Network vs Later
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Network
A minimalist podcast player designed for simplicity and efficiency. It offers automatic volume leveling, offline episode downloads, and smart storage management. Enjoy features like variable playback speeds, a sleep timer, and easy podcast importing.
- Sound Check for consistent volume
- Automatic offline episode downloads
- Smart storage management
- Variable playback and skip rates
- Sleep Timer
- OPML import and URL subscription
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A simple, clean and efficient podcast app. - Sound Check: Automatically ensures episodes play at a more consistent volume, boosting quieter podcasts. - Offline: Automatically downloads new episodes as they become available. (the app will wait for opportunities to download when connected over Wi-Fi, user initiated downloads within the app can use both cellular/Wi-Fi). - Storage: Automatically deletes episodes from the device when played. - Other Features: Stream older episodes without downloading (cellular/Wi-Fi). Import podcasts from OPML files. Subscribe to podcasts from URL's copied to the clipboard. Variable playback rates. Variable skip rates. Sleep Timer.
Later
This app provides a streamlined way to save articles, videos, and other web content for later viewing. It offers a distraction-free reading experience, offline access, and robust privacy features. Organize your saved links with tags and notes, and import from other services.
- Save links from any app
- Offline reading mode
- Reader mode for distraction-free articles
- Organize with tags and notes
- Import from other read-later services
- Private by design with no tracking
- Syncs across Apple devices via iCloud
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Too many open tabs and links you sent yourself? Later is one calm place for everything you want to read: articles, videos, recipes, anything with a link. Save it in a tap and read it when you're ready, on iPhone, iPad and Mac. No account. No ads. No tracking. Your links live on your devices and in your iCloud, never on our servers. Downloaded over 500,000 times and named one of the Best Read Later Apps by Apple. SAVE FROM ANY APP • Tap Share in any app and choose Later • Save with Siri, Shortcuts or the Action Button • On the Mac, save in one click with the Safari, Chrome and Firefox extensions READ WITHOUT DISTRACTIONS • Reader mode shows just the article: no ads, no pop-ups, no clutter • Keep offline copies for flights, trains and spotty connections • Offline copies sync to all your devices ORGANIZE YOUR WAY • Colorful tags, flags and smart folders • Add a note to remember why you saved something • Set a reminder to read it at the right time • Archive what you've read to keep your Inbox clear • Find any link with search, even from Spotlight PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Trackers are stripped from your links as you save them • Lock Later with Face ID or Touch ID • Daily backups to iCloud Drive BRING YOUR LIBRARY • Import from Pocket, Instapaper, Raindrop or GoodLinks • Export everything anytime. You're never locked in. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://xavimoll.com/legal/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Later at Free against Network's $2.99. Later also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly) and rating (4.5 vs 4.2). Network's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and chart position (#36 vs unranked). On review sentiment, 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
Later is free to download; Network costs $2.99 up front. Later sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Network asks for nothing beyond the download.
Later holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Later has 173 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Network's written reviews are positive against 79% of Later's.
Network ships an update monthly, Later every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Network | Later |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.2 (11 ratings) | 4.5 (173 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 72.1% of reviews | 79.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 173 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Freemium — better |
| Best chart rank | #36 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Andrew Conlan | Xavi Moll |
Customer experience
Network
Later
Bugs and requests
Network
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Later
Reported bugs
10 issues- macOS app crashes on scroll and when adding links from share menu
- Subscription restoration button doesn't work for paid members
- Images not loading for bookmark previews
- App gets stuck on subscription page preventing further saves
- Long press sneak preview feature not functioning
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- Duplicate link removal option not detecting duplicates
- Data loss after phone update/migration
- Tag order changes unexpectedly after updates
- Loading times increased significantly in recent version
- iOS 17 requirement breaks updates for older devices
Requested features
15 requests- Custom folders with icons for better organization
- Ability to create and search tags from share menu
- Bulk editing and multi-tag selection
- Offline article content saving
- Integrated reader view with distraction-free reading
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- Image preview thumbnails in list view
- Ability to mark articles as read/unread
- Advanced filtering by location (Inbox/Archive) and read status
- Support for multiple browser selection (Firefox, etc.)
- Shared link collections with other users
- Pinboard and other import format support
- Annotation and highlighting within articles
- Selective offline saving by tag
- Grid view with thumbnails
- Notes feature for links
In-app purchases
Network
No in-app purchases
Later
- Later Pro (Monthly)7 Days trial$1.991 Month
- Later Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$11.991 Year
- Later Pro (Forever)$49.99
