New Scientist vs TruNorthApp
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/
TruNorthApp
This app provides objective company ratings based on public records, allowing you to align your purchases with your personal values. It features a barcode scanner for quick in-store decisions and offers personalized scoring.
- Objective company grading
- Personalized value matching
- In-store barcode scanner
- Auditable scores from public data
- 12,000+ companies tracked
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WHAT YOU BUY MATTERS — TruNorth shows you how every brand really behaves, using public records, not opinions. We track 12,000+ companies and grade ~2,900 of them across 9 categories that consumers actually care about: • Political donations • Environmental enforcement • Labor practices • DEI & social equity • Charitable giving • Animal testing • Firearms policy • Data privacy • Executive pay ratio EVERY GRADE IS AUDITABLE Every score comes from public databases — SEC EDGAR, FEC, OSHA, EPA, CFPB, NHTSA, NLRB, OpenFDA, and many more. No editorial opinions. No vibes. PERSONALIZED FOR YOUR VALUES Take the 45-second values Match once. Every brand grade rebalances to match what YOU care about. A user who cares about climate sees different scores than someone who cares about labor practices. IN-STORE BARCODE SCANNER Scan any product in the store. Get the verdict in 2 seconds before you pay. FREE The core experience is free. Browse 12,000+ companies, take the values Match, see letter grades, scan barcodes. TruNorth Pro ($1.99/mo or $14.99/yr) unlocks personalized scoring, per-grade citations, the full sources directory, and the weekly digest. NO ADS · NO AFFILIATE LINKS · NO SELLING YOUR DATA If you've ever wanted to align your shopping with your values but didn't want to take any company's word for it, TruNorth is built for you. — Aron, founder Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
New Scientist and TruNorthApp both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of TruNorthApp's written reviews are positive against 69% of New Scientist's. TruNorthApp also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). New Scientist's advantage is ratings volume (5.6K vs 2) and chart position (#92 vs unranked). 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 11 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and TruNorthApp sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
TruNorthApp holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: New Scientist has 5.6K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of New Scientist's written reviews are positive against 100% of TruNorthApp's.
New Scientist ships an update every 2 months, TruNorthApp every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | New Scientist | TruNorthApp |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (5.6K ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 68.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5.6K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #92 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 163 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | New Scientist Ltd | Aron Rosenfield |
Customer experience
New Scientist
TruNorthApp
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
TruNorthApp
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 4 moreShow fewer
- September 03 2016$1.99
- October 01 2016$1.99
- November 19 2016$1.99
- Essential Guide 10$9.99
TruNorthApp
- TruNorth Pro · Monthly$1.991 Month
- TruNorth Pro · Annual$14.991 Year
Questions
Is New Scientist free?
Is TruNorthApp free?
Which has better reviews, New Scientist or TruNorthApp?
Do New Scientist or TruNorthApp have ads?
Which is updated more often, New Scientist or TruNorthApp?
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