Comparison

SmartNews vs TechPulse by CNET Group

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

Head to head
About

SmartNews

Access curated news from top publishers, tailored to your interests. Discover breaking stories, local updates, and in-depth coverage on politics, entertainment, sports, and health. Stay informed with quality journalism and personalized content.

Highlights
  • Curated news feed
  • Local news updates
  • Politics and election coverage
  • Entertainment and sports news
  • Health and wellness articles
  • Trusted publisher content
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

We combine the best of quality journalism with expert curation to help you stay informed—and feel good while doing it. Discover top news from premium publishers in one app: Bloomberg, The Atlantic, USA Today, TIME, The Huffington Post, Bleacher Report, Quartz, The Verge, LAT, VOX, AP, Reuters, Buzzfeed, and Fast Company. Read news in English, Spanish, Chinese and more! Translate any article in your feed to your native language for easier reading. SmartNews rewards you for staying up to date. Earn points every day by reading articles and exchange them for gift cards from your favorite brands or donations to charities you support. Key Features Translation: Translate articles into Spanish, Chinese, and more with one tap to read in your native language. Rewards: Earn points for reading articles and completing daily missions, redeemable for retail gift cards or charity donations. Local & Travel: Get informative stories and location-based updates on government, traffic, weather, and politics wherever you go. Politics: Prepare for elections, polls, and debates with stories across the political spectrum. Quality: We partner with thousands of trusted publishers for premium, balanced news. Entertainment: Discover top movies or TV shows with your favorite actors. Sports: Catch breaking news about football, basketball, golf, tennis, soccer, and more. Health: Discover the healthcare news that impacts you all in one free app. SMARTNEWS IN THE PRESS “Browse headlines quickly, customize your channels, and read the news offline. SmartNews is an excellent free alternative to other popular news apps.” - CNET AWARDS Winner: 2025 May Award Contest - Best Mobile App (Best Mobile App Awards) Best Local News App: 2024, US (Bestapp) Best News Aggregator: 2023, US (Lifewire) Best News App: 2023, US (AndroidCentral) REVIEWS “Better than Feedly or Flipboard. Love it!” — Joe C. “Much better than the new version of Apple News.” — Donald B. “Been using Google News, but this is better. Much easier to share.” — Nikki H. Terms of Service Please read and confirm these terms before using our services: https://www.smartnews.com/terms/ Rewards Disclaimer You must be a legal resident of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia. The Program may be offered only in certain geographic regions in the US and may not be available in all jurisdictions. SmartNews may limit, restrict, suspend, or discontinue Program availability at any time in its sole discretion. The merchants represented are not sponsors of the rewards or otherwise affiliated with SmartNews. The logos and identifying marks are trademarks of and owned by each represented company and/or its affiliates. Visit each company's website for additional terms and conditions.

About

TechPulse by CNET Group

Stay informed with the latest tech news, expert reviews, and product recommendations. Make smarter purchasing decisions with in-depth analysis and video guides. Get breaking alerts and discover the best deals on technology.

Highlights
  • Featured tech stories
  • Latest technology news coverage
  • Product review galleries
  • Breaking news alerts
  • Extensive product reviews
  • Best product recommendations
  • Product search functionality
  • Video product reviews
Features
Read full description

TechPulse helps tech enthusiasts follow trusted industry insights with a customizable, algorithm-free feed. Welcome to the new CNET app. TechPulse gathers world-class journalism from the internet’s most respected technology and lifestyle publishers. Instead of managing multiple sources or fighting unpredictable feeds, you can customize your daily dashboard to display exactly what matters to you. Stay informed with unbiased video, analysis, news and reviews curated by human experts. Main features: • Filter the publication sources you want to appear in your unified feed for easy navigation. • Make tech buying easy with lab-tested reviews from CNET and PCMag experts. • Get the latest breaking tech news from reporters who share objective takes on what you need to know. • Stay ahead of internet innovations with trending digital culture and entertainment news from Mashable. • Streamline your daily routine and unlock practical hacks and science-based productivity tips from Lifehacker. • Track disruptive professional tech breakthroughs and emerging industry trends from ZDNET. • Get the most from your tech and gadgets with CNET’s product updates and troubleshooting guides. TechPulse is built for readers who value journalistic integrity and direct sources over cluttered news streams. Backed by decades of independent editorial experience from trusted industry names, TechPulse is built for readers who value journalistic integrity and direct sources over cluttered news streams. Your feed remains transparent, accurate and free of bias. Download TechPulse today to control your technology news and explore what matters to you. Our Privacy Policy: https://www.ziffdavis.com/ztg-privacy-policy Our Terms of Use: https://www.ziffdavis.com/terms-of-use

