New Scientist vs The Week Junior
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
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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/
The Week Junior
This app delivers a weekly digital magazine for children aged 8-14, packed with engaging content on science, nature, animals, and role models. It aims to spark curiosity, encourage critical thinking, and boost reading comprehension through interactive puzzles and videos.
- Weekly digital magazine content
- Interactive puzzles and videos
- Access to past and latest issues
- Content on science, nature, animals
- Focus on role models and places
- Encourages reading and critical thinking
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The Week Junior is a multi-award-winning magazine for 8 to 14-year olds written and designed by experts to ignite your child’s curiosity and get them reading and thinking. It’s packed full of science, nature, animals to discover, role models to meet, amazing places, and ideas for things to make and do. It's a brilliant way to: • Spark their natural curiosity in the world around them • Help them see different viewpoints - and form opinions of their own • Boost their confidence as they grow their understanding • Get them reading, talking and thinking - and passionate about sharing what they learn! The Week Junior app contains all of the amazing articles from the print magazine as well as interactive puzzles and videos, in a format that's easy to read anywhere and share with all the family. You can also access past issues and the latest issue before it hits the shops every week.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: New Scientist at every 2 months against The Week Junior's every 13 months. New Scientist also leads on ratings volume (5.7K vs 76) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). The Week Junior's advantage is review sentiment (84% vs 69%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 The Week Junior sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
New Scientist holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: New Scientist has 5.7K ratings behind it against 76, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 69% of New Scientist's written reviews are positive against 84% of The Week Junior's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
New Scientist ships an update every 2 months, The Week Junior every 13 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | New Scientist | The Week Junior |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (5.7K ratings) — better | 4.5 (76 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 68.7% of reviews | 84.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5.7K — better | 76 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 13 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #93 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | New Scientist Ltd | Future plc |
Customer experience
New Scientist
The Week Junior
User reviews
New Scientist
From 5.7K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Fascinating and informative content
- 🚀 Accessible and easy to read
- 🤓 Covers a wide range of scientific topics
- 📚 Valuable source of up-to-date science news
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy app with login and subscription issues
- 🔒 Difficult to manage subscriptions and access content
- 💰 Expensive subscription fees
- 🙄 Forced subscription model and lack of transparency
The Week Junior
From 76 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Handy digital access
- 👍 Up-to-date information
- 👍 Fun activities
- 👍 Exciting delivery
- 👍 Interesting content
Room to improve
- 🐛 Incredibly laggy on older devices
- 🐛 Needs a free to read option
- 🐛 Hard to move between pages
- 🐛 Confusing interface
- 🐛 Swipe to switch pages doesn't work
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
The Week Junior
Reported bugs
7 issues- Incredibly laggy on older devices
- Swipe to switch pages doesn't work
- Screen freezes
- Hold down shapes not working on iPad
- Cannot find puzzle page
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Subscription cancellation issues
- Stuck downloading issues
Requested features
6 requests- Free to read option
- Zoom function
- Update app for better iPad functionality
- Improve layout/interface
- Include puzzle page
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Include all issues in the app
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
The Week Junior
- 1 Month Subscription$9.991 Month
- 3 Month Subscription$29.993 Months
- 6 month subscription$48.996 Months
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- 1 Year subscription$119.991 Year
- TWJ 271$1.99
- TWJ 310$1.99
- TWJ 317$1.99
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- TWJ 325$2.99
- TWJ 329$2.99
- TWJ 546$3.99
Questions
Is New Scientist free?
Is The Week Junior free?
Which has better reviews, New Scientist or The Week Junior?
Do New Scientist or The Week Junior have ads?
Which is updated more often, New Scientist or The Week Junior?
Other comparisons
