The Tablet vs British Archaeology
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Tablet
This weekly Catholic journal offers in-depth coverage of religion, politics, arts, and current affairs with global contributors. Access selected pages from the latest issue or subscribe for full access to every page and a searchable archive dating back to 2011.
- International religious and political coverage
- In-depth articles and balanced reporting
- Global contributor network
- Searchable archive of past issues
- Offline reading of synced issues
- Interactive page navigation and zoom
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Unique in its international coverage of religion, current affairs, politics, social issues and the arts, The Tablet is a weekly Catholic journal which has been reporting on events of significance for over 170 years. Every week The Tablet provides in-depth and balanced coverage on a wide range of subjects and its contribution to topical issues is strengthened by its contributors: each issue contains the work of writers drawn from all over the world, whose names are familiar in their particular field of experience. The Church in the World section reports on events within the Church internationally, covering Europe, Rome, Asia, the Pacific, Africa and the Americas. The Home News section reports on news within UK churches, both Catholic and other Christian. In addition the latest church documents are analysed and discussed The Notebook section gives a light-hearted round-up of recent events, often with a humorous tone and the Letters section offers lively and intelligent debate from readers worldwide. No mention of The Tablet would be complete without reference to the widely respected Books section. Its detailed reviews are comprehensive, across a wide variety of subjects from philosophy to film appreciation and Christian apologetics to crime fiction. And the Arts section includes reviews of galleries and exhibitions, theatre, cinema, television, radio, music and opera. The iPad/iPhone edition brings you selected pages from the latest issue as soon as it is published. You can subscribe within the application for full access, which brings you every page of the issue and a searchable archive back to 26 November 2011. Issues are not sold individually - for the duration of your subscription you have access to every issue in this archive. During your subscription you can sync back issues to your device. These will remain in place if your subscription expires, unless your device removes them (for example when running low on disk space). Re-downloading issues requires a current subscription. • Swipe or tap the page edges to flip to next/previous page. • Use the animated thumbnail view to flick through the pages. • Pinch or double-tap pages to zoom. • Switch between single or double-page view. • Search the current issue or the archive. • Tap any page links to web sites, email addresses, phone numbers or maps. • Tap contents-page links to jump to a particular article. • Sync back issues to your device for offline reading (requires wi-fi). • Network connection required otherwise. We recommend first running the app within a wi-fi area so it can sync the latest issue to your device - after that you can use it anywhere. Subscribers will receive new issues automatically. Subscriptions are available within the app at the following prices: £8.49 per month £80.99 per year In addition, please note the following standard features of auto-renewable subscriptions: • Your payment will be charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. • Subscriptions will renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. • You can manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal by going to your Apple Account settings after purchase. • No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. You can find our privacy policy here: https://exacteditions.com/about/privacy and our terms of service here: https://exacteditions.com/about/tos
British Archaeology
Access in-depth articles and commentary on the latest archaeological discoveries and historical insights. Subscribe for full access to current and archived issues, with features for offline reading and easy navigation.
- Selected pages from latest issue
- Full access to searchable archive
- Offline reading of back issues
- Page swipe and thumbnail navigation
- Zoom and page view options
- Web link and content page navigation
- Social media sharing
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British Archaeology is a bi-monthly publication from the Council for British Archaeology – an educational charity working throughout the UK to encourage interest in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of our historic environment for the benefit of present and future generations. It is an authoritative, in-depth source of information and comment on what’s new, interesting and important in the world of archaeology. The iPad/iPhone edition brings you selected pages from the latest issue as soon as it is available. You can subscribe within the application for full access, which brings you every page of the issue and a complete searchable archive back to the first issue from February 1995. Issues are not sold individually - for the duration of your subscription you have access to every issue in this archive. During your subscription you can sync back issues to your device. These will remain in place if your subscription expires, unless your device removes them (for example when running low on disk space). Re-downloading issues requires a current subscription. • Swipe or tap the page edges to flip to next/previous page. • Use the animated thumbnail view to flick through the pages. • Pinch or double-tap pages to zoom. • Switch between single or double-page view. • Search the current issue or the archive. • Tap any page links to web sites, email addresses, phone numbers or maps. • Tap contents-page links to jump to a particular article. • Sync back issues to your device for offline reading (requires wi-fi). • Network connection required otherwise. • Social media sharing feature allowing you to share pages with friends. • If your institution has a magazine subscription, you can access it directly from within your registered IP range. We recommend first running the app within a wi-fi area so it can sync the latest issue to your device - after that you can use it anywhere. Subscribers will receive new issues automatically. Subscriptions are available within the app at the following prices: £3.99 per two months £26.99 per year In addition, please note the following standard features of auto-renewable subscriptions: • Your payment will be charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. • Subscriptions will renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. • You can manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal by going to your Apple Account Settings after purchase. • No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. You can find our privacy policy here: https://exacteditions.com/about/privacy and our terms of service here: https://exacteditions.com/about/tos
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: British Archaeology at 5.0 against The Tablet's 2.6. The Tablet's advantage is review sentiment (53% vs 33%) and ratings volume (8 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. The Tablet sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.49 per month and British Archaeology sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.49 per 2 months. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
British Archaeology holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Tablet has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 53% of The Tablet's written reviews are positive against 33% of British Archaeology's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Tablet | British Archaeology |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.6 (8 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 53.3% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The Tablet Publishing Company Limited | Council for British Archaeology (The) |
Customer experience
The Tablet
British Archaeology
In-app purchases
The Tablet
- The Tablet$9.491 Month
- The Tablet$99.991 Year
British Archaeology
- British Archaeology$5.492 Months
- British Archaeology$20.991 Year
- British Archaeology$28.991 Year
Questions
Is The Tablet free?
Is British Archaeology free?
Which has better reviews, The Tablet or British Archaeology?
Do The Tablet or British Archaeology have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Tablet or British Archaeology?
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