WNYC vs WBEZ
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
WNYC
Access live and on-demand news, commentary, culture, storytelling, and music from New York's public radio station and its partners. Save podcasts for offline listening and stay updated on local and national headlines.
- Live broadcast streaming
- On-demand news and commentary
- Podcast saving for offline listening
- Local and national headline updates
- Music live streams
Read full descriptionHide full description
Join the New York conversation wherever you are. Our app lets you hear the best live and on-demand news, commentary, culture reporting, storytelling and music. Listen to our live broadcast to get the latest from WNYC, NPR, the BBC and our partners in public media. Save podcasts for offline listening. Get easy access to the latest news updates and the most talked-about local and national headlines from Gothamist and NPR, so you can catch up quickly whenever you want. And listen to great music from the New Sounds and WQXR live streams. WNYC is a listener-supported public radio station. Your financial support helps make possible our programming, broadcasting and digital innovation.
WBEZ
Listen to Chicago's NPR news station live or on-demand. Access local and national news, podcasts, and investigative journalism from WBEZ and its partners. Catch up on missed shows with rewind functionality.
- Live radio streaming
- On-demand audio features
- Podcast library
- Rewind live shows
- Curated daily stories
- Investigative journalism
Read full descriptionHide full description
The WBEZ app lets you listen to the news and voices of Chicago on your schedule, wherever you are. Listen to live radio broadcasts, on-demand audio features and podcasts with the best storytelling locally and around the nation. You’ll enjoy original WBEZ Chicago programming and shows from our partners, including NPR, BBC and more. Take your trusted news on the go. Listen to the news live wherever your day takes you. The WBEZ app delivers Chicago news, national news and international news right to your hand. You never have to miss a minute again. You can rewind at any moment and replay any live show from the last week to catch up on anything you missed. With the WBEZ app, continue to get investigative journalism, cultural reporting, news headlines and more on your timeline. Discover something new. Browse through the best audio stories and shows WBEZ Chicago has to offer. Each day, featured stories are curated just for you from our newsroom. Plus, you can find popular podcasts from WBEZ, NPR and other featured partners; including titles such as Curious City, Nerdette, Motive and Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me! There’s something for everyone with the WBEZ app. WBEZ Chicago is listener-supported and Chicago’s NPR news station, one of the largest and most respected public media stations in the country.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: WBEZ at 71% against WNYC's 32%. WBEZ also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.5) and monetization model (ad-supported vs free with in-app purchases). WNYC's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#203 vs unranked). On price, ratings volume, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
WBEZ holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 793 and 623 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of WNYC's written reviews are positive against 71% of WBEZ's.
WNYC ships an update every 2 months, WBEZ every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | WNYC | WBEZ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (793 ratings) | 4.7 (623 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 31.6% of reviews | 71.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 793 — better | 623 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Best chart rank | #203 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 92 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | New York Public Radio | Chicago Public Media, Inc. |
Customer experience
WNYC
WBEZ
User reviews
WNYC
From 793 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great station, great app
- 📻 Excellent content and programming
- 🌐 Access to WNYC anywhere
- 🔍 Helpful discovery features
- 🔊 Reliable live streaming
Room to improve
- 🐛 Glitchy, buggy, and unstable
- 🔇 Frequent audio issues and disconnects
- 🔁 Struggles to resume playback after interruptions
- 🔍 Confusing navigation and UI
- 🔋 Drains battery quickly
WBEZ
From 623 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy access to live and on-demand content
- 👍 Convenient listening experience
- 🌐 Accessible from anywhere
- 🗞️ Comprehensive news coverage
- 🎧 High-quality audio
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔁 Ads interrupting playback
- 🔍 Confusing navigation and UI
- ⏱️ Playback issues (freezing, skipping)
- 🔋 High battery consumption
Bugs and requests
WNYC
Reported bugs
5 issues- App crashes on launch
- Audio stream stops unexpectedly
- Playback controls not working
- Saved content disappearing
- Connectivity issues with cellular and WiFi
Requested features
5 requests- Bring back sleep timer
- Improve podcast playback and resume functionality
- Add background audio support
- Optimize UI for newer iPhone models
- Implement better connectivity handling
WBEZ
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashing on launch
- Streaming issues on poor internet connections
- Push notifications causing app to freeze
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between audio sources
Requested features
5 requests- Improved search and content discovery
- Sleep timer functionality
- Ability to resume playback from where left off
- CarPlay and Bluetooth speaker support
- More granular access to local news
In-app purchases
WNYC
No in-app purchases
WBEZ
No in-app purchases
