Comparison

SZapp vs The Mercury

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

Head to head
About

SZapp

Stay connected with your school community. Access newsletters, documents, and receive live notifications directly from your school.

Highlights
  • Access school newsletters
  • View school documents
  • Receive live notifications
  • Stay connected with school community
Features
Read full description

SZapp allows school communities to stay connected with their school. View and access Schoolzine newsletters, documents and get live notifications from your school!

About

The Mercury

Stay informed with breaking news and in-depth stories from award-winning journalists. Personalize your news feed, receive custom alerts, and access the digital replica of today's newspaper. Explore podcasts and enjoy trusted local perspectives.

Highlights
  • Breaking news alerts
  • Personalized news feed
  • Digital newspaper replica
  • Journalist and topic following
  • Podcast discovery
  • Customizable notifications
Features
Read full description

The Mercury app delivers the latest news and biggest stories as they happen, from our team of award-winning journalists in Tasmania, Australia and the globe. Get a read on today with our breadth of content, award-winning journalism and trusted local perspectives. We are proud to tell the incredible stories every hour of every day with The Mercury app. Subscribers of The Mercury (other than Today's Paper digital replica subscribers) will have access to: PERSONALISE YOUR NEWS FEED Set your local news area, follow journalists and topics, plus your favourite sporting codes and teams. All of your customised preferences will appear on the home screen so you can get straight to what matters to you. CUSTOMISED NOTIFICATIONS Receive alerts on the stories that matter most as they happen. Tailor your notifications from a range of topics from breaking news, sport and entertainment to business updates and lifestyle. READ TODAY’S PAPER ON YOUR DEVICE Read the paper on the go with the digital replica of today’s newspaper. Access to the paper anytime, anywhere with the digital replica of the paper, as it’s printed. DISCOVER OUR RANGE OF PODCASTS Explore and listen to a wide range of podcasts from our team of dedicated journalists across the News+ network. The Mercury app for mobile and tablet is free to download, however to gain full access to the app's content and features simply subscribe for Member-only access. Member-only access gives you full digital access to thousands of subscriber only stories, the digital replica of the paper, puzzles and more of what you love. How to gain full access to the app's content and features: 1) Existing members of The Mercury (other than subscribers to Today's Paper digital replica) can log in to the app when prompted using their membership details; or, 2) Become a member by subscribing through the app (via iTunes) • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period • Auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. For full Terms and Conditions please visit https://www.themercury.com.au/more-information/terms-and-conditions and our Privacy Policy, please visit preferences.news.com.au Please note: This app features Nielsen’s proprietary measurement software which will allow you to contribute to market research. Please see www.nielsen.com/digitalprivacy for more information.

Screenshots

SZapp1 screens
The Mercury4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SZapp at none against The Mercury's 3. 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SZapp ships an update every 3 weeks, The Mercury fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
SZapp versus The Mercury: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSZappThe Mercury
PriceFreeFree
Rating—2.2 (24 ratings) — better
Positive reviews4.1% of reviews9.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—24 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB163 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperSchoolzine Pty LtdNews Digital Media

Customer experience

SZapp

Written reviews74 reviews
Positive4.1%
Neutral10.8%
Negative85.1%

The Mercury

Written reviews63 reviews
Positive9.5%
Neutral4.8%
Negative85.7%

User reviews

SZapp

From App Store reviews

What we love

  • 👍 New interface praised
  • 🚀 Fast and easy to use (rarely mentioned)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App won't load/open
  • 🐛 Constant login issues
  • 🐛 App crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Notifications not working
  • 🐛 Incompatible with latest iOS

The Mercury

From 24 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Access to news while travelling
  • 👍 Can read paper before delivery
  • 👍 Good access to Australian news
  • 👍 Works better than other News Limited apps

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Latest updates cause issues
  • 🐛 Pop-up ads are intrusive
  • 🐛 Cannot get rid of ads
  • 🐛 Poor coverage of world/national issues

Bugs and requests

SZapp

Reported bugs

20 issues
  • App does not load after latest updates
  • App remains on cover/home screen
  • App fails to display/load content
  • Absentee form is not received
  • User is logged out after quitting the app
Show 15 more
  • Notifications default to off after logout
  • Cannot log in after auto-updating
  • Incorrect login details error
  • Cannot click subscribe or cancel buttons
  • App opens web browser within itself and cannot return
  • Red notification badge persists even after reading all notifications
  • Cannot add news from two different years from the same school
  • App crashes when typing in reason field
  • App does not rotate to landscape mode
  • Cannot select UK as a region
  • Search UX is terrible
  • Password requirements are too restrictive
  • App reports no internet connectivity
  • Cannot get past the choose a region option
  • Cannot finish form to create login on iPhone 8 S

