# bz Basel vs watson News

The clearest difference is rating: bz Basel at 4.8 against watson News's 2.0. bz Basel also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). watson News's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. bz Basel sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $29.99 per month. watson News asks for nothing beyond the download.

bz Basel holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 5 respectively.

bz Basel ships an update weekly, watson News every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | bz Basel | watson News |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bz-basel/id430253996/reviews)** | [2.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/watson-news/id794323989/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 4 | **5** |
| Positive reviews | — | 71.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Ad-supported** |
| Size | 66 MB | 27 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 17.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [CH Regionalmedien AG (Apps)](https://appshunter.io/developer/1781043237) | [Fixxpunkt AG](https://appshunter.io/developer/793948933) |

## What reviewers say

### bz Basel

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bz-basel/id430253996)

Stay informed with breaking news and in-depth articles from your region and beyond. Access both modern news updates and the classic digital newspaper. Offers personalized alerts, saved articles, and a search function for easy content discovery.

**Highlights:** Personalized notifications, Save articles for later, Search functionality, E-Paper archive, Offline E-Paper access, Regional, national, and international news

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| bz Basel Monatsabo | $29.99 | per month |
| E-Paper Monatsabo | $49.99 | per month |
| bz Basel Jahresabo | $299.99 | per year |
| E-Paper Jahresabo | $499.99 | per year |


### watson News

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/watson-news/id794323989)

Access relevant, entertaining, and uncensored information with personalized news updates. Engage with multimedia content, follow favorite authors, and contribute your own media directly to the editorial team.

**Highlights:** Customizable push notifications, Story-based swipe and scroll feed, Follow authors and topics, Multimedia live tickers, Easy article sharing, Direct user content submission

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is bz Basel free?

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

### Is watson News free?

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

### Which has better reviews, bz Basel or watson News?

bz Basel is rated higher. bz Basel averages 4.8 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while watson News averages 2.0 from 5 ratings.

### Do bz Basel or watson News have ads?

Both bz Basel and watson News show ads.

### Which is updated more often, bz Basel or watson News?

bz Basel ships an update weekly, and watson News every 3 months. Most recently, bz Basel was updated on November 10, 2026 and watson News on November 6, 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.*