ProPublica vs The Bulwark
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.
The Bulwark
Access exclusive news, analysis, and commentary from pro-democracy experts in an ad-free environment. Enjoy features like read-to-me, saved articles, personalized feeds, and audio versions of shows. Engage with a community dedicated to liberal democracy.
- Ad-free reading experience
- Listen to articles on the go
- Save articles and shows
- Personalized 'For You' feed
- Audio-only show versions
- Adjustable text size and dark mode
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The Bulwark App is for Bulwark+ members and features an ad-free environment to read, watch or listen to your favorite Bulwark commentators. The app was designed with members in mind and includes new features to enhance your subscriber experience: • Read to me - listen to articles on the go • Save articles or shows for later • A “For You” feed where you can follow what you love • Audio-only versions of all our shows • Resize text • Switch to dark mode • Dedicated Read tab • Dedicated Watch & Listen tab Bulwark+ is powered by Substack. Use your Substack profile to sign in to the app to get unfettered access to everything we publish and engage with The Bulwark community in the comments. About Us The Bulwark is home to Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller, Jonathan V. Last, Sam Stein, Catherine Rampell and more. We are the largest pro-democracy bundle on Substack for news and analysis. The Bulwark was founded to provide analysis and reporting in defense of America’s liberal democracy. We publish written articles and newsletters. We create podcasts and videos. We publish political analysis from experts. We’re supported in this effort by a community built on good faith who know that the only way through is together.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: The Bulwark at 4.9 against ProPublica's 4.5. The Bulwark also leads on ratings volume (2.9K vs 105) and review sentiment (92% vs 75%). ProPublica's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and chart position 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.
The Bulwark holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Bulwark has 2.9K ratings behind it against 105, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of ProPublica's written reviews are positive against 92% of The Bulwark's.
ProPublica ships an update every 4 months, The Bulwark every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 21, 2026.
| Parameter | ProPublica | The Bulwark |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (105 ratings) | 4.9 (2.9K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 74.8% of reviews | 92.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 105 | 2.9K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #143 | #77 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | ProPublica | Center Enterprises, Inc. |
Customer experience
ProPublica
The Bulwark
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
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- iOS 18 theme adherence
- Read-later app integration (Instapaper, Pocket)
- Improved article navigation
- Better browsing of older stories
The Bulwark
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ProPublica
No in-app purchases
The Bulwark
No in-app purchases
