StoryCorps vs A Starting Point
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
StoryCorps
Record meaningful conversations with loved ones or discover inspiring stories through a vast archive. This app facilitates personal connection and offers a platform for sharing diverse human experiences.
- Record conversations
- Upload audio files
- Listen to podcast
- Watch animations
- Prepare interview questions
- Search online archive
Read full descriptionHide full description
Record, Podcast, Listen Since 2003, StoryCorps’ commitment to recording local stories, creating award-winning content, and helping illuminate the humanity in each of us has contributed to nearly 700,000 people across the country having meaningful conversations. Get involved by downloading the App today! Here are some of the features to look forward to: - Listen to StoryCorps’ podcast and watch animations all in one place. - Record conversations in the App or upload an existing audio file to your account. - Join an initiative, including Brightness In Black, One Small Step DIY, Military Voices Initiative, or The Great Listen. - Prepare interview questions or use our pre-populated ones. - Search our Online Archive for conversations about the themes important to you. Listen, honor, and share with the StoryCorps App. Major support for the StoryCorps App made possible by Jane Phillips Donaldson & William H. Donaldson. For more information about the StoryCorps App, visit storycorps.org/app.
A Starting Point
This app provides a bipartisan platform for Americans to communicate with their elected officials. It offers concise, video-based explanations of current issues to foster a more informed electorate.
- Bipartisan communication channel
- Connect with elected leaders
- Video-based issue explanations
- Understand issues in under 2 minutes
- Informed electorate creation
Read full descriptionHide full description
A Starting Point is a civic engagement app that creates a clear and bipartisan channel of communication and connectivity between Americans and their elected leaders. The video-based platform helps voters better understand the issues of the day in less than two minutes. Our goal is to create a more informed electorate.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: A Starting Point at none against StoryCorps's shown. A Starting Point also leads on review sentiment (95% vs 72%) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and in-app purchases 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.
A Starting Point holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.5K and 757 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of StoryCorps's written reviews are positive against 95% of A Starting Point's.
StoryCorps ships an update monthly, A Starting Point every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | StoryCorps | A Starting Point |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (1.5K ratings) | 4.9 (757 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 71.5% of reviews | 95.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.5K — better | 757 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 52 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | StoryCorps, Inc. | A Starting Point Llc |
Customer experience
StoryCorps
A Starting Point
User reviews
StoryCorps
From 1.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 💡 Preserves family histories
- 🚀 Convenient for recording interviews
- 🔒 Secure storage of recordings
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy app with crashes and lost recordings
- 🔍 Difficult to find and access saved recordings
- ⏱️ 45-minute recording limit too short
- 🔑 Facebook login issues
A Starting Point
From 757 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Informative and unbiased
- 🚀 Concise and easy to digest
- 🔍 Provides direct access to politicians
- 💡 Facilitates bipartisan dialogue
- 👍 Visually appealing and intuitive
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional app crashes
- 🔍 Limited content and topics covered
- 🔍 Lack of closed captions or transcripts
- 🔍 Absence of independent or third-party perspectives
Bugs and requests
StoryCorps
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes during recording or publishing
- Recordings randomly disappear or get corrupted
- Login and upload issues, especially with Facebook
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
Requested features
4 requests- Allow re-recording of interviews
- Improve upload and sharing functionality
- Add backup and restore options for recordings
- Extend recording time limit
A Starting Point
Reported bugs
2 issues- Login screen not functioning properly
- Video playback issues and stuttering
Requested features
4 requests- Add dark mode option
- Implement a way for users to submit questions
- Provide a filter to view content by home state
- Expand the range of topics and issues covered
In-app purchases
StoryCorps
No in-app purchases
A Starting Point
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is StoryCorps free?
Is A Starting Point free?
Which has better reviews, StoryCorps or A Starting Point?
Do StoryCorps or A Starting Point have ads?
Which is updated more often, StoryCorps or A Starting Point?
Other comparisons
