Comparison

Stuff Magazine vs Computeractive

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

Head to head
About

Stuff Magazine

This app delivers the latest tech news, in-depth gadget reviews, and exclusive buying guides. Discover exciting new products, automotive news, and smart home gear. Get tips and tricks to maximize your tech and win prizes.

Highlights
  • Latest tech news and reviews
  • New gadget launches
  • Automotive world news
  • In-depth gear features
  • Product testing and verdicts
  • Smart home and tech accessories
  • Tips and tricks for gadgets
Features
Read full description

The world's best-selling gadget magazine is now available for you to read on your iPhone and iPad - download it now! Stuff finds the best gadgets for you to buy and use. We get excited about the future, nostalgic about the past and animated about the products in our hands today. Every issue we show you the latest tech launches as well as the best ones to buy, and how to get the most out of them. What you'll get every issue: - 100 pages packed with the latest tech news and reviews - Hot Stuff – the most exciting new gadgets launched this month - Wheels - the hottest news from the auto world - Features - in depth with the hottest gear to buy - Tested - our definitive verdict on the very latest products and games - Upvoted - the latest tech accessories, fashion and smart home gear - Instant upgrades - tips and tricks for the latest gadgets - Top apps and software hacks to power up your tech - The legendary Top 10s - our guide to the best of everything - Plus win top gadgets in our monthly competition! ---------------------------------------------- This is a free app download. Within the app users can purchase the current issue and back issues. Subscriptions are also available within the application. A subscription will start from the latest issue. -The subscription will renew automatically unless cancelled more than 24 hours before the end of the current period. You will be charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of the current period, for the same duration and at the current subscription rate for the product. -You may turn off the auto-renewal of subscriptions through your Account Settings, however you are not able to cancel the current subscription during its active period. -Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase and any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when a subscription to that publication is purchased. -If a subscription offers a free trial, at the end of the trial period, you will be charged the full price of the subscription. You may cancel a subscription during its free trial period via the subscription settings on your iTunes account. This must be done 24 hours before the end of the subscription period to avoid being charged. Users can register for/ login to a pocketmags account in-app. This will protect their issues in the case of a lost device and allow browsing of purchases on multiple platforms. Existing pocketmags users can retrieve their purchases by logging into their account. We recommend loading the app for the first time in a wi-fi area so that all issue data is retrieved. If your app will not load past the splash page after a first install or an update, please delete and reinstall the app from the App Store Help and frequently asked questions can be accessed in-app and on pocketmags. If you have any problems at all please do not hesitate to contact us: help@pocketmags.com -------------------- You can find our privacy policy here: http://www.pocketmags.com/privacy.aspx You can find our terms and conditions here: http://www.pocketmags.com/terms.aspx

About

Computeractive

Your friendly guide to PCs, gadgets, and the web. Get regular news updates, project ideas, and expert advice on popular reader queries, anti-virus software, and consumer rights. Learn to get the most out of your computer with clear, plain English explanations.

Highlights
  • News updates
  • Project ideas
  • Help and advice
  • Anti-virus software articles
  • Consumer rights features
  • PC and gadget guides
Features
Read full description

Computeractive is the UK’s best-selling computer magazine and your friendly guide to PCs, gadgets and the web! It includes regular news updates, project ideas, help and advice on popular reader queries, articles on anti-virus software, features on consumer rights, and a whole lot more to help you get the very best out of your computer. Get PC advice in plain English today – get Computeractive! All the subscriptions are auto-renewable subscription directly from the App Store. Payment will be charged to your App Store Account at confirmation of purchase. This subscription will automatically renew 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. The cost of the renewal will match the initial subscription price. You can manage your subscriptions through your Account Settings after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. Subscription costs: - 26 issues (1 year) at £29.99 - 13 issues (Every 6 months) at £14.99 - 6 issues (Every 3 months) at £7.99 Please click here to read our Privacy Policy: http://www.dennis.co.uk/privacy and here to read our Terms of Use: http://www.dennis.co.uk/subs/terms

Screenshots

Stuff Magazine4 screens
Computeractive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Stuff Magazine at free with in-app purchases against Computeractive's subscription. Stuff Magazine also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.2) and update cadence (monthly vs every 16 months). Computeractive's advantage is review sentiment (43% vs 20%). On price, ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Stuff Magazine sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.49 per month and Computeractive sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 3 months. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Stuff Magazine holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 9 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 20% of Stuff Magazine's written reviews are positive against 43% of Computeractive's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stuff Magazine ships an update monthly, Computeractive every 16 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Stuff Magazine versus Computeractive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStuff MagazineComputeractive
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (19 ratings) — better4.2 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews19.6% of reviews43.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings19 — better9
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 16 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKelsey Publishing GroupFuture plc

