WBUR vs WBEZ
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
WBEZ
Listen to Chicago's NPR news station live or on-demand. Access local and national news, podcasts, and investigative journalism from WBEZ and its partners. Catch up on missed shows with rewind functionality.
- Live radio streaming
- On-demand audio features
- Podcast library
- Rewind live shows
- Curated daily stories
- Investigative journalism
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The WBEZ app lets you listen to the news and voices of Chicago on your schedule, wherever you are. Listen to live radio broadcasts, on-demand audio features and podcasts with the best storytelling locally and around the nation. You’ll enjoy original WBEZ Chicago programming and shows from our partners, including NPR, BBC and more. Take your trusted news on the go. Listen to the news live wherever your day takes you. The WBEZ app delivers Chicago news, national news and international news right to your hand. You never have to miss a minute again. You can rewind at any moment and replay any live show from the last week to catch up on anything you missed. With the WBEZ app, continue to get investigative journalism, cultural reporting, news headlines and more on your timeline. Discover something new. Browse through the best audio stories and shows WBEZ Chicago has to offer. Each day, featured stories are curated just for you from our newsroom. Plus, you can find popular podcasts from WBEZ, NPR and other featured partners; including titles such as Curious City, Nerdette, Motive and Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me! There’s something for everyone with the WBEZ app. WBEZ Chicago is listener-supported and Chicago’s NPR news station, one of the largest and most respected public media stations in the country.
Screenshots
Verdict
WBUR and WBEZ both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 71% of WBEZ's written reviews are positive against 41% of WBUR's. WBUR's advantage is chart position (#207 vs unranked) and ratings volume (4K vs 623). On price, rating, update cadence 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, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: WBUR has 4K ratings behind it against 623, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 41% of WBUR's written reviews are positive against 71% of WBEZ's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
WBUR ships an update every 6 weeks, WBEZ every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on September 19, 2026.
| Parameter | WBUR | WBEZ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (4K ratings) — better | 4.7 (623 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 41.3% of reviews | 71.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4K — better | 623 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Ad-supported |
| Best chart rank | #207 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 54 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | 90.9 WBUR, Boston’s NPR news station | Chicago Public Media, Inc. |
Customer experience
WBUR
WBEZ
User reviews
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
WBEZ
From 623 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy access to live and on-demand content
- 👍 Convenient listening experience
- 🌐 Accessible from anywhere
- 🗞️ Comprehensive news coverage
- 🎧 High-quality audio
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔁 Ads interrupting playback
- 🔍 Confusing navigation and UI
- ⏱️ Playback issues (freezing, skipping)
- 🔋 High battery consumption
Bugs and requests
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
WBEZ
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashing on launch
- Streaming issues on poor internet connections
- Push notifications causing app to freeze
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between audio sources
Requested features
5 requests- Improved search and content discovery
- Sleep timer functionality
- Ability to resume playback from where left off
- CarPlay and Bluetooth speaker support
- More granular access to local news
In-app purchases
WBUR
No in-app purchases
WBEZ
No in-app purchases
