# Variety vs AP Playbook

The clearest difference is review sentiment: AP Playbook at 100% against Variety's 15%. AP Playbook also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). Variety's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 4.1) and ratings volume (1.7K vs 7). On price, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Variety sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $13.99 per month. AP Playbook asks for nothing beyond the download.

Variety holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Variety has 1.7K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 15% of Variety's written reviews are positive against 100% of AP Playbook's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Variety ships an update every 4 months, AP Playbook every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Variety | AP Playbook |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (1.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/variety/id416179538/reviews)** | [4.1 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ap-playbook/id1409867755/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.7K** | 7 |
| Positive reviews | 14.8% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 months** | Every 6 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 143 MB | 1 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **9.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [PMC](https://appshunter.io/developer/533209616) | [The Associated Press](https://appshunter.io/developer/284901419) |

## What reviewers say

### Variety

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/variety/id416179538)

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.

**Highlights:** Breaking news reports, Award-season coverage, Feature spotlights, Industry analysis, Global perspective

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Variety Magazine | $13.99 | per month |
| Variety VIP | $39.99 | per month |
| Variety Magazine | $139.99 | per year |
| Variety VIP | $399.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Customizable newsfeed
- 🚀 Trades on the fly!
- 💡 Manager

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes, shows no content
- 🐛 Buggy ads
- 🐛 Slow and buggy
- 🔋 Battery Drain
- 🐛 Multimedia Always Fails

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- Real Time Alerts Feature
- Dark mode option
- Advanced analytics dashboard
- Ability to access magazine issues for direct subscribers


### AP Playbook

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ap-playbook/id1409867755)

This app centralizes, visualizes, and strategizes newsroom plans. It helps newsrooms collaboratively plan coverage, monitor assignments, and track costs for all formats. Users can build plans with topic and assignment cards, view dashboards, and receive notifications for story developments.

**Highlights:** Collaborative coverage planning, Assignment monitoring, Cost tracking, Visual dashboards, Topic and assignment cards, Notifications for updates

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Variety free?

Variety is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is AP Playbook free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Variety or AP Playbook?

Variety is rated higher. Variety averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1.7K ratings, while AP Playbook averages 4.1 from 7 ratings.

### Do Variety or AP Playbook have ads?

Variety shows ads; AP Playbook does not.

### Which is updated more often, Variety or AP Playbook?

Variety ships an update every 4 months, and AP Playbook every 6 months. Most recently, Variety was updated on November 1, 2026 and AP Playbook on November 2, 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.*