# Medium vs Signalwaves

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Signalwaves at none against Medium's 6. Medium's advantage is chart position (#17 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, 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. Signalwaves asks for nothing beyond the download.

Medium ships an update weekly, Signalwaves fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Medium | Signalwaves |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (158K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/medium-read-and-write-stories/id828256236/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **158K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 62.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Best chart rank | **#17** | — |
| Size | 127 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **17.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [A Medium Corporation](https://appshunter.io/developer/828256239) | [Scenaryo GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/6783832404) |

## What reviewers say

### Medium

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

**Currently charting:** #17 Top Grossing · News, #48 Top Free · News (US App Store)

Access a vast collection of articles, stories, and advice on diverse topics from experts and fresh voices. Engage with content through reading, writing, and community interaction. Offers unlimited access to millions of stories for members.

**Highlights:** Distraction-free reading, Curated content on various topics, Personalized library with highlights and bookmarks, Community engagement with comments and claps, Publish your own stories, 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


### Signalwaves

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/signalwaves/id6783832402)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Medium free?

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

### Is Signalwaves free?

Signalwaves is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Medium or Signalwaves have ads?

Neither Medium nor Signalwaves shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Medium or Signalwaves?

Medium ships an update weekly, and Signalwaves fortnightly. Most recently, Medium was updated on November 9, 2026 and Signalwaves on October 31, 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.*