# Awful vs Not the Bee

The clearest difference is monetization model: Awful at free against Not the Bee's freemium. Awful also leads on review sentiment (87% vs 67%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). Not the Bee's advantage is ratings volume (7.6K vs 239). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Awful against 4.9 for Not the Bee. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Not the Bee has 7.6K ratings behind it against 239, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 87% of Awful's written reviews are positive against 67% of Not the Bee's.

Awful ships an update every 8 days, Not the Bee every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Awful | Not the Bee |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (239 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/awful-sa-forums-browser/id567936609/reviews) | [4.9 (7.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/not-the-bee/id1549587642/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 239 | **7.6K** |
| Positive reviews | **86.6% of reviews** | 66.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 8 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 102 MB | 17 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Dale Stonall-Mellor](https://appshunter.io/developer/1583171231) | [The Babylon Bee, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1475189791) |

## What reviewers say

### Awful

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/awful-sa-forums-browser/id567936609)

This app provides a streamlined browsing experience for the Something Awful forums on iOS devices. It offers access to all forums, bookmarked threads, private messages, and includes features like image uploads and a smilie keyboard.

**Highlights:** Browse all forums and subforums, Access bookmarked threads, Built-in SALR functionality, Smilie stickers and keyboard, Upload images and pictures, Manage private messages, Favorite forums

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🔒 Secure browsing experience
- 💡 Customizable layout and settings
- 🎨 Visually appealing design

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 📉 Declining performance over time
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🚫 Compatibility issues with newer devices

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when opening certain forums
- Inability to load images and media
- Freezing and lagging on older devices
- Sync issues between app and website

**Requested features**

- Add search functionality
- Implement dark mode option
- Improve thread navigation and bookmarking
- Integrate with other social platforms


### Not the Bee

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/not-the-bee/id1549587642)

This app delivers humorous takes on current events, entertainment, and opinions. It allows users to browse articles, share favorites, and customize preferences. Log in for exclusive member features and a social network experience.

**Highlights:** Humorous news takes, Share articles, Bookmark favorites, Customize preferences, Cross-device sync, Members-only social network

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Honest and entertaining news
- 🤗 Caring and friendly community
- 🗞️ Variety of news coverage
- 🙏 Uplifting Christian perspective
- 🤩 Replaced all social media

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🤖 Excessive ads and pop-ups
- 🐛 Buggy app performance
- 📱 Difficult to read articles due to ads
- 🤔 Anti-Catholic bias in some articles

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes frequently
- Ads cause text to shift and jump
- Videos and content get stuck or won't load

**Requested features**

- Improve app stability and navigation
- Reduce ads or offer ad-free subscription
- Allow non-subscribers to view comments


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Awful free?

Awful is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Not the Bee free?

Not the Bee is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Awful or Not the Bee?

Awful and Not the Bee are both rated 4.9 out of 5 on the App Store, from 239 and 7.6K ratings respectively.

### Do Awful or Not the Bee have ads?

Neither Awful nor Not the Bee shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Awful or Not the Bee?

Awful ships an update every 8 days, and Not the Bee every 2 weeks. Most recently, Awful was updated on October 16, 2026 and Not the Bee on October 18, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*