Comparison

The Air Current vs Current

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

Head to head
About

The Air Current

Access in-depth aviation news and intelligence with a focus on technical detail and journalistic rigor. Features exclusive scoops, breaking industry news, and an AI-powered news aggregator. Aviation safety reporting is provided as a public service.

Highlights
  • In-depth aviation reporting
  • Exclusive scoops
  • Breaking industry news alerts
  • AI-powered news aggregator
  • Mobile-first reader experience
  • Aviation safety reporting
Read full description

The Air Current is an aviation news service that combines the highest standards of journalism with the level of technical detail and rigor expected by a sophisticated industry audience. Drawing on deep expertise in the subjects we cover and an outstanding network of sources, we break important stories that are typically overlooked by other publications.

 This free-to-download app brings our aviation intelligence platform to the iPhone and iPad, with most reporting accessible via a subscription to The Air Current.
Aviation safety reporting is made freely available as a public service. Subscriber features include: - A mobile-first reader experience, designed to bring aviation insights in the palm of your hand, optimized for iPhone and iPad - Exclusive scoops and in-depth reporting on global aviation, from business strategy to technology development and regulatory policy - Push notifications for timely alerts on deeply-researched features and breaking industry news via TAC/Intel, our real-time intelligence feed - Scan the headlines faster with Airflow, an AI-powered aviation news aggregator Privacy policy: We do not sell any user data to third parties or use it for targeted advertising purposes. Our full privacy policy is available here: https://theaircurrent.com/privacy-policy/

About

Current

This app offers a peaceful way to consume RSS feeds without the pressure of unread counts or overdue articles. It prioritizes a calm, unhurried reading experience with beautiful typography and intuitive navigation. Sync with various providers or use local feeds for a personalized content stream.

Highlights
  • No unread counts or badges
  • Calm and unhurried design
  • Beautiful article presentation
  • Support for multiple sync providers
  • Full-text article extraction
  • Universal app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Current is an RSS reader built on a simple idea: your feed should never make you feel behind. There are no unread counts. No red badges. No number climbing while you sleep, silently tallying everything you haven't read. Current shows you what's new right now, and that's it. Nothing is owed. Nothing is overdue. You open it when you want to read, and whatever's there is what's there. The design is intentional. Every screen, every interaction, every animation was built to feel calm and unhurried. Articles are presented beautifully with clean typography and generous whitespace. Navigation is fluid and intuitive. The app gets out of the way and lets you focus on what matters: the writing. Current supports multiple sync providers so you can bring your existing subscriptions: - Feedbin - Inoreader - MiniFlux - FreshRSS - The Old Reader - NewsBlur - Local RSS (on-device, no account needed) Features: - Universal app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac - Beautiful article reader with smart formatting - Full-text article extraction - Light and dark themes - Background refresh - OPML import and export - Share extension - Keyboard shortcuts on iPad and Mac - iCloud sync for local feeds Current is a one-time purchase. No subscription. No ads. No tracking. Just an app you buy once and own forever. Built by an indie developer who wanted to love RSS again.

Screenshots

The Air Current4 screens
Current4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: The Air Current at Free against Current's $9.99. The Air Current also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (100% vs 68%). Current's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks) and ratings volume (111 vs 10). On ads, 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

The Air Current is free to download; Current costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Air Current holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Current has 111 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of The Air Current's written reviews are positive against 68% of Current's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Air Current ships an update every 3 weeks, Current every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
The Air Current versus Current: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Air CurrentCurrent
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating5.0 (10 ratings) — better4.5 (111 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better68.0% of reviews
Number of ratings10111 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#11 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.5 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size84 MB46 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperJAO Aero Media LLCJupiter Interactive Group LLC

Customer experience

The Air Current

All ratings10 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Current

All ratings111 ratings
Positive85.6%
Neutral5.4%
Negative9.0%
Written reviews100 reviews
Positive68.0%
Neutral15.0%
Negative17.0%

In-app purchases

None

The Air Current

No in-app purchases

None

Current

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is The Air Current free?
The Air Current is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Current free?
Current costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, The Air Current or Current?
The Air Current is rated higher. The Air Current averages 5.0 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Current averages 4.5 from 111 ratings.
Do The Air Current or Current have ads?
Neither The Air Current nor Current shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Air Current or Current?
The Air Current ships an update every 3 weeks, and Current every 3 days. Most recently, The Air Current was updated on October 2, 2026 and Current on October 11, 2026.

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