# Stuff.co.nz vs RNZ

The clearest difference is ads: RNZ at none against Stuff.co.nz's shown. RNZ also leads on review sentiment (40% vs 21%) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Stuff.co.nz's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (129 vs 17). On price, rating, 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.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.7 for Stuff.co.nz against 3.6 for RNZ. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Stuff.co.nz has 129 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 21% of Stuff.co.nz's written reviews are positive against 40% of RNZ's.

Stuff.co.nz ships an update weekly, RNZ every 3 months. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Stuff.co.nz | RNZ |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.7 (129 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stuffconz/id383545689/reviews)** | [3.6 (17 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rnz/id407890305/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **129** | 17 |
| Positive reviews | 21.0% of reviews | **39.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | **Free** |
| Size | 21 MB | 51 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Stuff Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/383545692) | [Radio New Zealand](https://appshunter.io/developer/407890308) |

## What reviewers say

### Stuff.co.nz

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stuffconz/id383545689)

Access breaking news, live videos, and in-depth journalism from across New Zealand. Stay informed on politics, sports, business, and celebrity updates, with on-demand video content and daily quizzes.

**Highlights:** Breaking news updates, Live videos and blogs, On-demand video content, Daily quizzes, NZ weather forecasts, Personalized notifications

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 📰 Great source for NZ news
- 🌍 Useful for expats to stay connected
- 🗞️ Variety of interesting articles

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
- 🤖 Buggy and glitchy performance
- 🤯 Frustrating ad redirects and popups
- 🕰️ Slow loading times
- 🔍 Poor search functionality

**Reported bugs**

- Constant app crashes and freezes
- Redirects to App Store without user interaction
- Videos not playing properly or getting stuck
- Scrolling issues and content jumping around
- Login and password reset problems

**Requested features**

- Dark mode option
- Ability to save articles for offline reading
- Improved navigation and article browsing
- Better personalization and customization options


### RNZ

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rnz/id407890305)

Access New Zealand's public broadcaster's news, radio stations, podcasts, and on-demand video and audio content. Enjoy a user-friendly interface with features like bookmarking, favorites, and a play queue for personalized listening. Listen live or offline, and receive breaking news alerts.

**Highlights:** Breaking news alerts and live coverage, Live streaming of all RNZ radio stations, On-demand programmes, podcasts, and series, Play queue for listening later or offline, Offline listening without internet access, Personalization with favorites and bookmarks

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 📰 High-quality, ad-free news content
- 🌙 Dark mode implementation (recently added)
- 🎙️ Excellent radio streaming and podcasts
- 🆓 Free access to comprehensive news
- 📱 Generally user-friendly interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App crashes and freezes frequently
- 📏 Text size too small, poor accessibility
- 🔊 Audio playback stops when app backgrounded
- 📱 Not optimized for iPad (phone-sized view)
- 🔗 Many articles redirect to external browser

**Reported bugs**

- App stops playing audio when screen locks
- Crashes on iPhone 14 with iOS 18.5
- HomePod connection drops after seconds
- News items fail to open randomly
- Swipe-to-go-back navigation broken

**Requested features**

- Dynamic Type/adjustable font size support
- Image zoom functionality in articles
- iPad-optimized app version
- Granular notification settings (sports, crime, regional)
- Sleep timer feature


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Stuff.co.nz free?

Stuff.co.nz is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is RNZ free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Stuff.co.nz or RNZ?

Stuff.co.nz is rated higher. Stuff.co.nz averages 3.7 out of 5 from 129 ratings, while RNZ averages 3.6 from 17 ratings.

### Do Stuff.co.nz or RNZ have ads?

Stuff.co.nz shows ads; RNZ does not.

### Which is updated more often, Stuff.co.nz or RNZ?

Stuff.co.nz ships an update weekly, and RNZ every 3 months. Most recently, Stuff.co.nz was updated on September 24, 2026 and RNZ on September 24, 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.*