Comparison

ProPublica vs NextDraft

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Latest investigative journalism
  • Reporting on government and policy
  • Coverage of healthcare and criminal justice
  • Environmental reporting
  • Streamlined reading experience
  • Offline support
  • Story notifications
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

• 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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Daily summary of top 10 news stories
  • Expertly curated content
  • Easy-to-read format
  • Save articles to read later
  • Includes viral videos and photos
Features
Read full description

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

ProPublica4 screens
NextDraft3 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
ProPublica versus NextDraft: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterProPublicaNextDraft
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (104 ratings)4.6 (86 ratings) — better
Positive reviews74.8% of reviews86.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings104 — better86
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#53 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB11 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperProPublicaNextDraft

Customer experience

ProPublica

All ratings104 ratings
Positive83.7%
Neutral7.7%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews107 reviews
Positive74.8%
Neutral6.5%
Negative18.7%

NextDraft

All ratings86 ratings
Positive87.2%
Neutral5.8%
Negative7.0%
Written reviews122 reviews
Positive86.9%
Neutral2.5%
Negative10.7%

User reviews

ProPublica

From 104 App Store ratings

What 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 ratings

What 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 more
  • 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 more
  • 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

None

ProPublica

No in-app purchases

None

NextDraft

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ProPublica free?
ProPublica is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NextDraft free?
NextDraft is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ProPublica or NextDraft?
NextDraft is rated higher. ProPublica averages 4.5 out of 5 from 104 ratings, while NextDraft averages 4.6 from 86 ratings.
Do ProPublica or NextDraft have ads?
Neither ProPublica nor NextDraft shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ProPublica or NextDraft?
ProPublica ships an update every 4 months, and NextDraft every 4 months. Most recently, ProPublica was updated on September 24, 2026 and NextDraft on September 22, 2026.

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