Comparison

Slate.com vs The Hill

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

Head to head
About

Slate.com

Access award-winning daily online magazine content, including in-depth analysis, commentary, and podcasts. Enjoy curated stories, reviews, and advice with options for ad-free reading and exclusive content through a membership.

Highlights
  • Editorially curated stories
  • Political and legal commentary
  • Movie and television reviews
  • Award-winning podcasts
  • Push notifications
  • Light/Dark mode reading
  • Slate Plus membership
Features
Read full description

Enjoy Slate, the award-winning daily online magazine, on your iPhone. Slate is a general-interest publication offering analysis and commentary about politics, news, business, technology, culture, and advice. Slate’s strong editorial voice and witty take on current events have been recognized with numerous awards, including the National Magazine Award for General Excellence Online. Features include: - Our Editorially curated stories of the day - Access to all of our written work, including Slate’s popular political and legal commentary, movie and television reviews, and Dear Prudence. - Our award winning podcasts, including the Political Gabfest, the Culture Gabfest, Decoder Ring, and Slow Burn. - Push notifications to keep you informed throughout your day. - The ability to choose to read using Light or Dark mode. - Access to purchase or sign in to our membership program, Slate Plus. Please see the benefits below. The app is free to download, however we do display advertisements within the app. Additionally we offer the ability to log in to your existing Slate Plus account or purchase a new Slate Plus account through the in app purchases. Your Slate Plus account can be used on your iOS devices as well as our website. To use your Slate Plus subscription on other devices you must create an account after completing your purchase. You can always create an account at a later time if you choose not to do so initially after your purchase. With your Slate Plus subscription, you'll receive: - Unlimited articles in the Slate app. - An ad-free reading experience in the Slate app. By creating an optional account you’ll also receive: - Unlimited articles on slate.com. - Our exclusive subscriber only weekly newsletter. - Access to all of our podcasts completely ad-free. - Bonus episodes and segments on your favorite shows! Slate Plus Subscription details: Your account will automatically renew at the end of each month or year depending on your subscription. Payment will be charged to your Apple account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to user account settings after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. For additional information regarding Slate Plus please see our FAQ: https://slate.com/plus/faq Slate's Privacy Policy: https://slate.com/privacy Slate's Terms of Use: https://slate.com/terms For additional information regarding auto renewal settings please refer to this link: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202039 Please send your thoughts and suggestions to feedback@slate.com.

About

The Hill

Stay informed on US politics and congressional affairs. Access in-depth news, analysis, and opinion pieces on campaigns, business, and lobbying. Watch exclusive video content and follow topics for breaking news alerts.

Highlights
  • Congress and politics coverage
  • Business and lobbying focus
  • News, analysis, and opinion
  • Video clips and talk shows
  • Push notifications for breaking news
  • Save stories for later
Features
Read full description

Covering congress & politics with a focus on business and lobbying, political campaigns, and goings on on Capitol Hill. Read news, analysis, and opinion pieces across a variety of categories, including Senate, House, Administration, Campaign, Business & Lobbying, and topical blogs. Watch video clips of reporting from the capitol, as well as full episodes of our political talk shows. Follow topics to get push notifications on breaking news. Save stories to read later.

Screenshots

Slate.com4 screens
The Hill4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Slate.com at 4.5 against The Hill's 2.5. Slate.com also leads on review sentiment (33% vs 7%) and ratings volume (9.1K vs 284). The Hill's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4). On price, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Slate.com sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. The Hill asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Slate.com holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Slate.com has 9.1K ratings behind it against 284, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Slate.com's written reviews are positive against 7% of The Hill's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Slate.com ships an update every 5 weeks, The Hill every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Slate.com versus The Hill: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSlate.comThe Hill
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (9.1K ratings) — better2.5 (284 ratings)
Positive reviews33.2% of reviews — better6.5% of reviews
Number of ratings9.1K — better284
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
Best chart rank#64 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB75 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Slate Group, LLCNexstar Broadcasting

Customer experience

Slate.com

All ratings9,063 ratings
Positive89.8%
Neutral3.2%
Negative7.0%
Written reviews316 reviews
Positive33.2%
Neutral10.8%
Negative56.0%

The Hill

All ratings284 ratings
Positive31.0%
Neutral8.1%
Negative60.9%
Written reviews92 reviews
Positive6.5%
Neutral9.8%
Negative83.7%

User reviews

Slate.com

From 9.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Clean layout, easy to navigate
  • 🚀 Great news source
  • 🚀 Excellent journalism
  • 👍 Informative, insightful content

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes constantly
  • 🐛 Buggy, glitchy performance
  • 🐛 Unreliable login and sign-in
  • 🐛 Slow loading times
  • 🐛 Incompatible with newer iOS versions

The Hill

From 284 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📰 Balanced and unbiased news reporting
  • ✍️ High-quality journalism and writing
  • 🎯 Good content for political news junkies
  • ⚡ Responsive developer support
  • 📱 Functional app when working properly

Room to improve

  • 📺 Excessive and intrusive video ads
  • 🛑 Constant pop-up advertisements
  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • 📜 Poor text readability and font sizing issues
  • 🔄 Jittery and glitchy scrolling

Bugs and requests

Slate.com

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Articles not loading properly
  • Blank screens and white screens
  • Inability to access Slate Plus content
  • Podcasts cutting out or not playing correctly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add search functionality
  • Improve podcast playback controls
  • Implement landscape mode for iPad
  • Better identify Slate Plus content

The Hill

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • App crashes when opening articles
  • App crashes when scrolling too quickly
  • App freezes during initialization
  • App won't load on some devices
  • Text cut off in landscape mode
Show 10 more
  • Text cut off by notch on iPhone X
  • Articles don't display completely
  • Ads cover article text
  • App stutters and jumps to ads
  • App jumps to end of articles
  • App won't progress past notification setup screens
  • Jittery scrolling performance
  • High CPU and battery consumption
  • Incompatibility with accessibility settings
  • Recent update breaks core functionality

Requested features

11 requests
  • Search functionality for articles
  • Bookmark/save articles feature
  • Breaking news notifications
  • Ad-free subscription option
  • Ability to disable auto-play videos
Show 6 more
  • Adjustable font size and zoom
  • Filter articles by topic/policy
  • Chronological article sorting
  • Author attribution in articles
  • Ability to listen to music while using app
  • Improved accessibility features

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Slate.com

Subscriptions3
  • Slate Plus1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • Slate Plus14 Days trial$68.991 Year
  • Slate Plus3 Months trial2 variants$119.001 Year
None

The Hill

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Slate.com free?
Slate.com is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is The Hill free?
The Hill is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Slate.com or The Hill?
Slate.com is rated higher. Slate.com averages 4.5 out of 5 from 9.1K ratings, while The Hill averages 2.5 from 284 ratings.
Do Slate.com or The Hill have ads?
Both Slate.com and The Hill show ads.
Which is updated more often, Slate.com or The Hill?
Slate.com ships an update every 5 weeks, and The Hill every 6 weeks. Most recently, Slate.com was updated on October 15, 2026 and The Hill on October 6, 2026.

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