CGTN vs Al
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CGTN
Access global news from a unique perspective with diverse, balanced, and objective content. This app offers breaking news, in-depth stories, and livestreams in five languages, along with a rich archive of articles, audio, and video.
- Global news coverage
- Content in 5 languages
- Breaking news notifications
- Rich audiovisual content
- In-depth stories and features
- AI and AR products
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CGTN is committed to providing worldwide audience with a wide range of global news from a different perspective. The app prioritizes user experience with intricate details. It brings diverse, balanced and objective content for global users, and presents a true image of China and world from multiple perspectives. The latest version of the CGTN app supports five languages: English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian. It features a wide array of original content, including breaking news, in-depth stories and livestreams. The app also hosts a comprehensive archive of original articles, audio, video, and TV shows covering topics across politics, business, technology, science, sports, nature, culture and others. It gives you access to all the trusted information you need on the go. Features: – Exclusive coverage of China and world news, original TV shows and feature stories, continuous updates about worldwide events – Content in five languages: English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian – Rich audiovisual content, including videos, podcasts, livestreams and TV shows – Enhanced reading experience – Notifications to ensure you never miss breaking news and exciting features – Search for related and hot news to deepen understanding – Like, save and share your favorite stories on social media – AI and AR products – No ads. No in-app purchases. Download the CGTN app to join millions of our subscribers and enjoy personalized, hassle-free news and audiovisual content.
Al
Access breaking news from Egypt as it happens, along with front-page stories, daily columns, and obituaries from Al-Ahram Egyptian Foundation. Stay updated on accidents, economy, stock market, and sports news, including Egyptian league, Arab, and international headlines.
- Breaking news from Egypt
- Front-page newspaper content
- Daily columns and obituaries
- Economy and stock market news
- Sports, Arab, and world news
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تطبيق الأهرام مقدم من مؤسسة الأهرام المصرية وهو يقدم الأخبار العاجلة من مصر وقت حدوثها وكذلك موضوعات الصفحة الأولي من صحيفة الأهرام المصرية والأعمدة اليومية وصفحة الوفيات. يقدم التطبيق أيضا أخبار الحوادث والأقتصاد وأحدث أخبار البورصة. يتابع التطبيق أخبار الرياضة المصرية وخاصة الدوري العام وكذلك الأخبار العربية والعالمية
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: CGTN at 4.4 against Al's 3.0. CGTN also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 13 months) and ratings volume (394 vs 2). Al's advantage is monetization model (free vs ad-supported) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
CGTN holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CGTN has 394 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
CGTN ships an update every 5 weeks, Al every 13 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CGTN | Al |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (394 ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 54.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 394 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 13 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 137 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | China Global Television Network Corp. | AlAhram Newspaper |
Customer experience
CGTN
Al
Bugs and requests
CGTN
Reported bugs
5 issues- App crashes when opening certain articles
- Live TV channel playback not working
- Russian text not displaying correctly
- Landscape mode not supported on iPad
- Notifications not working as expected
Requested features
5 requests- Add dark mode option
- Improve search and filtering capabilities
- Optimize app for tablet devices
- Implement offline content download feature
- Allow customization of notification settings
Al
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
CGTN
No in-app purchases
Al
No in-app purchases
