process
- Supports Z21, z21, z21start, smartRail
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This app allows you to conveniently keep your Z21, z21, z21start and smartRail always up to date. The connected device is automatically recognized by the app. New updates are directly queried from the server when connected to the Internet thus the update process is very simple and functional.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Z21Updater at 5.0 against Exactly's 2.2. Z21Updater also leads on monetization model (free vs freemium) and review sentiment (50% vs 26%). Exactly's advantage is update cadence (every 5 months vs every 28 months) and ratings volume (14 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Z21Updater holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Exactly has 14 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 26% of Exactly's written reviews are positive against 50% of Z21Updater's.
Exactly ships an update every 5 months, Z21Updater every 28 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Exactly | Z21Updater |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.2 (14 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 26.0% of reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 14 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months — better | Every 28 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 13.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Exact Editions Ltd | Modelleisenbahn GmbH |
Customer experience
Exactly
Z21Updater
In-app purchases
Exactly
No in-app purchases
Z21Updater
No in-app purchases