Screenshots

SmartNews4 screens
TechPulse by CNET Group4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: TechPulse by CNET Group at none against SmartNews's 2. TechPulse by CNET Group also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). SmartNews's advantage is ratings volume (929K vs 3.4K) and rating (4.6 vs 4.3). On price and ads 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. SmartNews sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. TechPulse by CNET Group asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SmartNews holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SmartNews has 929K ratings behind it against 3.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of SmartNews's written reviews are positive against 17% of TechPulse by CNET Group's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SmartNews ships an update weekly, TechPulse by CNET Group monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
SmartNews versus TechPulse by CNET Group: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmartNewsTechPulse by CNET Group
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (929K ratings) — better4.3 (3.4K ratings)
Positive reviews31.8% of reviews — better17.3% of reviews
Number of ratings929K — better3.4K
Update frequencyWeekly — betterMonthly
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
Best chart rank#27 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size232 MB53 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperSmartNews, Inc.CNET Media, Inc.

Customer experience

SmartNews

All ratings928,824 ratings
Positive91.5%
Neutral4.7%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews1,630 reviews
Positive31.8%
Neutral13.0%
Negative55.2%

TechPulse by CNET Group

All ratings3,442 ratings
Positive83.1%
Neutral3.7%
Negative13.1%
Written reviews179 reviews
Positive17.3%
Neutral13.4%
Negative69.3%

User reviews

SmartNews

From 929K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💯 Excellent news app
  • 🌐 Wide variety of news sources
  • 🔍 Customizable news feed
  • 📰 Comprehensive news coverage
  • 🔖 Useful feature to save articles for later

Room to improve

  • 📢 Excessive and intrusive ads
  • 🤖 Biased or unreliable news sources
  • 🔄 Frequent app freezes and crashes
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🔍 Lack of customization and filtering options

TechPulse by CNET Group

From 3.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great source for tech news and reviews
  • 👍 Reliable and trustworthy content
  • 🚀 Excellent for researching tech products

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unstable app
  • 🤔 Too many non-tech related articles
  • 🤔 Constant requests to update the app
  • 🤔 Ads make the app unusable
  • 🤔 Outdated and repeating content

Bugs and requests

SmartNews

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notifications not working as expected
  • Articles not loading properly
  • Scrolling issues and lags
  • Inconsistent app behavior across devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to permanently block unwanted news sources
  • Option to view news in chronological order
  • Improved local news coverage
  • Offline reading mode
  • Enhanced sharing capabilities

TechPulse by CNET Group

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes and freezes frequently
  • Notifications don't lead to the correct article
  • Videos fail to load consistently
  • Login issues and account syncing problems

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to filter content by category
  • Improved search functionality
  • Better organization and navigation
  • Syncing of bookmarked articles across devices

In-app purchases

2 purchases

SmartNews

Subscriptions2
  • Ads-free SmartNews1 Month trial$3.991 Month
  • Ads-free SmartNews7 Days trial$4.991 Month
None

TechPulse by CNET Group

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SmartNews free?
SmartNews is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TechPulse by CNET Group free?
TechPulse by CNET Group is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SmartNews or TechPulse by CNET Group?
SmartNews is rated higher. SmartNews averages 4.6 out of 5 from 929K ratings, while TechPulse by CNET Group averages 4.3 from 3.4K ratings.
Do SmartNews or TechPulse by CNET Group have ads?
Both SmartNews and TechPulse by CNET Group show ads.
Which is updated more often, SmartNews or TechPulse by CNET Group?
SmartNews ships an update weekly, and TechPulse by CNET Group monthly. Most recently, SmartNews was updated on September 24, 2026 and TechPulse by CNET Group on September 22, 2026.

Other comparisons