Mathrubhumi vs Risala Update
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mathrubhumi
Access the latest news from Kerala and around the world in both Malayalam and English. This app offers a reader-friendly layout for easy navigation on smartphones, with offline viewing capabilities and multimedia content.
- Latest Kerala news in Malayalam and English
- Regional and international news updates
- Multimedia content (videos, photos, cartoons)
- Offline news viewing
- Bookmark saving for favorite articles
- Easy sharing of news content
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We are happy to release the Mathrubhumi Integrated Edition to Malayalees around the world Latest Kerala News in Malayalam and English, Politics, Sports News, Movie News, Movie Reviews, Entertainment News, International News, Lifestyle, Malayalam News With a refreshing new design, the iOS edition of the Mathrubhumi Newspaper now delivers the power of journalism directly to your phone with latest news, regional news, cartoons, videos and photos streamed live 24X7. Read all the news from Kerala's favourite Newspaper now on the move anywhere anytime! The new reader-friendly layout allows users to read their favourite news on all smart phones with ease. Mathrubhumi App keeps you updated on the latest Malayalam News and English News from all over the world. The App consists of various sections such as Latest News, Sections, Districts, Gallery and Other News, containing all news categories covered by the Newspaper. All the news stories are locally stored in your device for off-line viewing as well. The Gallery consists of Daily Cartoons, Kakadrishti - the front page cartoon, Photos and Videos streamed from Mathrubhumi servers and are updated regularly. The various news categories covered are Top News, District news feeds from the 14 districts of Kerala, World News, India News, Kerala News, Science and Technology, Movies, Health, News Specials, Travel, Agriculture, NRI News, Books, Women's affairs, Sports, Business etc. An easy Bookmark saving option is also provided to the user to save favourite news items on the device. All news items, images and videos can be shared with your friends and family through email, social media or by any wireless connectivity option supported by your device. An App user guide is also provided along with the Application to enable users to navigate the app easily.
Risala Update
This news app amplifies the voices of Malayali expatriates, fostering a mass movement and influencing ideologically informed politics. It's recognized as a radical medium for building a new cultural order.
- Amplifies expatriate voices
- Drives political discourse
- Fosters cultural change
- Radical information medium
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Risala has been in the forefront in making Malayali expatriates’ voices heard and has grown into a mass movement in a short span of time: thanks to Malayali expatriates.The role of Risala in the formation of an ideologically informed politics is undeniable. Media experts and critics note the prominent place of Risala in the new information order as a radical medium to build a new cultural order.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Risala Update at 94% against Mathrubhumi's 18%. Risala Update also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Mathrubhumi's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (17 vs 4). On price, update cadence, 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.
Mathrubhumi holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17 and 4 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 18% of Mathrubhumi's written reviews are positive against 94% of Risala Update'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 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mathrubhumi | Risala Update |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (17 ratings) — better | 4.3 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 17.9% of reviews | 94.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 17 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 30 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MATHRUBHUMI PRINTING AND PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED | Jahfar Sadique CN |
Customer experience
Mathrubhumi
Risala Update
Bugs and requests
Mathrubhumi
Reported bugs
17 issues- App is slow and hangs
- App shows update prompt repeatedly
- Push notification deep linking fails
- Unable to open news articles after update
- Pages not loading after update
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- App crashes frequently
- Cannot see pictures in news
- Articles covered by ads
- App automatically pastes clipboard content
- Videos not closable
- Unable to tap on bottom bars on iPhone X
- Music players muted when app launched
- App not working after updates
- Invalid response error on iPhone X
- Details screen not loading on iOS 9
- App hangs and freezes
- Navigation is horrible
Requested features
7 requests- Audio news feature
- Improve dark mode
- Add e-paper
- Background radio playback
- Improve video playback controls
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- Adjust ad positioning
- Improve font
Risala Update
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Mathrubhumi
No in-app purchases
Risala Update
No in-app purchases
