ProPublica vs NextDraft
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ProPublica
Access in-depth investigative journalism covering critical topics like government, healthcare, and criminal justice. Enjoy a streamlined reading experience with offline support and notifications for major stories.
- Latest investigative journalism
- Reporting on government and policy
- Coverage of healthcare and criminal justice
- Environmental reporting
- Streamlined reading experience
- Offline support
- Story notifications
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• Get the latest independent investigative journalism from ProPublica. • Dig deep into reporting about government and policy, health care, criminal justice, the environment and more. • Get a streamlined reading experience, with smart offline support and notifications for our biggest stories.
NextDraft
Get a curated summary of the day's ten most fascinating news stories, handpicked by an expert news addict. This app cuts through online clutter to deliver essential, entertaining, and often surprising content in an easy-to-read format.
- Daily summary of top 10 news stories
- Expertly curated content
- Easy-to-read format
- Save articles to read later
- Includes viral videos and photos
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Real News Daily. Dave Pell, Internet wit and news addict, provides a smart summary of the day's ten most fascinating news stories. "Dave finds stuff I didn't see but should have. Add that to his drop-dead sexiness and you've got yourself an indispensable newsletter." - Steve Bodow, Executive Producer, The Daily Show "You will feel smarter and happier after you download it." - TechCrunch "The NextDraft newsletter is indispensable. Dave Pell cuts through the clutter with urgency, humor and smarts. I never miss it." - Don Van Natta Jr., ESPN "On any given day, Dave turns up the top 10 stories that are important, moving, hilarious, and just weird. Next Draft finds the signal in all the noise that's out there." - Bob Cohn, President, Atlantic Media The News Trusted By Those Who Write the News: "A consistently informative and entertaining guide to some of the best stories on the web, with a healthy mix of news you should know, want to know, and prefer to pretend you didn't read." - Maria Konnikova, New Yorker "Think of Dave Pell as the Internet’s managing editor. The NYT meets SNL. Smart, funny, essential." - Phil Bronstein, Executive Chair, Center for Investigative Reporting "NextDraft is a must-read." - Ram Ramgopal, CNN Executive Editor "Like all great curators, Pell continually provides answers to questions you weren’t even aware you were asking; even as he feeds your mind, he cultivates and expands your curiosity. I read NextDraft the way I breathe, and for the same reason." - Andrew Corsello, GQ "There are days - hell, weeks - where I would be completely lost without the Internet concierge that is NextDraft." - Hilary Sargent, Boston Globe "It is about time the Internet had a managing editor, and Dave Pell turns out to be the perfect choice for he job. NextDraft is always nourishing, often surprising and quite witty (especially given that he is an American). An essential tea time read." - Matthew Bishop, The Economist "Dave is an expert at picking through the deluge and serving up the day's best stories from a huge variety of websites." - Sapna Maheshwari, Buzzfeed Highlights: You need an algorithm to help cut to through the Internet's clutter. News junkie Dave Pell is that algorithm. He combs dozens of sites, finds the most fascinating news stores, and then provides a fast, pithy summary that will make your iPhone vibrate with awesomeness. - Get a quick overview of what matters today. - View the news in a simple, easy to read format. - Save articles to your favorite read later tool with one click (Readability, Instapaper, Pocket, etc). - Don't miss the day's best viral videos and photos. - Be the star of any dinner party.
Screenshots
Verdict
ProPublica and NextDraft both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 87% of NextDraft's written reviews are positive against 75% of ProPublica's. NextDraft also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 12.0). ProPublica's advantage is chart position (#53 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for ProPublica against 4.6 for NextDraft. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 104 and 86 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of ProPublica's written reviews are positive against 87% of NextDraft's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ProPublica | NextDraft |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (104 ratings) | 4.6 (86 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 74.8% of reviews | 86.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 104 — better | 86 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #53 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | ProPublica | NextDraft |
Customer experience
ProPublica
NextDraft
User reviews
ProPublica
From 104 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📰 High-quality investigative journalism
- ✅ Factual, unbiased reporting
- 🎯 In-depth, well-researched stories
- 🆓 Ad-free content
- 🧹 Clean, simple interface
Room to improve
- 🌙 Bright white screen (no dark mode)
- 📤 Social sharing doesn't include headlines
- ⚠️ Outdated app updates
- 🖼️ Image sizing issues on older devices
- 🔄 Slow initial loading times
NextDraft
From 86 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Efficient news curation
- 👍 Entertaining and insightful commentary
- 🔍 Comprehensive coverage of important news
- 📚 Diverse range of interesting articles
- 💻 Clean and intuitive app design
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes or stability issues
- 🔆 Lack of dark mode option
- 🔗 Difficulty tracking read/unread content
Bugs and requests
ProPublica
Reported bugs
10 issues- App crashes on launch
- App won't open or load content
- Stories don't appear when clicked
- MuckReads section fails to load
- Data filter dropdowns non-functional
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Articles don't fit screen (horizontal scrolling required)
- Images not resizing properly
- App freezes phone
- Device registration issues
- Content never populates
Requested features
9 requests- Dark mode for nighttime reading
- Bookmark/save articles function
- Home screen widget
- Adjustable font size
- Persistent font size settings
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- iOS 18 theme adherence
- Read-later app integration (Instapaper, Pocket)
- Improved article navigation
- Better browsing of older stories
NextDraft
Reported bugs
2 issues- Crashes on launch with older iOS versions
- Scrolling issues on some devices
Requested features
3 requests- Dark mode option
- Ability to mark articles as read/unread
- More font size options
In-app purchases
ProPublica
No in-app purchases
NextDraft
No in-app purchases









