# The Gist vs FT Digital Edition

The Gist and FT Digital Edition both sit at 5.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of The Gist's written reviews are positive against 63% of FT Digital Edition's. The Gist also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 weeks). FT Digital Edition's advantage is ratings volume (3K vs 4). On price, rating, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. FT Digital Edition sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $16.99 per month. The Gist asks for nothing beyond the download.

The Gist holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FT Digital Edition has 3K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of The Gist's written reviews are positive against 63% of FT Digital Edition's.

The Gist ships an update every 8 days, FT Digital Edition every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | The Gist | FT Digital Edition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-gist/id6448633766/reviews)** | [4.8 (3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ft-digital-edition/id6449040684/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 4 | **3K** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 63.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 8 days** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 88 MB | 47 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 17.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ranjit Rauniyar](https://appshunter.io/developer/1685203697) | [Financial Times Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/322310071) |

## What reviewers say

### The Gist

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-gist/id6448633766)

This news app provides concise, easy-to-understand summaries of global events for students. It distills complex stories into short reads, covering a wide range of topics from politics to science and student life.

**Highlights:** 65-word story summaries, Breaking and trending news, Personalized feed, Filter by topic, Save stories with bookmarks, Push notifications

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### FT Digital Edition

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ft-digital-edition/id6449040684)

Access the daily Financial Times newspaper delivered to your device. Enjoy exclusive digital magazines, translated articles, and a decade of archives. Listen to audio versions of top stories and read offline.

**Highlights:** Daily newspaper delivered to device, Exclusive digital magazines, Translated articles in 30+ languages, Browse 10 years of previous editions, Audio versions of top stories, Download for offline reading, Global editions and classic layout

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| FT Digital Edition Monthly | $16.99 | per month |
| FT Digital Edition | $45.00 | per 3 months |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Smooth, savvy, and clean interface
- 👍 Streamlined and intuitive app experience
- 👍 Excellent for offline reading
- 👍 Automatic downloads of the latest edition
- 👍 Ability to access different regional editions

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Connectivity issues, app unable to connect at times
- 🐛 Struggles with unfamiliar IP addresses when traveling
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes, especially on the cookie page
- 🐛 Counterintuitive and clunky user interface
- 🐛 Formatting issues, with text and images not rendering properly

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to log in and access the subscription
- Rendering issues with hyphens and other special characters
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between online and offline modes

**Requested features**

- Implement a full-screen mode for better reading experience
- Add a dark mode option for comfortable reading
- Improve the text-to-speech (audio) functionality to handle non-text elements better
- Introduce a search feature to easily find articles and content
- Enhance the offline reading capabilities to ensure consistent availability


## Frequently asked questions

### Is The Gist free?

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

### Is FT Digital Edition free?

FT Digital Edition is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, The Gist or FT Digital Edition?

The Gist is rated higher. The Gist averages 5.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while FT Digital Edition averages 4.8 from 3K ratings.

### Do The Gist or FT Digital Edition have ads?

Neither The Gist nor FT Digital Edition shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, The Gist or FT Digital Edition?

The Gist ships an update every 8 days, and FT Digital Edition every 3 weeks. Most recently, The Gist was updated on November 7, 2026 and FT Digital Edition on November 7, 2026.

---

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