theCHIVE vs Alien Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
theCHIVE
Discover a daily stream of amusing photos and videos curated for lighthearted entertainment. This app offers a unique blend of humor, visually appealing content, and heartwarming stories, providing a happy escape from daily life without politics or news.
- Daily dose of amusing photos and videos
- Mix of humor, hotness, and humanity
- Happy escape content
- No politics or snarky humor
- No news, purely entertainment
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theCHIVE App is the most-downloaded humor app in iOS history. The content variety is a unique mix of Humor, Hotness, and Humanity. No long-winded articles, just your daily dose of the most amusing photos and videos the internet has to offer. - Content curated to be a happy escape - No politics or snarky humor - A little cleavage never hurt anybody - No news! We're here to entertain not inform For more information and to access our Terms of Use, please visit http://www.chivemediagroup.com/legal/terms/
Alien Reader
This app offers a streamlined mobile browsing experience for Reddit, inspired by browser extensions. It features full-size image previews and intuitive swipe gestures for voting, aiming to enhance user interaction.
- Reddit browsing
- Full-size image previews
- Swipe to vote gestures
- Mobile enhancement suite
- Simplified interface
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This brand new Reddit client combines the convenience of Reddit Enhancement Suite on the browser and the simplicity of mobile browsing. With full sized image previews and swipe to vote gestures, you'll never use another client again!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: theCHIVE at 4.6 against Alien Reader's 2.2. theCHIVE also leads on ratings volume (168K vs 6). Alien Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence 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
Both are free to download. theCHIVE sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Alien Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.
theCHIVE holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: theCHIVE has 168K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 21% of theCHIVE's written reviews are positive against 33% of Alien Reader's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
theCHIVE ships an update every 4 weeks, Alien Reader every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | theCHIVE | Alien Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (168K ratings) — better | 2.2 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 21.0% of reviews | 33.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 168K — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 7.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 45 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Chive Media Group, LLC | Kesav Mulakaluri |
Customer experience
theCHIVE
Alien Reader
Bugs and requests
theCHIVE
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes and freezes
- Redirects to App Store or other sites
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
Requested features
3 requests- Reduce ads or offer ad-free option
- Improve app stability and performance
- Restore previous app functionality
Alien Reader
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
theCHIVE
- Support$4.991 Month
- Monthly$6.991 Month
- Yearly$69.991 Year
Alien Reader
No in-app purchases
