Comparison

NextDraft vs theSkimm

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

Head to head
About

NextDraft

Get a curated summary of the day's ten most fascinating news stories, handpicked by an expert news addict. This app cuts through online clutter to deliver essential, entertaining, and often surprising content in an easy-to-read format.

Highlights
  • Daily summary of top 10 news stories
  • Expertly curated content
  • Easy-to-read format
  • Save articles to read later
  • Includes viral videos and photos
Features
Read full description

Real News Daily. Dave Pell, Internet wit and news addict, provides a smart summary of the day's ten most fascinating news stories. "Dave finds stuff I didn't see but should have. Add that to his drop-dead sexiness and you've got yourself an indispensable newsletter." - Steve Bodow, Executive Producer, The Daily Show "You will feel smarter and happier after you download it." - TechCrunch "The NextDraft newsletter is indispensable. Dave Pell cuts through the clutter with urgency, humor and smarts. I never miss it." - Don Van Natta Jr., ESPN "On any given day, Dave turns up the top 10 stories that are important, moving, hilarious, and just weird. Next Draft finds the signal in all the noise that's out there." - Bob Cohn, President, Atlantic Media The News Trusted By Those Who Write the News: "A consistently informative and entertaining guide to some of the best stories on the web, with a healthy mix of news you should know, want to know, and prefer to pretend you didn't read." - Maria Konnikova, New Yorker "Think of Dave Pell as the Internet’s managing editor. The NYT meets SNL. Smart, funny, essential." - Phil Bronstein, Executive Chair, Center for Investigative Reporting "NextDraft is a must-read." - Ram Ramgopal, CNN Executive Editor "Like all great curators, Pell continually provides answers to questions you weren’t even aware you were asking; even as he feeds your mind, he cultivates and expands your curiosity. I read NextDraft the way I breathe, and for the same reason." - Andrew Corsello, GQ "There are days - hell, weeks - where I would be completely lost without the Internet concierge that is NextDraft." - Hilary Sargent, Boston Globe "It is about time the Internet had a managing editor, and Dave Pell turns out to be the perfect choice for he job. NextDraft is always nourishing, often surprising and quite witty (especially given that he is an American). An essential tea time read." - Matthew Bishop, The Economist "Dave is an expert at picking through the deluge and serving up the day's best stories from a huge variety of websites." - Sapna Maheshwari, Buzzfeed Highlights: You need an algorithm to help cut to through the Internet's clutter. News junkie Dave Pell is that algorithm. He combs dozens of sites, finds the most fascinating news stores, and then provides a fast, pithy summary that will make your iPhone vibrate with awesomeness. - Get a quick overview of what matters today. - View the news in a simple, easy to read format. - Save articles to your favorite read later tool with one click (Readability, Instapaper, Pocket, etc). - Don't miss the day's best viral videos and photos. - Be the star of any dinner party.

About

theSkimm

Stay informed with daily news summaries, in-depth articles on career, health, and finance, and engaging podcasts. Discover personalized recommendations and integrate events into your calendar to live smarter.

Highlights
  • Daily news summaries
  • In-depth articles
  • Podcasts
  • Personalized calendar integration
  • Curated recommendations
  • Career, health, and finance topics
Features
Read full description

Meet: theSkimm app. We’ve got you covered on all the news and info you need to start your day. Think: news, podcasts, curated picks, and a personalized calendar to help you live your smartest life. Try the app for free. After that, pay less than a cup of coffee a month. Wake up with us. It all starts with the Daily Skimm – the morning newsletter that connects the dots on how the biggest stories affect your life. Dive deeper. We help you navigate the complicated topics around your career, health, and wallet. Listen in. Meet our podcasts: “Skimm This” explains the week’s biggest stories. “Skimm’d from the Couch” features advice from female leaders. Stay up-to-date. Our calendar integrates with yours so you never miss important moments, like awards shows, elections, and more. Discover more. We Skimm your shopping cart, streaming queue, and bookshelf. We'll help you discover things quicker, so you can spend your downtime smarter. ------- In-app purchase subscription required. All monthly subscriptions begin with a free trial, after which a recurring charge of $2.99 per month. All yearly subscriptions are charged $29.99 at the time of purchase, with a recurring charge billed annually. Details: - Subscription options: monthly subscription of $2.99 per month, or yearly subscription of $29.99 per year - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period - theSkimm's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use can be visited at http://theskimm.com/privacy - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication

Screenshots

NextDraft3 screens
theSkimm4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: NextDraft at 87% against theSkimm's 41%. NextDraft also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 14.0). theSkimm's advantage is ratings volume (13K vs 86) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). On price, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. theSkimm sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. NextDraft asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

theSkimm holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: theSkimm has 13K ratings behind it against 86, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 87% of NextDraft's written reviews are positive against 41% of theSkimm's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NextDraft ships an update every 4 months, theSkimm every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
NextDraft versus theSkimm: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNextDrafttheSkimm
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (86 ratings)4.8 (13K ratings) — better
Positive reviews86.9% of reviews — better40.7% of reviews
Number of ratings8613K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB33 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperNextDrafttheSkimm

Customer experience

NextDraft

All ratings86 ratings
Positive87.2%
Neutral5.8%
Negative7.0%
Written reviews122 reviews
Positive86.9%
Neutral2.5%
Negative10.7%

theSkimm

All ratings13,230 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral2.0%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews150 reviews
Positive40.7%
Neutral7.3%
Negative52.0%

User reviews

NextDraft

From 86 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Efficient news curation
  • 👍 Entertaining and insightful commentary
  • 🔍 Comprehensive coverage of important news
  • 📚 Diverse range of interesting articles
  • 💻 Clean and intuitive app design

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or stability issues
  • 🔆 Lack of dark mode option
  • 🔗 Difficulty tracking read/unread content

theSkimm

From 13K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📰 Concise and informative news
  • 🗓️ Helpful calendar integration
  • 🎧 Useful audio content
  • 👍 Easy to stay informed
  • 🤗 Entertaining and engaging

Room to improve

  • 🤑 Paid subscription required
  • 🗣️ Perceived political bias
  • 🔗 Accidental link clicks while scrolling
  • 🚫 Limited content for non-US users

Bugs and requests

NextDraft

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes on launch with older iOS versions
  • Scrolling issues on some devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to mark articles as read/unread
  • More font size options

theSkimm

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashes and freezes
  • Issues with 'Do Not Sell My Information' feature

Requested features

4 requests
  • Offline content access
  • More international news coverage
  • Customizable news preferences
  • Ability to remove ads for paid subscribers

In-app purchases

None

NextDraft

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

theSkimm

Subscriptions2
  • theSkimm Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • theSkimm Yearly$29.991 Year

Questions

Is NextDraft free?
NextDraft is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is theSkimm free?
theSkimm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, NextDraft or theSkimm?
theSkimm is rated higher. NextDraft averages 4.6 out of 5 from 86 ratings, while theSkimm averages 4.8 from 13K ratings.
Do NextDraft or theSkimm have ads?
Neither NextDraft nor theSkimm shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NextDraft or theSkimm?
NextDraft ships an update every 4 months, and theSkimm every 2 months. Most recently, NextDraft was updated on September 22, 2026 and theSkimm on September 24, 2026.

Other comparisons