POLITICO vs SME.sk
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
POLITICO
Get essential political and policy news that shapes your day. Understand global power centers and their impact with curated coverage, personalized feeds, and in-depth analysis. Access newsletters and podcasts directly within the app.
- Curated political news coverage
- Personalized news feed
- Native access to newsletters
- In-app podcast player
- Searchable lawmaker database
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Stay ahead of the political news driving your day, with POLITICO's redesigned app. We curate the essential politics and policy news breaking in and between the centers of power, and help you understand what it means for you. What's inside: - Driving the Day: curated coverage of what’s shaping politics within and across the world’s power centers - For You: a feed built around what's actually driving your day - Newsletters: all POLITICO newsletters, native to the app - Podcasts: every POLITICO show - People: every lawmaker, staffer and regulator, one search away
SME.sk
Stay informed with the latest news from Slovakia and around the world. Access articles, videos, podcasts, and regional news. Save content for later and receive instant notifications about breaking events.
- Latest news from Slovakia and the world
- Quick notifications for breaking events
- Access to videos and podcasts
- Regional news updates
- Content search and saving
- Weather forecast
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Najčítanejšie spravodajstvo na slovenskom internete v praktickej aplikácii. SME.sk pre iPhone, iPad a Apple Watch vám ponúka rýchly prehľad o tom, čo sa deje na Slovensku a vo svete. Najdôležitejšie a najnovšie správy zo SME.sk číta takmer dva a pol milióna ľudí na Slovensku, s aplikáciou SME.sk vám nič dôležité neunikne. Budete v obraze vďaka rýchlemu notifikačnému servisu a prehľadnému obsahu správ. Aplikácia obsahuje články zo sekcií: Z domova, Zo zahraničia, Komentáre, Ekonomika, Kultúra, Šport, Auto, Tech a veda, Primár, Žena, Cestovanie, SME Plus, Fičí a aj anglické správy Slovak Spectator. Čo všetko v aplikácii nájdete: - Najčítanejšie správy za 4 a 24 hodín, 3 a 7 dní - Rýchle notifikácie o aktuálnych udalostiach - Vyhľadávanie obsahu na SME.sk - Aktuálne spravodajské a publicistické videá TV SME - Najnovšie články blogerov zo služby Blog SME - Podcasty SME - Rozhovory SME - Správy z vášho regiónu (Bratislava, MY regióny, Korzár) - Diskusie k článkom - Lokalizovaná predpoveď počasia v menu - Ukladanie článkov na neskoršie čítanie - Widget s najnovšími článkami, dátumom a meninami Možnosť predplatiť si prémiový obsah SME.sk: • prémium bez reklamy za 8,99 € • prémium za 6,99 € • štandard za 4,49 € Predplatné zakúpené v aplikácii platí aj na webe a môžete ho používať (neplatí pre nezobrazovanie reklamy). Platba vám bude účtovaná na váš účet Apple pri potvrdení nákupu. Predplatné sa automaticky obnovuje, pokiaľ automatické obnovenie nevypnete minimálne 24 hodín pred koncom aktuálneho obdobia. Vaše predplatné si môžete spravovať v účte Apple. Automatické obnovenie môžete vypnúť tým, že po zakúpení prejdete do svojho nastavenia účtu Apple. Akákoľvek nepoužitá časť bezplatnej skúšobnej doby, ak je ponúknutá, prepadne, keď si zakúpite predplatné tohto média. Ochrana osobných údajov: https://www.sme.sk/dok/20455056/zasady-nakladania-s-osobnymi-udajmi-uzivatelov/ Všeobecné obchodné podmienky sú na adrese: https://www.sme.sk/c/7816641/pravidla-pouzivania-aplikacie-smesk.html
Screenshots
Verdict
POLITICO and SME.sk both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 65% of SME.sk's written reviews are positive against 29% of POLITICO's. POLITICO's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ratings volume (49K vs 77). On price, rating, 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. SME.sk sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. POLITICO asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for POLITICO against 4.8 for SME.sk. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: POLITICO has 49K ratings behind it against 77, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 29% of POLITICO's written reviews are positive against 65% of SME.sk's.
POLITICO ships an update monthly, SME.sk every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | POLITICO | SME.sk |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (49K ratings) | 4.8 (77 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 29.1% of reviews | 64.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 49K — better | 77 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #97 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 94 MB | 34 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | POLITICO, LLC | Petit Press, a.s. |
Customer experience
POLITICO
SME.sk
User reviews
POLITICO
From 49K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent news coverage
- 🔍 Thorough and insightful analysis
- 🗞️ Reliable and trustworthy journalism
- 📊 Valuable data and metrics
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔄 Difficulty refreshing content
- 📱 Poor app performance and navigation
- 🔍 Biased or partisan reporting
- 🔍 Lack of objectivity
SME.sk
From 77 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great Slovak news app
- 👍 Simple and fast
- 👍 Good for information
- 👍 Well-designed and readable
- 👍 Nice pictures
Room to improve
- 😞 Slower than CNN
- 😞 Piano paywall for articles
- 😞 Articles not fully supported in app
- 😞 Ads for subscribers
- 😞 Subscription issues
Bugs and requests
POLITICO
Reported bugs
4 issues- App freezes and crashes
- Inability to refresh content
- Notifications not working properly
- Compatibility issues with newer devices
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to adjust font size
- Offline reading mode
- Improved article organization and search
- More balanced political coverage
SME.sk
Reported bugs
12 issues- Scrolling article returns to beginning
- Last update deleted saved articles
- Cookie consent shown on every launch
- App crashes frequently
- Articles not opening in app
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Search by title not working
- Subscription through iTunes doesn't work
- App crashes all the time
- Problems opening app
- App freezes
- Duplicate articles shown
- Push notifications cannot be turned off
Requested features
6 requests- Offline reading capability
- iPad version
- Landscape mode
- Ability to save entire sections
- Inspiration from New York Times app for offline reading
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Control over opened articles
In-app purchases
POLITICO
No in-app purchases
SME.sk
- Vypnutie reklamy$1.991 Month
- Neobmedzený prístup k obsahu aplikácie so zobrazovaním reklamy$2.991 Month
- Štandard bez reklamy$5.491 Month
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Prémium$6.991 Month
- Štandard$6.991 Month
- Prémium bez reklamy$8.991 Month
- Štandard$49.001 Year
- Štandard bez reklamy$49.991 Year
- Prémium$69.001 Year
- Prémium bez reklamy$89.001 Year
