Common Sense Media vs Druthers
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Common Sense Media
This app provides parents with unbiased reviews and ratings for movies, TV shows, games, apps, and more. It helps families discover safe and age-appropriate content for children by detailing mature themes and positive messages. Users can filter content by age, interests, and streaming services, and create custom watchlists.
- Content ratings for movies, TV, games, apps, books, podcasts
- Details on mature and positive content elements
- Community reviews from parents and kids
- Filter content by age, interests, and streaming services
- Customizable watch and read lists
- Curated collections of media
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We are the essential review guide for parents when it comes to what kids are into: movies, TV shows, games, apps, podcasts, and more. Designed for families seeking unbiased and trusted information to help guide them to find safe and smart content for their children. •See how much age-appropriate content and positive messages your kid will find across movies, TV shows, books, games, apps, and more. •Get firsthand insights and extra details from other parents and kids in our community reviews. •Browse our library and effortlessly find the perfect pick for family movie night, thanks to intuitive filters, such as the streaming services you have, your kid's age and interests, and your family's preferences. •Easily filter out movies and TV shows with content and messages that aren't appropriate for your kids or that isn't right for your family. •Explore hand-curated collections of the best movies, shows, and books based on category, genre, theme, topic, and more. •Create your own custom watch and read list and save movies, TV shows, and books for later. Independent and Nonprofit Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization working on behalf of kids and teens to make the digital world more safe, healthy, and equitable for them and for all families. Our unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners. Terms of service: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/our-mission/site-terms-use
Druthers
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Druthers is a podcast player built around one queue that fills itself. You add what you want, it suggests the rest, and every suggestion tells you why it's there. It also skips the ads it finds and makes a transcript of everything you download, all on your phone. ONE QUEUE Everything you play goes through one list. The episodes you added come first, and below them Druthers suggests what to hear next from the shows you follow. When an episode ends, the next one plays. Switch suggestions off and nothing else changes; the list is simply yours. WHAT IT SUGGESTS, AND WHY A suggestion weighs how much you like a show against how new the episode is. New is judged by each show's own rhythm, so a monthly show's episode stays fresh longer than a daily one's, and no single show can take over the top of the list. Each suggestion carries its reason: it's a favorite, it's fresh, you finish these, you usually listen around now. Press and hold one to see the numbers behind it. YOUR DRUTHERS COME FIRST What you tell it always outranks what it worked out. Favorite a show to hear it sooner, or ask to hear one less often. Play Next moves an episode to the front. Not Interested takes one away for good. Follow a series in order, starting from any episode. An episode you've started keeps its place in the queue. One you abandoned early drops out after two weeks. IT SKIPS THE ADS IT FINDS Each download is transcribed on your phone, and the sponsor reads found in it are skipped as you reach them, with an Undo. Nothing is cut from the file. The breaks are marked on the scrubber, so you can skip by hand instead, turn skipping off for one show, or tell it when it got one wrong. READ IT, SEARCH IT Every transcript is timed to the audio, so you can read along and tap a line to jump there. Search finds what was said in an episode, not only what it was called. Chapters are listed in the player. HOW IT SOUNDS Tighten shortens long pauses without speeding anyone up. Clarity lifts quiet recordings. Set the speed you like, and let any show keep its own settings. THE REST Subscribe by search or feed URL, bring your library from another app with an OPML file, or try a single episode without subscribing. Downloads and offline playback, with one screen showing what's on your phone and what went wrong if anything did. Lock-screen and Bluetooth controls, and a sleep timer that fades out. A listening history you can read: what you played, when, for how long, and which shows you keep coming back to. Export everything to one file, and restore it whenever you need to. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no analytics, no tracking, and no ads of its own. Transcripts and ad detection run on your phone, and there is no server of mine for your listening to go to. Druthers is made by one person. iPhone only, iOS 26 or later.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Druthers at none against Common Sense Media's 2. Druthers also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). Common Sense Media's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price 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. Common Sense Media sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Druthers asks for nothing beyond the download.
Common Sense Media ships an update every 3 weeks, Druthers weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Common Sense Media | Druthers |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (9K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 59.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 9K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Common Sense Media | Noah Banks |
Bugs and requests
Common Sense Media
Reported bugs
3 issues- Constant log-out issues
- Unreliable login functionality
- Compatibility problems on older devices
Requested features
3 requests- Ability to mark content as already viewed
- More customization options for user preferences
- Improved search and recommendation algorithms
Druthers
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Common Sense Media
- Monthly Plan$3.991 Month
- Yearly Plan$39.991 Year
Druthers
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Common Sense Media free?
Is Druthers free?
Do Common Sense Media or Druthers have ads?
Which is updated more often, Common Sense Media or Druthers?
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