Comparison

Fathom vs The Agora

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

Head to head
About

Fathom

Explore great thinkers and philosophies with bite-sized lessons. Understand complex ideas with elegant visuals and build a daily habit of learning. Access over 50 learning paths on diverse philosophical topics.

Highlights
  • Daily philosophy habit building
  • Bite-sized lessons (under 2 minutes)
  • Elegant visual explanations
  • 50+ learning paths
  • Save and review insights
  • Set learning goals
Features
Read full description

Fathom is your guide to the world's most great thinkers and philosophies. - Build your foundational knowledge in one of humanity’s original disciplines. From Socrates to Descartes and from Buddhism to Existentialism take the time to truly understand how some of the world’s wisest people think. - Understand complex concepts quickly, with elegant visuals that clarify key ideas and help you stay focused. - Learn on your schedule. Knock out a lesson in two minutes or less, in bite-sized sessions designed to fit into your week no matter what life throws your way. - Set a learning goal and embark on a multi lesson learning paths into specific philosophies and philosophers - Actually refer back to wisdom when you need it most. Save and review the insights and visuals that matter most to you Explore our rapidly expanding catalog, featuring 50+ learning paths such as: -Buddhist Wisdom for Anxious Minds -Socrates and Plato -Aristotle -Hedonism, Cynicism, Stoicism -Utilitarianism and Kantian Ethics -Kant’s Epistemology -Kierkegaard -Feminist Philosophy and Perspectives on Power -Camus ...and much more! -- SUBSCRIPTION PRICING AND TERMS: Fathom offers an auto-renewing yearly subscription and an auto-renewing monthly subscription which allows you full access to all of the content in our catalog for as long as you maintain an active subscription. These prices are for United States customers. Pricing in other countries may vary and actual charges may be converted to your local currency depending on your country. Payment will be charged to the credit card connected to your iTunes account at the time of initial subscription purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current subscription period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period end date, and the cost of the renewal will be listed. You can manage your subscription and auto-renewal can be turned off by going to your Account Settings after the purchase. Read more about our Privacy Policy here: https://tinyurl.com/4a5p4z8b Read more about our Terms of Service here: https://tinyurl.com/xnmcrbvp

About

The Agora

Engage in live debates with historical philosophers, defending your positions and receiving real-time scoring. Analyze your arguments with detailed feedback and track your philosophical growth over time. This app transforms learning philosophy into an interactive experience.

Highlights
  • Debate historical philosophers
  • Defend your philosophical positions
  • Receive real-time scoring
  • Get detailed debate reports
  • Daily philosophical challenges
  • Track personal growth
Features
Read full description

FOR CENTURIES, YOU COULD ONLY READ THEIR IDEAS. NOW YOU CAN CHALLENGE THEM. Imagine sitting across from Socrates and questioning his beliefs. Imagine challenging Nietzsche on morality. Imagine asking Aristotle what it means to live a good life, then disagreeing with his answer. For centuries, these conversations were impossible. Not anymore. Welcome to The Agora. A DREAM DECADES IN THE MAKING In 1985, Steve Jobs imagined a future where we could do more than read the words of history's greatest thinkers. He imagined asking them questions and receiving answers. Four decades later, The Agora brings that vision to your fingertips. THEIR REAL PHILOSOPHIES. YOUR QUESTIONS. The Agora is built to bring the actual philosophies of history's greatest thinkers into conversation. Their original writings. Their defining arguments. Their ways of reasoning. Question Socrates. Challenge Nietzsche. Debate Aristotle, Plato, Marcus Aurelius, Carl Jung, Albert Camus, and more. Ask anything. Disagree with them. Push their arguments further. Every philosopher is designed to defend the ideas that made them one of history's greatest thinkers. These are interactive interpretations of their philosophies, built around the works and arguments they left behind. PHILOSOPHY HAS NEVER BEEN THIS INTERACTIVE. You don't need to know philosophy to begin. Bring a question about your life, a belief you've always held, or an idea you're curious about. Explore different perspectives. Test your arguments. Discover how you think. And when you're ready, go further with guided learning, thought experiments, daily philosophical challenges, and detailed debate reports. HISTORY'S GREATEST MINDS ARE WAITING. For thousands of years, we studied their ideas. Now, for the first time in human history, we have the technology to put those ideas into conversation. The Agora. History's greatest minds. Your questions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Fathom4 screens
The Agora4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: The Agora at free against Fathom's subscription. The Agora also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (100% vs 69%). Fathom's advantage is ratings volume (508 vs 10). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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. Fathom sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and The Agora sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Agora holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Fathom has 508 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of Fathom's written reviews are positive against 100% of The Agora's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Fathom ships an update weekly, The Agora every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Fathom versus The Agora: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFathomThe Agora
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (508 ratings)5.0 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews69.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings508 — better10
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size191 MB51 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperPolywise, Inc.Bhernaurd Maghirang

Customer experience

Fathom

All ratings503 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral1.8%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews29 reviews
Positive69.0%
Neutral3.4%
Negative27.6%

The Agora

All ratings10 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Fathom

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Unexpected charges during free trial period
  • Potential issues with app functionality and compatibility

Requested features

3 requests
  • Option to customize or revisit philosopher selections
  • More information about the app's algorithm and learning progression
  • Ability to explore a wider range of philosophical perspectives

The Agora

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Fathom

Subscriptions8
  • Monthly Subscription$6.991 Month
  • Premium Monthly Subscription$12.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription (no trial)$49.991 Year
Show 5 more
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Yearly Subscription (Premium)7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Yearly Access Premium No Trial$59.991 Year
  • Yearly Sub Premium No Trial$69.991 Year
  • Yearly Subscription Premium7 Days trial$69.991 Year
3 purchases

The Agora

Subscriptions2
  • Agora Pro3 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Agora Pro Yearly3 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Agora Pro Lifetime$99.99

Questions

Is Fathom free?
Fathom is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is The Agora free?
The Agora is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Fathom or The Agora?
The Agora is rated higher. Fathom averages 4.8 out of 5 from 508 ratings, while The Agora averages 5.0 from 10 ratings.
Do Fathom or The Agora have ads?
Fathom shows ads; The Agora does not.
Which is updated more often, Fathom or The Agora?
Fathom ships an update weekly, and The Agora every 5 days. Most recently, Fathom was updated on October 30, 2026 and The Agora on October 31, 2026.

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