Variety vs Loudwire
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Variety
Access authoritative and trusted entertainment business news from a global perspective. Stay informed with breaking news, award-season coverage, and insightful analysis of the film, television, theater, and tech industries.
- Breaking news reports
- Award-season coverage
- Feature spotlights
- Industry analysis
- Global perspective
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Variety is the most authoritative and trusted source of entertainment business news, recognized and respected throughout the world. Since 1905, influential producers, executives and talent in entertainment and beyond have turned to Variety for award-winning daily breaking news reports, insightful award-season coverage, must-read feature spotlights and intelligent analysis of the industry’s most prominent players. As the leading publication covering film, television, theater and tech with a global perspective, Variety is the vital read in every entertainment capital in over 84 countries. Privacy - https://pmc.com/privacy-policy/ EULA - https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Loudwire
Stay updated with the latest hard rock and metal news. Watch exclusive videos, read interviews, and get breaking news alerts. Save articles for offline reading and share content easily.
- Latest hard rock and metal news
- Original video features
- Exclusive artist interviews
- Breaking news notifications
- Offline article saving
- Background audio playback
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Loudwire is the world's premier hard rock and metal site. Key Features: - Read the latest hard rock and metal news - Watch original video features - See exclusive interviews with the top artists in hard rock and metal - Subscribe to notifications for breaking news and other topics - Share the latest news via Facebook & Twitter - Save articles for reading later (supports offline viewing) - Featured full multi-tasking with background audio and controls - Supports AirPlay feature for wireless streaming to your AirPlay-compatible device. This is the latest version of the Loudwire app and we have many more features planned, so please share your feedback from within the app by clicking the Send Us Feedback link in the menu. Terms of Use: https://loudwire.com/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://loudwire.com/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
Variety and Loudwire both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 40% of Loudwire's written reviews are positive against 15% of Variety's. Variety's advantage is ratings volume (1.7K vs 117) and chart position (#174 vs unranked). 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. Variety sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $13.99 per month and Loudwire sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Variety against 4.4 for Loudwire. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Variety has 1.7K ratings behind it against 117, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 15% of Variety's written reviews are positive against 40% of Loudwire's.
Variety ships an update every 4 months, Loudwire every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Variety | Loudwire |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (1.7K ratings) — better | 4.4 (117 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 14.8% of reviews | 40.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.7K — better | 117 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #174 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 143 MB | 76 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | PMC | Townsquare Media, LLC |
Customer experience
Variety
Loudwire
Bugs and requests
Variety
Reported bugs
21 issues- Articles don't open
- Can't read entire articles
- Only the first paragraph/sentence loads
- Articles Wont Load
- Only the first sentence of every article is displayed
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- Can't use app without notifications on
- VIP+ Membership is useless on iPad
- Navbar too tight on iPhone 13 mini
- Freezes at start on iPad
- Doesn't have OneTrust data to show Banner user interface
- Impossible to Use
- Site keeps crashing
- Awfull app crashes constantly
- 50% of the time, this app just shuts down, out of the blue
- Incredibly slow and glitchy
- Crashes and stutters
- Very unstable on my iPad
- Keeps crashing
- Soooo slow. Problems loading pages
- Unstable
- Article disappears right after you open it in the app
Requested features
4 requests- Real Time Alerts Feature
- Dark mode option
- Advanced analytics dashboard
- Ability to access magazine issues for direct subscribers
Loudwire
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Variety
- Variety Magazine$13.991 Month
- Variety VIP$39.991 Month
- Variety Magazine$139.991 Year
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- Variety VIP$399.991 Year
Loudwire
- Ad-Free Monthly1 Month trial$2.991 Month
- Ad-Free Annual1 Month trial$29.991 Year
