New Scientist vs Central Banking
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Daily news updates
- Latest issue access
- Science videos
- Weekly podcast
- Audio articles
Read full descriptionHide 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/
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.
- 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
Read full descriptionHide 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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
New Scientist ships an update every 2 months, Central Banking every 7 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.
| Parameter | New Scientist | Central Banking |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (5.7K ratings) — better | 4.7 (41 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 69.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5.7K — better | 41 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 7 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Subscription |
| Best chart rank | #85 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 35 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | New Scientist Ltd | Infopro Digital Services Limited |
Customer experience
New Scientist
Central Banking
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
New Scientist
- 1 Month Subscription1 Month trial$9.991 Month
- 3 Month Subscription$49.993 Months
- 1 Year Subscription$99.991 Year
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- 12 Month Subscription$179.991 Year
- August 30 2014$1.99
- October 04 2014$1.99
- July 16 2016$1.99
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- September 03 2016$1.99
- October 01 2016$1.99
- November 19 2016$1.99
Central Banking
- Volume XXXVII Number 3$899.99
- Volume XXXVII Number 4$899.99
- Volume XXXVIII Number 1$899.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- 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?
Is Central Banking free?
Which has better reviews, New Scientist or Central Banking?
Do New Scientist or Central Banking have ads?
Which is updated more often, New Scientist or Central Banking?
Other comparisons















