# Medium vs The City Guide

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: The City Guide at none against Medium's 6. The City Guide also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). Medium's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 7 months) and chart position (#16 vs unranked). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Medium sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. The City Guide asks for nothing beyond the download.

Medium ships an update weekly, The City Guide every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Medium | The City Guide |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (157K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/medium-read-and-write-stories/id828256236/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **157K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 62.2% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 7 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Best chart rank | **#16** | — |
| Size | 127 MB | 35 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **16.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [A Medium Corporation](https://appshunter.io/developer/828256239) | [Newtomedia Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1711375780) |

## What reviewers say

### Medium

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/medium-read-and-write-stories/id828256236)

**Currently charting:** #16 Top Grossing · News, #48 Top Free · News (US App Store)

Access a vast collection of human stories, expert advice, and inspiring insights. Discover new topics, follow your interests, and connect with a global community of readers and writers. Publish your own work and reach a wide audience.

**Highlights:** Distraction-free reading, Curated content on tech, culture, news, Unlimited story access with membership, Personalized reading library, Community engagement (claps, comments), Publishing platform for writers, Audio versions of stories (Member feature)

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Medium Membership | $4.99 | per month |
| Friend Membership | $14.99 | per month |
| Medium Membership | $49.99 | per year |
| Medium Membership | $49.99 | per year |
| Friend Membership | $149.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 📚 Excellent content and writing quality
- 🌐 Wide variety of topics and perspectives
- 🧠 Thought-provoking and informative articles
- 🤓 Useful for learning and personal growth
- 🎨 Clean and minimalist design

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Paywall limits access to content
- 📥 Difficulty finding and accessing past articles
- 🔍 Lack of effective search and filtering options
- 🤖 Concerns about AI-generated content
- 🖥️ Suboptimal experience on larger screens

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent app crashes and freezes
- Login and authentication issues
- Syncing and data loss problems
- Compatibility problems with newer OS versions
- Unreliable push notifications

**Requested features**

- Offline reading mode
- Better organization and navigation of content
- Improved personalization and recommendation system
- Integration with other platforms and services
- Enhanced writing and publishing tools


### The City Guide

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-city-guide/id6742885977)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Medium free?

Medium is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is The City Guide free?

The City Guide is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Medium or The City Guide have ads?

Neither Medium nor The City Guide shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Medium or The City Guide?

Medium ships an update weekly, and The City Guide every 7 months. Most recently, Medium was updated on October 27, 2026 and The City Guide on October 15, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*