Comparison

New Scientist vs Brivfy

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

Brivfy

Get the day's most important news in concise, 50-word briefings. Designed for busy professionals and curious minds, it cuts through the noise to deliver fact-first summaries in seconds. Stay informed without the overwhelm, covering politics, tech, business, and more.

Highlights
  • 50-word news briefings
  • Daily curated digest
  • Multi-topic coverage
  • Distraction-free reading
  • Smart notifications
  • Save and share articles
  • Fast and lightweight
Features
Read full description

Brivfy — Know more. In less time. Stay informed without the overwhelm. Brivfy delivers the day's most important stories in sharp, 50-word briefings you can read in seconds, with a link to the trusted source whenever you want more. WHY BRIVFY? In a world of endless headlines, clickbait and noise, Brivfy cuts through. Every story is distilled into a concise, fact-first briefing for busy professionals, decision-makers and curious minds who value their time. WHAT YOU GET 50-word briefings — Every major story summarized, so you grasp what matters in under a minute. Curated headlines — Short, accurate headlines from trusted news sources, updated through the day. Your city, anywhere — Choose from 11 countries and their top cities to see news, places and things to do around you. Ask Brivfy — Ask in plain words: "good coffee near me", "what's on this weekend", "vegetarian food open now". Brivfy answers with real places nearby. Trip planner — Pick a city and the number of days and get a day-by-day plan. Share it, save it as a PDF, add it to your calendar or open each day's route in Maps. Many topics, one place — World affairs, business, AI and technology, climate, travel, lifestyle and more. Clean, easy reading — A simple layout in Brivfy's red-and-black design. Smart notifications — Alerts for the stories that matter. You stay in control. Save and share — Keep briefings for later or share them with friends in a tap. WHO IS BRIVFY FOR? - Professionals who need the day's context before their first meeting - Travellers and expats who want to know what's happening around them - Students and researchers following global developments - Anyone tired of doom-scrolling who still wants to stay informed OUR PROMISE Brivfy is built on clarity, accuracy and speed. We rephrase, verify and compress — never sensationalize. Every briefing answers three questions: What happened? Why does it matter? What's next? Brivfy is free and supported by sponsors. Sponsored content is always clearly labelled.

Screenshots

New Scientist4 screens
Brivfy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Brivfy at none against New Scientist's 10. Brivfy also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 69%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). New Scientist's advantage is chart position (#107 vs unranked). 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. New Scientist sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Brivfy asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

New Scientist ships an update every 2 months, Brivfy every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
New Scientist versus Brivfy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNew ScientistBrivfy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (5.7K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews69.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5.7K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#107 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB26 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperNew Scientist LtdDigital Living Company Limited

Customer experience

New Scientist

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

Brivfy

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

Brivfy

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
None

Brivfy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is New Scientist free?
New Scientist is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Brivfy free?
Brivfy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do New Scientist or Brivfy have ads?
Neither New Scientist nor Brivfy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, New Scientist or Brivfy?
New Scientist ships an update every 2 months, and Brivfy every 5 weeks. Most recently, New Scientist was updated on November 6, 2026 and Brivfy on November 5, 2026.

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