Boston.com vs WBUR
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Boston.com
Access curated news alerts, weather updates, and sports scores. Stay informed about local and national news, lifestyle, and entertainment from a team of journalists.
- Curated news alerts
- Weather updates
- Sports scores
- Local and national news
- Lifestyle and entertainment coverage
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-- Stay connected with Boston.com and find out what Boston really cares about right now. -- Get curated news alerts, weather updates, sports scores, and more. -- Read and browse stories from our team of journalists covering local and national news, the city's four pro sports teams, lifestyle, entertainment, and more.
WBUR
Access live radio streams and on-demand podcasts from a public media organization. Enjoy news briefs, trending stories, and the ability to download episodes for offline listening. Supports CarPlay for in-car use.
- Live radio stream
- Signature podcasts
- Hourly news briefs
- Download episodes
- CarPlay support
- On-demand listening
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Looking for trusted news and stories? The WBUR App is the best way to get news from Greater Boston and beyond with our live stream and signature podcasts all in one place. Play, pause, rewind (and play again) live radio shows from the award-winning teams at WBUR and NPR. On Point, Here & Now, Circle Round, Endless Thread and more are all at your fingertips. You’ll also: + Stay in the know with hourly local and national audio news briefs + Listen on demand to your favorite shows like Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Marketplace + Download episodes of award-winning podcasts for offline listening. + Play daily word games and test your news knowledge with our weekly Boston News Quiz. + Catch the latest events happening at WBUR CitySpace. Our journalism is funded by you, our listeners. Thanks for choosing WBUR, Boston’s NPR news.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: WBUR at 4.8 against Boston.com's 4.6. WBUR also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
WBUR holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7.4K and 4K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of Boston.com's written reviews are positive against 41% of WBUR's.
Boston.com ships an update every 3 months, WBUR every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Boston.com | WBUR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (7.4K ratings) | 4.8 (4K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 34.3% of reviews | 40.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7.4K — better | 4K |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 75 MB | 55 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | BOSTON GLOBE MEDIA PARTNERS, LLC | WBUR |
Customer experience
Boston.com
WBUR
User reviews
Boston.com
From 7.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ⭐️ Great news and sports coverage
- ⭐️ Wonderful app
- ⭐️ Best progressive newspaper
- ⭐️ Best sports section in Boston
- ⭐️ Favorite news source
Room to improve
- 💰 Hiding behind a paywall
- 🚫 No images
- 🕰️ Doesn't update enough
- 🕰️ Zero updates
- 🚫 Recycling of old stories
WBUR
From 4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 24/7 access to news and programs
- 👍 Pause, rewind, and resume live streaming
- 💡 Ability to download shows for offline listening
- 👍 Easy to navigate and use
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Inconsistent live streaming and buffering issues
- 🐛 Rewind and fast-forward functionality not working as expected
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🔍 Cluttered interface with too many buttons
Bugs and requests
Boston.com
Reported bugs
2 issues- Login screen freezes
- Incompatible with older devices
Requested features
2 requests- Dark mode option
- Advanced analytics dashboard
WBUR
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes when switching between audio sources
- Playback does not resume after interruptions like phone calls
- Time slider inaccurate, often showing wrong position in the program
Requested features
4 requests- Add search functionality to find specific shows or episodes
- Improve sleep timer and alarm clock integration
- Provide an option to disable the opening ad
- Optimize the app for larger screens and modern UI
In-app purchases
Boston.com
No in-app purchases
WBUR
No in-app purchases
