Comparison

Heavy Headlines vs Loudwire

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

Head to head
About

Heavy Headlines

Stay updated with all things metal. This app aggregates news, new album releases, and concert listings from top sources. It personalizes your feed based on your favorite bands and offers ticket purchasing directly within the app.

Highlights
  • Aggregates metal news from top sources
  • Personalized feed based on favorite bands
  • Explore new album releases
  • Find and purchase concert tickets
  • Automatic background news refresh
  • Customizable themes
Features
Read full description

Built BY a metalhead FOR metalheads Heavy Headlines for iPhone, iPad - and now Apple Watch - is the BROOTAL one-stop destination for all of your metal news, new album release, and concert listing needs. To put it another way, I'm a big metal fan and much to my surprise there was just nothing in the app store that did what I was looking for - show me metal news and do it well. So as a professional app developer I took it upon myself to fill that void with the following design goals in mind: 1. Make it simple, slick, and easy to use with a fun interface. It should "just work." 2. Pack it with the innovative features of iOS and Apple devices that I would expect from a great app. 3. Make it metal. Make it fun. Hopefully I've achieved that and more. Let me know in the reviews. If you find any bugs or have any suggestions please send me feedback directly from the app. I want to hear from you! Just hit the menu button in the header and select "Send Feedback" Features: - Aggregates content from the world's top sources of metal news in one convenient app. - Innovative "My Bands" feature figures out your favorite metal bands from your Apple Music and iTunes libraries and then surfaces stories about them to the top of your feed. You can also Blacklist the ones you don't want to get news about. - Explore new metal releases and top selling albums. Open them directly in Apple Music or Spotify. - Concert Tickets! Heavy Headlines automatically finds upcoming shows in your area featuring your Favorite Bands and even lets you purchase tickets for them right through the app. - Full background fetch integration refreshes your metal news automatically for you in the background so it's ready for you every time you open the app. - Automatically receive notifications when new stories about your Favorite Bands are detected! - Have multiple devices? No problem. The app uses iCloud to automatically synch your settings and to keep track of the articles you've already read across all your devices. - Don't like the default look of the app? Heavy Headlines comes packed with over 20 different themes inspired by iconic metal album covers. - Sleek fullscreen reading experience. Simply scroll the article you're reading to enter fullscreen mode. - Lots of other little fun "metal" touches throughout to warm even the blackest of hearts. Please note: The notifications will only work if you allow Heavy Headlines to refresh content in the background. You can do this by going to iOS Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turning it on for Heavy Headlines.

About

Loudwire

Stay updated with the latest hard rock and metal news. Watch exclusive videos, read interviews, and get breaking news alerts. Save articles for offline reading and share content easily.

Highlights
  • Latest hard rock and metal news
  • Original video features
  • Exclusive artist interviews
  • Breaking news notifications
  • Offline article saving
  • Background audio playback
Features
Read full description

Loudwire is the world's premier hard rock and metal site. Key Features: - Read the latest hard rock and metal news - Watch original video features - See exclusive interviews with the top artists in hard rock and metal - Subscribe to notifications for breaking news and other topics - Share the latest news via Facebook & Twitter - Save articles for reading later (supports offline viewing) - Featured full multi-tasking with background audio and controls - Supports AirPlay feature for wireless streaming to your AirPlay-compatible device. This is the latest version of the Loudwire app and we have many more features planned, so please share your feedback from within the app by clicking the Send Us Feedback link in the menu. Terms of Use: https://loudwire.com/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://loudwire.com/privacy/

Screenshots

Heavy Headlines4 screens
Loudwire3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Heavy Headlines at 92% against Loudwire's 40%. Heavy Headlines also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (1K vs 117). Loudwire's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Heavy Headlines sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Loudwire sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Heavy Headlines holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Heavy Headlines has 1K ratings behind it against 117, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of Heavy Headlines's written reviews are positive against 40% of Loudwire's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Heavy Headlines ships an update every 5 months, Loudwire every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 1, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Heavy Headlines versus Loudwire: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHeavy HeadlinesLoudwire
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1K ratings) — better4.4 (117 ratings)
Positive reviews92.3% of reviews — better40.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1K — better117
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB76 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperNativity Mobile, LLCTownsquare Media, LLC

Customer experience

Heavy Headlines

All ratings1,034 ratings
Positive96.3%
Neutral2.9%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews130 reviews
Positive92.3%
Neutral1.5%
Negative6.2%

Loudwire

All ratings117 ratings
Positive84.6%
Neutral3.4%
Negative12.0%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Heavy Headlines

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatibility with newer iOS versions

Requested features

3 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Customizable news feed
  • Better ad management

Loudwire

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Heavy Headlines

One-time4
  • Flip the Horns$0.99
  • Head Bang$2.99
  • Odin's Blessings$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Blood Sacrifice$9.99
2 purchases

Loudwire

Subscriptions2
  • Ad-Free Monthly1 Month trial$2.991 Month
  • Ad-Free Annual1 Month trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Heavy Headlines free?
Heavy Headlines is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Loudwire free?
Loudwire is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Heavy Headlines or Loudwire?
Heavy Headlines is rated higher. Heavy Headlines averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1K ratings, while Loudwire averages 4.4 from 117 ratings.
Do Heavy Headlines or Loudwire have ads?
Both Heavy Headlines and Loudwire show ads.
Which is updated more often, Heavy Headlines or Loudwire?
Heavy Headlines ships an update every 5 months, and Loudwire every 2 months. Most recently, Heavy Headlines was updated on September 1, 2026 and Loudwire on September 20, 2026.

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