# The Hill vs AP Playbook

The clearest difference is review sentiment: AP Playbook at 100% against The Hill's 7%. AP Playbook also leads on rating (4.1 vs 2.5) and ads (none vs shown). The Hill's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (287 vs 7). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

AP Playbook holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Hill has 287 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 7% of The Hill's written reviews are positive against 100% of AP Playbook's.

The Hill ships an update every 5 weeks, AP Playbook every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | The Hill | AP Playbook |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [2.5 (287 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-hill/id360124019/reviews) | **[4.1 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ap-playbook/id1409867755/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **287** | 7 |
| Positive reviews | 6.5% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 weeks** | Every 6 months |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#208** | — |
| Size | 81 MB | 1 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | **9.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Nexstar Broadcasting](https://appshunter.io/developer/457614880) | [The Associated Press](https://appshunter.io/developer/284901419) |

## What reviewers say

### The Hill

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-hill/id360124019)

**Currently charting:** #208 Top Free · News (US App Store)

Stay informed on Congress and politics, with a focus on business, lobbying, and campaigns. Access news, analysis, and opinion pieces, plus video reports and political talk shows. Get push notifications for breaking news and save articles for later.

**Highlights:** Congress and politics coverage, Business and lobbying focus, News, analysis, and opinion, Video clips and talk shows, Topic-based push notifications, Save stories for later

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 📺 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- Search functionality for articles
- Bookmark/save articles feature
- Breaking news notifications
- Ad-free subscription option
- Ability to disable auto-play videos


### AP Playbook

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ap-playbook/id1409867755)

This app centralizes, visualizes, and strategizes newsroom plans. It helps newsrooms collaboratively plan coverage, monitor assignments, and track costs for all formats. Users can build plans with topic and assignment cards, view dashboards, and receive notifications for story developments.

**Highlights:** Collaborative coverage planning, Assignment monitoring, Cost tracking, Visual dashboards, Topic and assignment cards, Notifications for updates

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is The Hill free?

The Hill is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is AP Playbook free?

AP Playbook is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, The Hill or AP Playbook?

AP Playbook is rated higher. The Hill averages 2.5 out of 5 from 287 ratings, while AP Playbook averages 4.1 from 7 ratings.

### Do The Hill or AP Playbook have ads?

The Hill shows ads; AP Playbook does not.

### Which is updated more often, The Hill or AP Playbook?

The Hill ships an update every 5 weeks, and AP Playbook every 6 months. Most recently, The Hill was updated on November 10, 2026 and AP Playbook on November 2, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*