Customer experience

Stuff Magazine

All ratings19 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews97 reviews
Positive19.6%
Neutral5.2%
Negative75.3%

Computeractive

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews51 reviews
Positive43.1%
Neutral7.8%
Negative49.0%

Bugs and requests

Stuff Magazine

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Computeractive

Reported bugs

40 issues
  • App not working
  • Saying wrong format
  • Cannot receive information
  • Not showing any magazines
  • Says turn on Java and cookies
Show 35 more
  • Error message: The data couldn't be read because it isn't in the correct format
  • Log in non-2xx response: 405 method not allowed
  • Can’t retrieve feed of feeds
  • No longer loads the magazines
  • Back button goes to the cover
  • Top of each page is hidden
  • Links aren’t clickable
  • App claiming no active subscriptions
  • App frozen, spinning wheel
  • Many bugs present
  • Issue not available in the app
  • Problems getting the latest edition
  • Suddenly cannot access the latest edition
  • Error code
  • Keeps throwing up the same error
  • Digital version often arrives after publication date
  • Digital version may arrive in the afternoon or next day
  • Constantly dropping out back to the home screen
  • New version removed access to several years of magazines
  • Latest update isn’t very good
  • Bottom chopped off page
  • Has frozen a couple of times
  • Download screen changed
  • Pages slip and slide around the screen
  • Navbar appears and disappears at random
  • Cannot get further than page 53
  • Text cannot be selected and copied
  • Table of contents isn’t hyperlinked
  • Web hyperlinks take you to a random retailer
  • Subscription isn’t coming over to the iPad app
  • Keeps logging me out
  • Lost all copies paid for
  • Lost all previous purchases
  • Unable to transfer magazines from original subscription
  • No way to transfer current subscription

Requested features

14 requests
  • Fix app to show magazines
  • Sort out login issues
  • Fix error messages
  • Make links clickable
  • Improve iPad display
Show 9 more
  • Add index
  • Allow printing pages
  • Add interactive features
  • Improve navigation
  • Allow tagging magazines as read
  • Add notes against magazines
  • Allow login without internet connection
  • Improve app for iPad Pro
  • Allow 2 pages at a time in landscape

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Stuff Magazine

Subscriptions4
  • Stuff 1M Auto-Renewable Sub$4.491 Month
  • Stuff 3M Auto Renew Sub1 Month trial$9.993 Months
  • Stuff 6M Auto-Renew Sub1 Month trial$21.996 Months
Show 1 more
  • Stuff 12M Auto-Renew Sub1 Month trial$41.991 Year
One-time6
  • may2012 (id:551163)$5.99
  • june2012 (id:551159)$5.99
  • aug2012 (id:551152)$5.99
Show 3 more
  • dec2012 (id:551155)$5.99
  • ces2013 (id:551154)$5.99
  • ces2014 (id:551153)$5.99
10 purchases

Computeractive

Subscriptions4
  • 3 Month Subscription$9.993 Months
  • 6 Month Subscription$14.996 Months
  • 6 Month Subscription$16.496 Months
Show 1 more
  • 12 Month Subscription$39.991 Year
One-time6
  • Issue 414 of Computeractive Replica App$1.99
  • Issue 405 of Computeractive Replica App$1.99
  • Issue 396 of Computeractive Replica App$1.99
Show 3 more
  • Issue 394 of Computeractive Replica App$1.99
  • Issue 479 of Computeractive Replica App$1.99
  • Issue 477 of Computeractive Replica App$1.99

Questions

Is Stuff Magazine free?
Stuff Magazine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Computeractive free?
Computeractive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Stuff Magazine or Computeractive?
Stuff Magazine is rated higher. Stuff Magazine averages 4.7 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while Computeractive averages 4.2 from 9 ratings.
Do Stuff Magazine or Computeractive have ads?
Neither Stuff Magazine nor Computeractive shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Stuff Magazine or Computeractive?
Stuff Magazine ships an update monthly, and Computeractive every 16 months. Most recently, Stuff Magazine was updated on November 1, 2026 and Computeractive on November 1, 2026.

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