Requested features

16 requests
  • Fix app compatibility with latest iOS
  • Improve login stability
  • Ensure absentee forms are received
  • Fix notification issues
  • Allow users to stay logged in
Show 11 more
  • Implement a search function for articles
  • Improve app stability and reduce crashes
  • Allow users to add news from multiple years
  • Improve font size and readability
  • Make the interface more intuitive
  • Remember previously entered information
  • Fix the persistent red notification badge
  • Allow users to select regions beyond Australian states
  • Improve password reset functionality
  • Add an in-app contact link to developers
  • Allow landscape mode for documents

The Mercury

Reported bugs

60 issues
  • Zoom not functional
  • App not in touch with other apps
  • Cannot comment or respond
  • Latest update displays unremovable ads
  • App has over 7GB of documents and data
Show 55 more
  • App takes audio, stops streaming
  • Cannot go back to main screen
  • App freezes when clicking on a story
  • Blank white page locks up iPad
  • App crashes on some stories
  • Comments failed to load
  • Comments disappear when clicking article
  • Loading problems are common
  • Ads presented within articles
  • Ad for Jetstar headlined as news
  • Does not remember page position
  • App is very slow to load
  • Cannot open next day edition without restart
  • Online version not available until late
  • Resolution is very poor
  • Today's paper option has major fault
  • App won't open, closes after seconds
  • No access to previous issues
  • No exit from supplementary adverts
  • Navigation bars take up screen space
  • Tapping is unintuitive
  • Double tap to zoom is problematic
  • Image resolution is low
  • Cannot access the Mercury
  • iPad stuck on previous day's edition
  • Clipping tool has disappeared
  • Navigation arrows take up screen space
  • Low resolution pictures
  • Zoom does not work as expected
  • Photos are of poor quality
  • Pinch and expand needed to read articles
  • Cannot download papers, server problem
  • Server error on other devices
  • Error (0) when server is down
  • Advert over mid-page spread
  • No digital Mercury available
  • App is not working
  • Impossible to cancel subscription
  • App is a scam
  • Subscription scam, auto-charged
  • No search engine
  • Login & password wiped after updates
  • Crossword is unusable on iPad
  • App hangs on opening after iOS update
  • App took 2GB of mobile data in an hour
  • App crashing constantly
  • App crashes and takes forever to reload
  • Cannot login due to '+' in email
  • App keeps crashing
  • App is useless, constantly crashing
  • App crashes after downloading paper
  • App refuses to load, shuts down
  • Keeps saying downloading but disappears
  • Puts up an edition that is days old
  • App is a dud, fails to load

Requested features

50 requests
  • Fix zoom functionality
  • Sync app usage between devices
  • Improve coverage of world/national issues
  • Get rid of intrusive ads
  • Allow commenting and responding
Show 45 more
  • Purge cache to free up space
  • Prevent app from taking audio
  • Allow return to main screen
  • Improve page loading times
  • Make giant crossword available online
  • Allow access to all games with subscription
  • Improve resolution and detail
  • Remember page position when leaving app
  • Improve formatting
  • Improve loading speed
  • Fix comments section loading
  • Fix pending comments publishing
  • Stop ads from interrupting articles
  • Fix app freezing on stories
  • Fix blank white pages on stories
  • Update homepage photos
  • Fix app crashes on some stories
  • Make comments section functional
  • Improve user interface for tablets
  • Improve resolution of cartoons
  • Restore clipping tool
  • Allow full screen view
  • Improve navigation
  • Improve zooming functionality
  • Improve image resolution
  • Allow access to previous issues
  • Provide exit from supplementary adverts
  • Fix navigation bars taking up screen space
  • Make tapping intuitive
  • Fix double tap to zoom behavior
  • Allow printing of crossword at usable scale
  • Fix 2-page view and advertising intrusions
  • Ensure articles are confined to one page
  • Fix app compatibility with older devices
  • Make crossword usable on iPad
  • Fix excessive mobile data usage
  • Allow login with '+' in email address
  • Implement a search engine
  • Prevent login/password wiping after updates
  • Fix app hanging on opening
  • Fix server errors
  • Improve editing and advert placement
  • Make digital edition available earlier
  • Fix subscription cancellation process
  • Stop auto-charging without consent

In-app purchases

None

SZapp

No in-app purchases

None

The Mercury

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SZapp free?
SZapp is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Mercury free?
The Mercury is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do SZapp or The Mercury have ads?
Neither SZapp nor The Mercury shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SZapp or The Mercury?
SZapp ships an update every 3 weeks, and The Mercury fortnightly. Most recently, SZapp was updated on October 29, 2026 and The Mercury on October 29, 2026.

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