# The Simple Things Magazine vs Lightning（ライトニング）

The clearest difference is update cadence: The Simple Things Magazine at every 16 months against Lightning（ライトニング）'s every 44 months. The Simple Things Magazine also leads on ratings volume (28 vs 2). Lightning（ライトニング）'s advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.6). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. The Simple Things Magazine sells 47 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per 3 months and Lightning（ライトニング） sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for The Simple Things Magazine against 5.0 for Lightning（ライトニング）. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Simple Things Magazine has 28 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

The Simple Things Magazine ships an update every 16 months, Lightning（ライトニング） every 44 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | The Simple Things Magazine | Lightning（ライトニング） |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (28 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-simple-things-magazine/id964519660/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lightning/id973769890/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **28** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 25.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 16 months** | Every 44 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 18 MB | 30 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **8.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Iceberg Press Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/964519659) | [DENTSU INC.](https://appshunter.io/developer/326362308) |

## What reviewers say

### The Simple Things Magazine

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-simple-things-magazine/id964519660)

This magazine app offers inspiration for a well-lived life, focusing on mindful living, home, nature, and simple pleasures. Each issue provides seasonal content, recipes, projects, and creative ideas.

**Highlights:** Mindfulness and microadventures, Home life and slow moments, Seasonal content, Recipes and weekend projects, Poems, stories, and playlists, Digital issue purchases, Subscription options

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (47)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The Simple Things | $14.99 | per 3 months |
| The Simple Things | $55.99 | per year |
| November 2015 (pp:756676) | $6.99 | one-time |
| January 2017 (pp:756662) | $6.99 | one-time |
| December 2016 (pp:756663) | $6.99 | one-time |
| November 2016 (pp:756664) | $6.99 | one-time |
| September 2016 (pp:756666) | $6.99 | one-time |
| April 2016 (pp:756671) | $6.99 | one-time |
| March 2016 (pp:756672) | $6.99 | one-time |
| February 2016 (pp:756673) | $6.99 | one-time |
| May 2017 (pp:756658) | $6.99 | one-time |
| December 2022 –... (pp:792269) | $6.99 | one-time |
| February 2023 –... (pp:895688) | $6.99 | one-time |
| January 2024 (id:708140) | $6.99 | one-time |
| November 2023 (id:708142) | $6.99 | one-time |
| December 2023 (id:708141) | $6.99 | one-time |
| April 2024 (pp:1011730) | $6.99 | one-time |
| January 2018 (pp:756650) | $6.99 | one-time |
| Mar-26 (pp:1130605) | $6.99 | one-time |
| January 2026 (pp:1109281) | $6.99 | one-time |
| November 2014 (pp:756688) | $6.99 | one-time |
| November 2020  ... (pp:756616) | $6.99 | one-time |
| February 2022 –... (pp:792309) | $6.99 | one-time |
| October 2023 (id:708143) | $6.99 | one-time |
| July 2025 (pp:1109287) | $6.99 | one-time |
| June 2025 (pp:1109288) | $6.99 | one-time |
| May 2025 (pp:1109289) | $6.99 | one-time |
| April 2025 (pp:1109290) | $6.99 | one-time |
| April 2023 – 130 (pp:895680) | $6.99 | one-time |
| March 2025 (pp:1109291) | $6.99 | one-time |
| February 2024 ... (pp:1011738) | $6.99 | one-time |
| February 2018 (pp:756649) | $6.99 | one-time |
| February 2025 (pp:1109292) | $6.99 | one-time |
| January 2025 (pp:1011694) | $6.99 | one-time |
| December 2024 (pp:1011698) | $6.99 | one-time |
| December 2020 –... (pp:756615) | $6.99 | one-time |
| November 2024 (pp:1011702) | $6.99 | one-time |
| November 2019 (pp:756628) | $6.99 | one-time |
| October 2020 – 100 (pp:756617) | $6.99 | one-time |
| September 2024 (pp:1011710) | $6.99 | one-time |
| October 2024 (pp:1011706) | $6.99 | one-time |
| September 2017 (pp:756654) | $6.99 | one-time |
| September 2020 (pp:756618) | $6.99 | one-time |
| August 2024 (pp:1011714) | $6.99 | one-time |
| July 2019 (pp:756632) | $6.99 | one-time |
| June 2018 (pp:756645) | $6.99 | one-time |
| June 2024 (pp:1011722) | $6.99 | one-time |


### Lightning（ライトニング）

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lightning/id973769890)

This lifestyle magazine app offers curated content on American culture, including fashion, cars, and hobbies. It provides a digital reading experience with subscription options and automatic downloads for new issues.

**Highlights:** American culture focus, Fashion and car content, Hobby and leisure features, Digital magazine format, Subscription options, Automatic download of new issues

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lightning（ライトニング） | $6.99 | per month |
| Lightning（ライトニング） | $19.99 | per 3 months |
| Lightning（ライトニング） | $39.99 | per 6 months |
| Lightning（ライトニング） 2015年5月号 Vol.253 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Lightning（ライトニング） 2015年7月号 Vol.255 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Lightning（ライトニング） 2016年3月号 Vol.263 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Lightning 2018年8月号 Vol.292 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Lightning 2018年9月号 Vol.293 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Lightning 2018年10月号 Vol.294 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Lightning 2018年11月号 Vol.295 | $4.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is The Simple Things Magazine free?

The Simple Things Magazine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Lightning（ライトニング） free?

Lightning（ライトニング） is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, The Simple Things Magazine or Lightning（ライトニング）?

Lightning（ライトニング） is rated higher. The Simple Things Magazine averages 4.9 out of 5 from 28 ratings, while Lightning（ライトニング） averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do The Simple Things Magazine or Lightning（ライトニング） have ads?

Neither The Simple Things Magazine nor Lightning（ライトニング） shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, The Simple Things Magazine or Lightning（ライトニング）?

The Simple Things Magazine ships an update every 16 months, and Lightning（ライトニング） every 44 months. Most recently, The Simple Things Magazine was updated on September 28, 2026 and Lightning（ライトニング） on September 22, 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.*