Comparison

New Scientist vs Central Banking

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

Head to head
About

New Scientist

Access award-winning journalism on science and technology. Read daily news, watch videos, and listen to podcasts covering topics from AI to quantum physics. Log in with your subscription for full access.

Highlights
  • Daily news updates
  • Latest issue access
  • Science videos
  • Weekly podcast
  • Audio articles
Features
Read full description

Discover award-winning journalism with the New Scientist app. From artificial intelligence to climate change, and the latest innovations in healthcare to the mysteries of quantum physics and the human mind, New Scientist is your trusted, impartial source of information about what is going on in the world. Read daily news updates and our latest issues Watch fascinating videos – from robotics to rare animal behaviour Listen to our weekly podcast and audio articles Download the app for free now. Already a subscriber? Log in with your newscientist.com account to unlock your full access. Need help? Visit newscientist.com/help Terms of Use: https://www.newscientist.com/terms/

About

Central Banking

This app delivers global coverage, comment, and analysis on central banking topics. It features news, interviews, and in-depth articles on monetary policy, financial stability, and economics, sourced from daily news and the Central Banking journal.

Highlights
  • Global coverage of central banking
  • News, features, and interviews
  • Monetary policy and financial stability analysis
  • Offline article viewing
  • Save and share favorite stories
  • Customizable content types
Features
Read full description

The Central Banking app provides informed global coverage, comment and analysis for the central banking community. The Central Banking app contains news stories, features, interviews and opinion that cover the entire breadth of the central banking industry. From monetary policy, to financial stability, economics, governance, reserve management and currency, articles are sourced from daily news and Central Banking journal. Central Banking is firmly established as the industry’s leading information resource – it delivers unrivalled coverage of the market, with in-depth analysis of all the latest industry news. Its reputation is such that Central Banking has access to the leading players in the market – Central Banking speaks to them in order to gather their thoughts and opinions on the latest hot topics, and this in turn allows Central Banking to produce award-winning journalism with a level of insight that you simply cannot find anywhere else. The financial crisis has fundamentally and irrevocably shifted the political and economic landscape – forcing central bankers, regulators and the industry at large to rethink the way financial markets work. Central Banking keeps its readers informed about what central bankers and regulators are thinking about markets, and how policy should influence them. Like the highly successful CentralBanking.com website, the Live app features breaking news and independent commentary updates throughout the day. The app also gives users the ability to view articles offline, save and share favourite stories, and customise the type of content received. The easy-to-navigate app allows subscribers to access all content at a time and place that suits as well as ensuring access to information as soon as it’s published. ** Subscription terms and conditions • A one-month subscription costs £899.99. Your iTunes account will be charged when you choose to purchase a subscription. • At the end of the one month period, and unless you choose to cancel (see below), the subscription will renew. Your iTunes account will be charged the renewal cost within 24 hours prior to the end of the current subscription period. • You may manage your subscription, or cancel this auto renewal, at any time via your iTunes Account settings. However, subscription sales are final. If you choose to cancel, your subscription will cease at the end of the current period - no refunds will be given. For more information please see our privacy policy https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-conditions/privacy-policy/?lang=en.

Screenshots

New Scientist4 screens
Central Banking4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: New Scientist at free with in-app purchases against Central Banking's subscription. New Scientist also leads on ratings volume (5.7K vs 41) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months). Central Banking's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 69%). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. New Scientist sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Central Banking sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for New Scientist against 4.7 for Central Banking. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: New Scientist has 5.7K ratings behind it against 41, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of New Scientist's written reviews are positive against 100% of Central Banking's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

New Scientist ships an update every 2 months, Central Banking every 7 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
New Scientist versus Central Banking: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNew ScientistCentral Banking
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (5.7K ratings) — better4.7 (41 ratings)
Positive reviews69.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5.7K — better41
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
Best chart rank#85 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB35 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperNew Scientist LtdInfopro Digital Services Limited

Customer experience

New Scientist

All ratings5,586 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral1.6%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews214 reviews
Positive69.2%
Neutral5.6%
Negative25.2%

Central Banking

All ratings41 ratings
Positive90.2%
Neutral4.9%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

New Scientist

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App fails to recognize active subscriptions
  • Downloading and accessing content is unreliable
  • Frequent crashes and performance issues
  • Inconsistent user experience across platforms

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add dark mode option
  • Improve navigation and ability to resume reading
  • Implement better syncing and cross-device access
  • Provide more customization options for text size and font

Central Banking

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

New Scientist

Subscriptions4
  • 1 Month Subscription1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • 3 Month Subscription$49.993 Months
  • 1 Year Subscription$99.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • 12 Month Subscription$179.991 Year
One-time6
  • August 30 2014$1.99
  • October 04 2014$1.99
  • July 16 2016$1.99
Show 3 more
  • September 03 2016$1.99
  • October 01 2016$1.99
  • November 19 2016$1.99
10 purchases

Central Banking

One-time10
  • Volume XXXVII Number 3$899.99
  • Volume XXXVII Number 4$899.99
  • Volume XXXVIII Number 1$899.99
Show 7 more
  • Volume XXXVIII Number 2$899.99
  • Volume XXXVI Number 3$899.99
  • Volume XXXVI Number 4$899.99
  • Volume XXXVII Number 1$899.99
  • Volume XXXVII Number 2$899.99
  • Vol XXXV Number 4$899.99
  • Vol XXXVI Number 2$899.99

Questions

Is New Scientist free?
New Scientist is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Central Banking free?
Central Banking is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, New Scientist or Central Banking?
New Scientist is rated higher. New Scientist averages 4.8 out of 5 from 5.7K ratings, while Central Banking averages 4.7 from 41 ratings.
Do New Scientist or Central Banking have ads?
Neither New Scientist nor Central Banking shows ads.
Which is updated more often, New Scientist or Central Banking?
New Scientist ships an update every 2 months, and Central Banking every 7 months. Most recently, New Scientist was updated on November 6, 2026 and Central Banking on November 6, 2026.

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