Comparison

Prospect & Archive vs Icon

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

Head to head
About

Prospect & Archive

Access insightful articles and cultural commentary from a leading British magazine. Enjoy a quiet, rational voice to understand complex ideas, with independent writing and access to diverse thinkers. Sync back issues for offline reading and share content with friends.

Highlights
  • Intelligent articles on current affairs and cultural debate
  • Independent writing that challenges and informs
  • Access to diverse thinkers and common ground
  • Sync back issues for offline reading
  • Searchable archive of content
  • Page linking to web, email, and maps
  • Social media sharing
Features
Read full description

** 1-MONTH FREE TRIAL FOR ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS** Prospect has acquired a reputation as the most intelligent magazine of current affairs and cultural debate in Britain. Both challenging and entertaining, the magazine seeks to make complex ideas accessible and enjoyable by commissioning the best writers, editing them vigorously and packaging their work in a well designed and illustrated monthly. ∙ The quiet, rational voice you need to make sense of a chaotic world ∙ Independent writing that challenges you but doesn’t tell you how to vote ∙ Rare access to thinkers that seek to find common ground rather than cancel each other ∙ A place where discerning and engaged readers can have their say During your subscription you can sync back issues to your device. These will remain in place if your subscription expires, unless your device removes them (for example when running low on disk space). Re-downloading issues requires a current subscription. • Swipe or tap the page edges to flip to next/previous page. • Use the animated thumbnail view to flick through the pages. • Pinch or double-tap pages to zoom. • Switch between single or double-page view. • Search the current issue or the archive. • Tap any page links to web sites, email addresses, phone numbers or maps. • Tap contents-page links to jump to a particular article. • Sync back issues to your device for offline reading (requires wi-fi). • Network connection required otherwise. • Bookmark favourite pages or search results to read later. • Social Media sharing feature allowing you to share pages with friends. • If your institution has a magazine subscription, you can access it directly from within your registered IP range. We recommend first running the app within a wi-fi area so it can sync the latest issue to your device - after that you can use it anywhere. Subscribers will receive new issues automatically. Subscriptions are available within the app at the following prices: Monthly £4.99 Annually £49.99 In addition, please note the following standard features of auto-renewable iTunes subscriptions: • Your payment will be charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. • Subscriptions will renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. • You can manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal by going to your Apple Account Settings after purchase. • No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. You can find our privacy policy here: https://exacteditions.com/about/privacy and our terms of service here: https://exacteditions.com/about/tos

About

Icon

This monthly men's magazine covers fashion and lifestyle, exploring menswear trends, street style, and runway looks. It caters to the passions of the contemporary man, offering insights into style and cultural interests.

Highlights
  • Menswear trends
  • Street style
  • Runway looks
  • Fashion articles
  • Lifestyle content
Read full description

ICON is a monthly men's magazine about fashion and lifestyle, published by the Mondadori Group which is Italy’s biggest magazine and book publisher and one of the leaders in Europe. Menswear trends, street style, runway looks and more, Icon talks about the passions of the contemporary man. You can choose to buy your single copy (€2,29) or the annual subscription (€19,99). The subscription is automatically renewed and does not include a free trial period. • If you bought a subscription on Abbonamenti website, you can read the digital version on this App! Log in (from Menu - Account - Login) and always carry your favorite magazine with you. • All subscriptions are debited from your iTunes account and will automatically renew upon expiration. You can deactivate your renewal through your iTunes profile, at least 24 hours before your active subscription expires. The subscription payments already paid cannot be reimbursed. Privacy and T&C: http://bit.ly/PrivacyIcon

Screenshots

Prospect & Archive4 screens
Icon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Icon at free with in-app purchases against Prospect & Archive's subscription. Icon also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.6). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. Prospect & Archive sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Icon sells 34 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Prospect & Archive ships an update every 4 months, Icon every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Prospect & Archive versus Icon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterProspect & ArchiveIcon
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB85 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperProspect Publishing LtdReworld Media Italia S.R.L.

Customer experience

Prospect & Archive

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Icon

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Prospect & Archive

Subscriptions4
  • Prospect ByPlace$1.991 Month
  • Prospect Magazine$4.991 Month
  • Prospect ByPlace1 Month trial$26.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Prospect Magazine1 Month trial$49.991 Year
34 purchases

Icon

Subscriptions1
  • Abbonamento annuale Icon$17.991 Year
One-time33
  • Icon 2020 / 02$1.99
  • Icon 2021 / 03$1.99
  • Icon 2021 / 04$1.99
Show 30 more
  • Icon 2021 / 07$1.99
  • Icon 2022 / 03$1.99
  • Icon 2022 / 02$1.99
  • Icon 2022 / 08$1.99
  • Icon 04 - 2023$1.99
  • Icon 07 - 2023$1.99
  • Icon 00-03-15$1.99
  • Icon 00-03-16$1.99
  • Icon n.03 - 2026$1.99
  • Icon n.05 - 2025$1.99
  • Icon n.02 - 2025$1.99
  • Icon 2021 / 01$1.99
  • Icon 2021 / 02$1.99
  • Icon 2021 / 06$1.99
  • Icon 2022 / 01$1.99
  • Icon 2022 / 04$1.99
  • Icon 2022 / 05$1.99
  • Icon 2022 / 06$1.99
  • Icon 2022 / 07$1.99
  • Icon 01 - 2023$1.99
  • Icon 02 - 2023$1.99
  • Icon 06 - 2023$1.99
  • Icon 03 - 2023$1.99
  • Icon 05 - 2023$1.99
  • Icon 08 - 2023$1.99
  • Icon 00-03-21$1.99
  • Icon 00-03-20$1.99
  • Icon 00-03-19$1.99
  • Icon 00-03-18$1.99
  • Icon 00-03-17$1.99

Questions

Is Prospect & Archive free?
Prospect & Archive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Icon free?
Icon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Prospect & Archive or Icon have ads?
Neither Prospect & Archive nor Icon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Prospect & Archive or Icon?
Prospect & Archive ships an update every 4 months, and Icon every 5 months. Most recently, Prospect & Archive was updated on October 23, 2026 and Icon on October 24, 2026.

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