Comparison

Boston.com vs Artscope Magazine

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Curated news alerts
  • Weather updates
  • Sports scores
  • Local and national news
  • Lifestyle and entertainment coverage
Features
Read full description

-- 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.

About

Artscope Magazine

This app provides previews and reviews of art exhibitions, galleries, and artists in the New England region. It aims to make art accessible and encourages community participation through interactive content and on-the-go formats.

Highlights
  • Previews and reviews of regional art exhibitions
  • Profiles of artists, galleries, and arts organizations
  • Interactive images and special elements
  • Dynamic, on-the-go tablet-optimized format
  • Instant delivery of new issues
  • Free 30-day trial with subscription
Features
Read full description

About As New England’s premier culture magazine, artscope brings you current previews and review of the region’s gallery and museum exhibitions plus artist, gallery and arts organization profiles in print, digital and online format, all brought together through our recently launched mobile formats, available for download in the Apple app store. Artscope strives to make art an accessible medium by which its readers can develop a comprehensive and interactive appreciation of the arts. Artscope covers artists, galleries and museums in the New England region, enthusiastically encouraging its readers to understand the work exhibited and to actively participate in the region’s arts community. Description Artscope aims to inform and entertain with a consistent standard for high quality content and production while working to increase the visibility of artists from New England, the nation and across nations at New England venues and beyond in the hope of expanding the New England arts community and its marketability, sales potential and visitor numbers. Our committed editorial team and talented group of writers, photographers, arts associates and graphic and web designers have set the bar high for artscope to serve its readers, advertisers and the arts community at large through performance and aesthetics. Artscope is available at hundreds of museum, gallery, college, university and educational locations throughout New England. In addition to regular features: - Explore interactive images and special elements - Read each edition especially designedfor the tablet in a dynamic, on-the-go format - Receive new issues instantly as they become available on the Newsstand and in circulation - Get a free 30-day trial with your subscription artscope subscription Annual 12 month subscription (6 issues): $15.99 Single Issue: $2.99 Payment for all purchases will be charged to your iTunes account at the confirmation of your purchase. Privacy policy and terms of use available here: http://artscope.wpengine.com/terms-of-use/

Screenshots

Boston.com4 screens
Artscope Magazine2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Boston.com at 4.6 against Artscope Magazine's 3.8. Boston.com also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 20) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 49 months). Artscope Magazine's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (62% vs 34%). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Artscope Magazine sells 20 in-app purchases, starting at $15.99 per year. Boston.com asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Boston.com holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Boston.com has 7.4K ratings behind it against 59, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 34% of Boston.com's written reviews are positive against 62% of Artscope Magazine's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Boston.com ships an update every 3 months, Artscope Magazine every 49 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and June 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Boston.com versus Artscope Magazine: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBoston.comArtscope Magazine
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (7.4K ratings) — better3.8 (59 ratings)
Positive reviews34.3% of reviews61.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7.4K — better59
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 49 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size75 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBOSTON GLOBE MEDIA PARTNERS, LLCBoston Publishing House LLC

Customer experience

Boston.com

All ratings7,428 ratings
Positive90.2%
Neutral4.6%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews70 reviews
Positive34.3%
Neutral5.7%
Negative60.0%

Artscope Magazine

All ratings59 ratings
Positive72.9%
Neutral3.4%
Negative23.7%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive61.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative38.5%

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

Artscope Magazine

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Boston.com

No in-app purchases

20 purchases

Artscope Magazine

Subscriptions2
  • Subscription1 Month trial$15.991 Year
  • Artscope Yearly Subscription$15.991 Year
One-time18
  • March/April 2016$2.99
  • May/June 2016$2.99
  • March/April 2020$2.99
Show 15 more
  • May/June 2020$2.99
  • November/December 2020$2.99
  • January/February 2021$2.99
  • May/June 2022$2.99
  • March / April 2023$2.99
  • January/February 2024$2.99
  • March/April 2024$2.99
  • January/February 2016$2.99
  • January/February 2025$2.99
  • November/December 2024$2.99
  • September / October 2024$2.99
  • January/February 2022$2.99
  • March/April 2022$2.99
  • July/August 2024$2.99
  • May/June 2024$2.99

Questions

Is Boston.com free?
Boston.com is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Artscope Magazine free?
Artscope Magazine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Boston.com or Artscope Magazine?
Boston.com is rated higher. Boston.com averages 4.6 out of 5 from 7.4K ratings, while Artscope Magazine averages 3.8 from 59 ratings.
Do Boston.com or Artscope Magazine have ads?
Boston.com shows ads; Artscope Magazine does not.
Which is updated more often, Boston.com or Artscope Magazine?
Boston.com ships an update every 3 months, and Artscope Magazine every 49 months. Most recently, Boston.com was updated on September 25, 2026 and Artscope Magazine on June 6, 2026.

Other comparisons