ProPublica vs Flipster
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.
Flipster
Access a wide selection of digital magazines for free through your local library. Explore, download, and read titles offline on your Apple device, with features like offline reading and article navigation.
- Locate participating libraries
- Browse and download magazines
- Read magazines offline
- Digital table of contents
- Article text view
- Jump to articles and websites
- Track reading progress
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Flipster is a free digital magazine service provided courtesy of your library. Find libraries near you that offer Flipster, then explore, download, and read magazines any time on your Apple devices. If you find that your library does not offer Flipster, encourage them to sign up today. Features: - Locate participating libraries - Browse, search, and download popular magazines to read offline - Access digital table of contents for each magazine - Read articles in text view - Tap highlighted areas to jump to articles and related websites - Track percentage of magazine read Now it’s time to relax, put your feet up and read your favorite magazines with Flipster!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: ProPublica at 75% against Flipster's 16%. ProPublica also leads on rating (4.5 vs 2.2). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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.
ProPublica holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 105 and 217 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of ProPublica's written reviews are positive against 16% of Flipster's.
ProPublica ships an update every 4 months, Flipster every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.
| Parameter | ProPublica | Flipster |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (105 ratings) — better | 2.2 (217 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 74.8% of reviews — better | 15.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 105 | 217 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #187 — better | #202 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ProPublica | EBSCO Publishing |
Customer experience
ProPublica
Flipster
User reviews
ProPublica
From 105 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
Flipster
From 217 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Solid and functional
- 👍 Simplicity and minimalism
- 👍 Reading magazines with relative ease
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent 'service unavailable' errors
- 🐛 Inability to change text size
- 🐛 Crashing and not working on certain devices
- 🐛 Outdated magazine selection
- 🐛 Inconsistent user experience
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
Flipster
Reported bugs
5 issues- Login issues and credential errors
- Frequent crashes and service unavailability
- Incompatibility with newer OS versions
- Inability to exit full-screen mode
- Outdated magazine content
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to bookmark specific publishers or categories
- Adjustable font sizes and text view options
- Notifications for expiring magazines
- Dark mode support
- Improved navigation and magazine management
In-app purchases
ProPublica
No in-app purchases
Flipster
No in-app purchases
