XKCD vs Bun Alert
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
XKCD
Access and read a popular Q&A blog offline. Get notified of new posts and enjoy articles on a larger screen. Remove ads with an in-app purchase.
- Offline reading mode
- Push notifications for new posts
- iPad version support
- In-app purchase to remove ads
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This app is for offline reading of the wonderful Q&A blog by Randall Munroe. Features include: * Offline Reading Mode * Push notifications for new posts * iPad Version, enjoy the articles on the big screen * In-App purchase, no more ads if you don't want them
Bun Alert
Get real-time notifications when a bun is spotted using crowd-sourced technology. Document and share sightings of these adorable bread-like creatures with friends. Inspired by popular comics.
- Real-time bun spotting notifications
- Crowd-sourced technology
- Document bun sightings
- Share with friends
- Inspired by XKCD comics
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Want to get notified every time a bun is spotted? Now with real-time, crowd-sourced technology you can! Document those cute little loaves of bread that hop and share with your friends. Based on the popular comics from XKCD.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Bun Alert at 5.0 against XKCD's 4.3. Bun Alert also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and review sentiment (100% vs 76%). XKCD's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.6). On price, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. XKCD sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Bun Alert asks for nothing beyond the download.
Bun Alert holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 22 and 40 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of XKCD's written reviews are positive against 100% of Bun Alert's.
XKCD ships an update monthly, Bun Alert every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | XKCD | Bun Alert |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (22 ratings) | 5.0 (40 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 75.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 22 | 40 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 18 MB | 74 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Dimitry Grekov | Austin Nelson |
Customer experience
XKCD
Bun Alert
Bugs and requests
XKCD
Reported bugs
24 issues- Data does not load
- Text won't scroll
- Too many glitches
- Footnotes with non-ASCII text, footnotes with footnotes, and footnotes with math formatting are broken
- Links inside footnotes don't work right
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- Image alt-text is often truncated
- Footnotes are out of order
- Links are broken
- Missing half a paragraph and an image in at least one article
- App is consistently unusable with iOS 9
- Scrolling is broken, unresponsive at times
- App freezes
- Buttons are disabled during loading
- App doesn't update
- Lack of numbering makes finding place difficult
- Numbers like '3 x 10^12' show up as 'I'
- Reference text bleeds into normal text
- Chronological order of articles not apparent
- Images in articles do not show up
- Formulas do not display
- Formulas are not fixed on older devices
- Text is unnecessarily spaced apart
- New What If? articles are un-openable
- App asks to be reviewed too often
Requested features
13 requests- Update app more frequently
- Add 'weird and worrying questions from the what if inbox'
- Add date of publication to articles
- Improve formatting on tablets
- Fix issues with footnotes
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- Fix issues with math formatting
- Fix image alt-text truncation
- Fix missing paragraphs and images in articles
- Add a refresh option for content
- Improve chronological order of articles
- Add clear column separators
- Add visual hints about article ordering
- Remove ads or offer a paid ad-free version
Bun Alert
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
XKCD
- Bronze Level$0.99
- Silver Level$4.99
- Gold Level$9.99
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- Platinum Level$19.99
Bun Alert
No in-app purchases
