# The Hill vs Democracy Now!

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Democracy Now! at 66% against The Hill's 7%. Democracy Now! also leads on rating (4.4 vs 2.5) and ads (none vs shown). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

Democracy Now! holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 287 and 416 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 7% of The Hill's written reviews are positive against 66% of Democracy Now!'s.

The Hill ships an update every 5 weeks, Democracy Now! every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | The Hill | Democracy Now! |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [2.5 (287 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-hill/id360124019/reviews) | **[4.4 (416 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/democracy-now/id959877465/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 287 | **416** |
| Positive reviews | 6.5% of reviews | **65.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 weeks** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | — | **#186** |
| Size | 75 MB | 30 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | **13.4** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Nexstar Broadcasting](https://appshunter.io/developer/457614880) | [DEMOCRACY NOW PRODUCTIONS INC](https://appshunter.io/developer/633548597) |

## What reviewers say

### The Hill

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

Stay informed on Congress and politics with in-depth news, analysis, and opinion pieces. Covers business, lobbying, campaigns, and Capitol Hill happenings. Includes video reports and political talk shows.

**Highlights:** Congress and politics coverage, Business and lobbying news, Campaign updates, Capitol Hill reporting, 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


### Democracy Now!

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/democracy-now/id959877465)

**Currently charting:** #186 Top Free · News (US App Store)

Access award-winning independent news with daily global headlines and in-depth interviews. This app offers content in video, audio, and transcript formats, including web exclusives and a live video stream.

**Highlights:** Daily news headlines, In-depth interviews, Web exclusives, Audio and video on-demand, Live video stream

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Excellent news coverage
- 🚀 Easy to navigate app
- 💡 Appreciate audio-only option
- 🚀 Streamlined interface
- 👍 Trustworthy news source

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Streaming issues and buffering problems
- 🐛 Sync issues between audio and video
- 🐛 Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
- 🐛 Glitchy scrolling and article loading

**Reported bugs**

- Refresh issues on headlines tab
- App not optimized for larger screens
- Occasional audio/video desync
- Crashes when trying to share content

**Requested features**

- Push notification support
- Landscape mode support
- Chromecast/AirPlay integration
- Ability to download episodes for offline viewing
- Improved sharing capabilities


## Frequently asked questions

### Is The Hill free?

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

### Is Democracy Now! free?

Democracy Now! is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, The Hill or Democracy Now!?

Democracy Now! is rated higher. The Hill averages 2.5 out of 5 from 287 ratings, while Democracy Now! averages 4.4 from 416 ratings.

### Do The Hill or Democracy Now! have ads?

The Hill shows ads; Democracy Now! does not.

### Which is updated more often, The Hill or Democracy Now!?

The Hill ships an update every 5 weeks, and Democracy Now! every 6 weeks. Most recently, The Hill was updated on November 5, 2026 and Democracy Now! on November 6, 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.*