Reason vs The Bulwark
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Reason
Access accurate and honest news, ideas, videos, and podcasts from a libertarian perspective. Personalize notifications and stream exclusive content, including documentaries and newsletters.
- Libertarian news and ideas
- Exclusive videos and documentaries
- Podcast streaming
- Personalized news notifications
- Newsletter access
- Reason Plus subscription for early magazine access
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The Reason app helps you stay on top of the news and better understand your world without all the tired left-wing or right-wing spin. You won’t find a better source for accurate and honest news, ideas, videos, and podcasts from a libertarian perspective. Turn on notifications and personalize your settings to get alerts about issues you care about. Stream new episodes of Reason podcasts: The Reason Roundtable, The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie, and The Soho Forum Debates. Click to listen to every article and build your own content playlist. Access Reason’s latest vertical videos. Watch Reason’s documentaries, video essays, and comedy videos, including Remy and Andrew Heaton. Browse Reason’s newsletters: Reason Roundup by Liz Wolfe, The Rattler by J.D. Tuccille, Free Media by Robby Soave, and more. Play Reason’s weekly crossword plus special puzzles when magazine issues publish online. Subscribe to Reason Plus for exclusive early access to new issues of Reason magazine on your phone, tablet, or computer. To join, visit reason.com/subscribe on any browser.
The Bulwark
Access exclusive news, analysis, and commentary from pro-democracy experts in an ad-free environment. Enjoy features like read-to-me, saved articles, personalized feeds, and audio versions of shows. Engage with a community dedicated to liberal democracy.
- Ad-free reading experience
- Listen to articles on the go
- Save articles and shows
- Personalized 'For You' feed
- Audio-only show versions
- Adjustable text size and dark mode
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The Bulwark App is for Bulwark+ members and features an ad-free environment to read, watch or listen to your favorite Bulwark commentators. The app was designed with members in mind and includes new features to enhance your subscriber experience: • Read to me - listen to articles on the go • Save articles or shows for later • A “For You” feed where you can follow what you love • Audio-only versions of all our shows • Resize text • Switch to dark mode • Dedicated Read tab • Dedicated Watch & Listen tab Bulwark+ is powered by Substack. Use your Substack profile to sign in to the app to get unfettered access to everything we publish and engage with The Bulwark community in the comments. About Us The Bulwark is home to Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller, Jonathan V. Last, Sam Stein, Catherine Rampell and more. We are the largest pro-democracy bundle on Substack for news and analysis. The Bulwark was founded to provide analysis and reporting in defense of America’s liberal democracy. We publish written articles and newsletters. We create podcasts and videos. We publish political analysis from experts. We’re supported in this effort by a community built on good faith who know that the only way through is together.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Reason at free against The Bulwark's freemium. The Bulwark's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (2.7K vs 284). On price, rating, review sentiment 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
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 — 4.8 for Reason against 4.9 for The Bulwark. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Bulwark has 2.7K ratings behind it against 284, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Reason's written reviews are positive against 92% of The Bulwark's.
Reason ships an update every 4 months, The Bulwark every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 18, 2026.
| Parameter | Reason | The Bulwark |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (284 ratings) | 4.9 (2.7K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 92.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 284 | 2.7K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #139 | #47 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Reason | Center Enterprises, Inc. |
Customer experience
Reason
The Bulwark
In-app purchases
Reason
No in-app purchases
The Bulwark
No in-app purchases
