Comparison

Queue vs Topics

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

Head to head
About

Queue

This app offers a streamlined podcast listening experience by automatically updating new episodes into a single, easy-to-manage list. It provides immediate access to episode titles, show notes, and playback, with advanced features like chapter support and interactive timestamps.

Highlights
  • Auto-updated episode queue
  • Play and archive episodes
  • Chapter and chapter artwork support
  • Interactive timestamps in show notes
  • Simple, clean interface
Read full description

Queue is the simplest podcast app out there. New episodes from your subscriptions automatically appear in one simple list, your Queue. From here you can either play them, or archive them. When you open an episode, you see the title and show notes right away, and you can also play the episode from here. We also have full support for chapters and chapter artwork, and we even detect timestamps in the episode show notes and turn them into interactive chapters. The entire app was custom designed to offer you the simplest possible podcast experience, and it's full of beautiful little touches and fun details. I've spent month designing and building Queue for you, and I have some really cool ideas for it. I can't wait to hear what you think! - Eike Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Topics

Discover and read articles organized by subject, not by feed. Add external content, build collections, and practice vocabulary. Follow writers and track your reading progress in a distraction-free environment.

Highlights
  • Articles sorted by subject
  • Add external articles
  • Build reading collections
  • Vocabulary practice
  • Follow trusted writers
  • Track reading progress
Features
Read full description

Topics is a reading app where articles are sorted by subject instead of by feed. You can pick a topic you actually care about, read a good-quality articles, essays, blog posts, and papers about it without distractions, and even add articles from anywhere else on the internet. There are about a hundred and twenty topics, from Can We Talk to Animals? to Horror Stories or the Roman Empire.r • Add external articles and read them without ads, popups or clutter • Build your own reading collections • Practice vocabulary: highlight a word, see what it means, save it for later • Follow the writers you trust and read only them • Track reading time and see your progress • Share what you are reading in the feed, or keep it to yourself • Open another reader's profile and follow them This app exists because choosing what to read has become tiring, and because most of what gets published is optimizing for something other than being worth your time.

Screenshots

Queue4 screens
Topics4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Topics at 5.0 against Queue's 4.3. Topics also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). Queue's advantage is ratings volume (88 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Queue sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Topics asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Topics holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Queue has 88 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Queue ships an update every 10 days, Topics weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Queue versus Topics: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterQueueTopics
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (88 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings88 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB129 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperEike DrescherTereza Tizkova

Customer experience

Queue

All ratings88 ratings
Positive78.4%
Neutral10.2%
Negative11.4%
Written reviews69 reviews
Positive68.1%
Neutral11.6%
Negative20.3%

Topics

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Queue

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Stuck in introductory routine with 'Later' button not working
  • Wired headphone controls not functioning properly
  • Search and subscription issues for certain podcasts

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add sleep timer feature
  • Implement back/forward controls on headphones and cars
  • Allow new episodes to be added to the bottom of the queue
  • Implement silence skipping and voice boost
  • Provide a widget with playback controls

Topics

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Queue

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Access$4.991 Month
  • Pro Access$29.991 Year
None

Topics

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Queue free?
Queue is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Topics free?
Topics is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Queue or Topics?
Topics is rated higher. Queue averages 4.3 out of 5 from 88 ratings, while Topics averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Queue or Topics have ads?
Neither Queue nor Topics shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Queue or Topics?
Queue ships an update every 10 days, and Topics weekly. Most recently, Queue was updated on October 27, 2026 and Topics on October 21, 2026.

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