Comparison

Patch vs NextDraft

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

Head to head
About

Patch

Stay informed about your local community with real-time news, events, and weather updates. Discover schools, homes for sale, jobs, and announcements in a single, easy-to-scroll feed. Receive breaking news alerts and share stories with friends.

Highlights
  • Local news and events for 1,200+ towns
  • Breaking news push notifications
  • Local weather forecasts and alerts
  • Find local jobs and announcements
  • One-scroll feed for town happenings
  • Bookmark articles for later reading
  • Support for following multiple towns
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

If you're looking for "everything local," Patch is the app for you. Local schools? Check. Breaking news? Check. Homes for sale? We've got those, too. You'll always be in touch with your town with the Patch app. Check out these features: • News and events for 1,200+ Patch Towns, with more towns added every month. • Push notifications as important news breaks — you’ll be the first to get the scoop. • Swipe left or right to view articles faster. • Local weather forecasts and alerts — you'll never be caught without an umbrella or snow boots again. • Find local events, jobs and announcements in your area. • Get everything that is happening in your town in a one-scroll feed! • Share stories to your Facebook friends or email/SMS to a friend! • Patch also has fun iMessage animal stickers to share your emotions with your friends! • Love an article? You can bookmark it to your phone to come back and read it later. • Want to follow multiple towns? No problem, swipe left or right to navigate between your favorite Patch towns. Our new Patch app delivers a beautiful browsing and reading experience for iOS users. Our pages load lightning fast. You'll never be kept waiting to see what's behind that headline. The sleek design provides an in-depth storytelling experience fueled by concise writing and rich imagery. TELL US WHAT YOU THINK: We're eager to hear your feedback and suggestions. How can we make the app even better? What features would you like to see? We aim to be the best news app in the country, and your ideas are crucial. Please email us at Feedback@patch.com Images used under license from Shutterstock.com

About

NextDraft

Get a curated summary of the day's ten most fascinating news stories, handpicked by an expert news addict. This app cuts through online clutter to deliver essential, entertaining, and often surprising content in an easy-to-read format.

Highlights
  • Daily summary of top 10 news stories
  • Expertly curated content
  • Easy-to-read format
  • Save articles to read later
  • Includes viral videos and photos
Features
Read full description

Real News Daily. Dave Pell, Internet wit and news addict, provides a smart summary of the day's ten most fascinating news stories. "Dave finds stuff I didn't see but should have. Add that to his drop-dead sexiness and you've got yourself an indispensable newsletter." - Steve Bodow, Executive Producer, The Daily Show "You will feel smarter and happier after you download it." - TechCrunch "The NextDraft newsletter is indispensable. Dave Pell cuts through the clutter with urgency, humor and smarts. I never miss it." - Don Van Natta Jr., ESPN "On any given day, Dave turns up the top 10 stories that are important, moving, hilarious, and just weird. Next Draft finds the signal in all the noise that's out there." - Bob Cohn, President, Atlantic Media The News Trusted By Those Who Write the News: "A consistently informative and entertaining guide to some of the best stories on the web, with a healthy mix of news you should know, want to know, and prefer to pretend you didn't read." - Maria Konnikova, New Yorker "Think of Dave Pell as the Internet’s managing editor. The NYT meets SNL. Smart, funny, essential." - Phil Bronstein, Executive Chair, Center for Investigative Reporting "NextDraft is a must-read." - Ram Ramgopal, CNN Executive Editor "Like all great curators, Pell continually provides answers to questions you weren’t even aware you were asking; even as he feeds your mind, he cultivates and expands your curiosity. I read NextDraft the way I breathe, and for the same reason." - Andrew Corsello, GQ "There are days - hell, weeks - where I would be completely lost without the Internet concierge that is NextDraft." - Hilary Sargent, Boston Globe "It is about time the Internet had a managing editor, and Dave Pell turns out to be the perfect choice for he job. NextDraft is always nourishing, often surprising and quite witty (especially given that he is an American). An essential tea time read." - Matthew Bishop, The Economist "Dave is an expert at picking through the deluge and serving up the day's best stories from a huge variety of websites." - Sapna Maheshwari, Buzzfeed Highlights: You need an algorithm to help cut to through the Internet's clutter. News junkie Dave Pell is that algorithm. He combs dozens of sites, finds the most fascinating news stores, and then provides a fast, pithy summary that will make your iPhone vibrate with awesomeness. - Get a quick overview of what matters today. - View the news in a simple, easy to read format. - Save articles to your favorite read later tool with one click (Readability, Instapaper, Pocket, etc). - Don't miss the day's best viral videos and photos. - Be the star of any dinner party.

Screenshots

Patch4 screens
NextDraft3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: NextDraft at none against Patch's shown. NextDraft also leads on review sentiment (87% vs 58%) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Patch's advantage is ratings volume (26K vs 86) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). On price, rating, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Patch against 4.6 for NextDraft. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Patch has 26K ratings behind it against 86, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 58% of Patch's written reviews are positive against 87% of NextDraft's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Patch ships an update every 2 months, NextDraft every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Patch versus NextDraft: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPatchNextDraft
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (26K ratings) — better4.6 (86 ratings)
Positive reviews58.3% of reviews86.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings26K — better86
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
Best chart rank#157 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.68.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size66 MB11 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperPatch MediaNextDraft

Customer experience

Patch

All ratings26,281 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral3.3%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews144 reviews
Positive58.3%
Neutral7.6%
Negative34.0%

NextDraft

All ratings86 ratings
Positive87.2%
Neutral5.8%
Negative7.0%
Written reviews122 reviews
Positive86.9%
Neutral2.5%
Negative10.7%

User reviews

Patch

From 26K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🗞️ Informative local news
  • 📰 Comprehensive coverage of community events
  • 🔍 Useful for staying up-to-date on local happenings
  • 🗓️ Timely and relevant information
  • 💻 Convenient online/mobile access to local news

Room to improve

  • 🔌 App stability and performance issues
  • 🔍 Limited ability to customize content and notifications
  • 📢 Concerns about removal of reader comments
  • 🗺️ Lack of location-specific focus in some areas
  • 💲 Paid subscription model for full access

NextDraft

From 86 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Efficient news curation
  • 👍 Entertaining and insightful commentary
  • 🔍 Comprehensive coverage of important news
  • 📚 Diverse range of interesting articles
  • 💻 Clean and intuitive app design

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or stability issues
  • 🔆 Lack of dark mode option
  • 🔗 Difficulty tracking read/unread content

Bugs and requests

Patch

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Articles failing to load or open properly
  • Notification issues, including duplicate or missing alerts
  • Inconsistent app behavior after updates
  • Difficulty clearing unread article indicators

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow users to select specific news categories of interest
  • Improve notification system to be more reliable and customizable
  • Restore reader comment functionality
  • Enhance location-based targeting and content curation
  • Offer more affordable or free access options

NextDraft

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes on launch with older iOS versions
  • Scrolling issues on some devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to mark articles as read/unread
  • More font size options

In-app purchases

None

Patch

No in-app purchases

None

NextDraft

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Patch free?
Patch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NextDraft free?
NextDraft is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Patch or NextDraft?
Patch is rated higher. Patch averages 4.7 out of 5 from 26K ratings, while NextDraft averages 4.6 from 86 ratings.
Do Patch or NextDraft have ads?
Patch shows ads; NextDraft does not.
Which is updated more often, Patch or NextDraft?
Patch ships an update every 2 months, and NextDraft every 4 months. Most recently, Patch was updated on September 24, 2026 and NextDraft on September 22, 2026.

Other comparisons