Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

CBS Sports vs The Athletic

CBS Sports 4.7★ · Free + IAP 70
Winner Tie
The Athletic 4.8★ · Free + IAP 75

CBS Sports offers a broader range of free content and real-time scores, but The Athletic provides superior in-depth sports journalism for a paid subscription.

Full reviews: CBS Sports · The Athletic

CBS Sports is a free-to-use app praised for its real-time scores and extensive coverage, though recent updates and frequent review prompts have frustrated users. The Athletic, a subscription-based service, is highly valued for its quality journalism and in-depth analysis, but users report issues with ads, notifications, and app stability.

Head to head

Content Quality & Depth edge: The AthleticR1R6R16R21
CBS Sports CBS Sports is appreciated for its timely news and scores, with some users calling it the 'best sports app ever' for its coverage . However, recent updates have shifted focus from articles to videos, making it harder to find written stories R1R16. Some users also feel coverage is weak for minor sports and women's leagues R6R21R31.
The Athletic The Athletic is widely praised for its 'top-notch' writing, 'pro insight,' and 'thorough reporting' . Users specifically highlight its 'amazing insight into world soccer news' and 'best Premier League coverage' . However, some users dislike the inclusion of political commentary .
Ease of Use & Navigation tieR1R12R13R16
CBS Sports Users have historically found CBS Sports 'easy to use' and navigate, especially the scores tab R21. However, recent updates have introduced a new layout that many find clunky, requiring more scrolling and featuring large thumbnails and excessive videos, making it 'hard to navigate' R1R12R13R16.
The Athletic The Athletic's app navigation receives mixed reviews. Some find it 'easy to use' , but others describe the UI as 'extremely cluttered' and difficult to browse, making it hard to find articles and filter out unwanted sports or videos . There are also complaints about missing features like a history tab or the ability to search by columnist .
Reliability & Performance edge: CBS SportsR13R19R30R36
CBS Sports CBS Sports is generally seen as reliable for scores, with updates in 'real time' . However, some users have reported issues with notifications not coming through R30, incorrect scores and game details R36, and the app being 'slow, bad and clunky' R13. A specific bug prevented viewing the full World Cup bracket R19.
The Athletic The Athletic struggles with app stability and performance for some users. Complaints include 'slow load times,' the app being 'very glitchy,' crashing often, and articles disappearing while reading . Notifications are a significant issue, with users reporting unreliability and inability to disable unwanted alerts . The podcast player is also described as 'unstable' and 'glitchy' .
Ads & Monetization tieR3R4R5R7
CBS Sports CBS Sports is a free app, but users are highly frustrated by constant requests to review the app, often popping up every time the app is opened R3R4R5R7. Some users also complain about excessive gambling information .
The Athletic The Athletic is a paid subscription service, and users are very unhappy about the presence of ads despite paying for content R63R88R92. Some report ads appearing 'between every other paragraph' or full-screen R88R93. Users also complain about 'predatory renewals' and being duped into subscriptions .
Pick CBS Sports if

You want a free app for real-time scores and general sports news, and don't mind frequent review prompts or a video-heavy interface .

Pick The Athletic if

You prioritize in-depth, high-quality sports journalism and analysis, especially for soccer, and are willing to pay for a subscription despite some app performance and ad issues .

Evidence note: The review volume for CBS Sports is significantly higher than for The Athletic, leading to more diverse feedback for App A. Many negative reviews for CBS Sports are specifically about the app's persistent review requests, which can skew its average rating downwards despite positive comments about core functionality. For The Athletic, a common theme is dissatisfaction with ads despite being a paid service.

Frequently asked

Does CBS Sports cover niche sports or women's leagues?
CBS Sports' coverage for minor sports like wrestling, volleyball, golf, and many women's sports such as the PWHL is considered weak or missing by users R6R21R31.
Can I get The Athletic content for free?
The Athletic does not offer real free access; users report that you cannot access the app's content without paying for a subscription R64.
Are there ads in The Athletic app even with a subscription?
Yes, many paying subscribers to The Athletic are frustrated by the presence of ads, some of which are full-screen or appear frequently within articles R63R88R92R93.
Why do CBS Sports users give low ratings despite liking the app?
Many CBS Sports users give low ratings specifically because the app constantly asks them to write a review every time they open it, even if they otherwise enjoy the app's content R3R4R5R7.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] CBS Sports 1/5 · US Bad Update: The new update makes the app look like social media, not an app that actually has articles with sports stories along with the scores
  2. [R6] CBS Sports 3/5 · US Just ok: The app falls short for minor sports such as wrestling, volleyball and golf. The coverage is weak for many women’s sports, too.
  3. [R16] CBS Sports 1/5 · US New update: This was my favorite sports app, and the only one i would use, until about two weeks ago when they updated it and now it’s just all videos. They used to have headlines which you would click on and read the story and they got rid of that.
  4. [R21] CBS Sports 3/5 · US Great App: Great App, easy to use, especially the Scores tab. Lots of great information on teams and players. Nothing available for the PWHL, HUGE MISS. Drops you from 5 to 3 stars.
  5. [R12] CBS Sports 3/5 · US Update disaster: Could you at least make a setting to allow to view homepage in the old list style? Feels like a lot more scrolling to get similar content, many more videos (there’s a watch tab for that), everything is a large thumbnail that isn’t necessary and takes away from the app.
  6. [R13] CBS Sports 1/5 · US Bad: Slow bad and clunky
  7. [R19] CBS Sports 2/5 · US World Cup tab: The app is showing only 16 of the 32 knockout round teams (half the bracket) on my iPhone. It doesn’t not scroll right or down any further. Disappointing.
  8. [R30] CBS Sports 3/5 · US Notifications: The app is good overall but none of the notifications will come through
  9. [R36] CBS Sports 1/5 · US Downfall: Was one of the best sports app now constantly wrong scores , wrong times , wrong starters , and completely fabricated events in the game it will tell you that Jalen Brunson hit a three and the score is 145 to 160 when the score is 44-45 in the second it’s really bad , chat will block you for any slang any abbreviations any talk of money line or talks of them rigging also does not go thro
  10. [R3] CBS Sports 3/5 · US Stop: Stop asking me to review your app.
  11. [R4] CBS Sports 1/5 · US App is bad: Stop asking me to rate
  12. [R5] CBS Sports 5/5 · US Review: Quit asking me to write a review every time I open the app
  13. [R7] CBS Sports 1/5 · US Stop sending me alerts to review the app: See above
  14. [R31] CBS Sports 1/5 · US Missing new leagues: I will redownload this app when they add the PWHL, AUSL, and WPBL. I get they’re newer leagues but these are the ones I want to see on here because you don’t see as much coverage on them.
  15. [R64] The Athletic 2/5 · US No free version: There is no real access to this app without paying for it
  16. [R63] The Athletic 3/5 · US Fine: Love the content, but I should have ads in app behind a pay wall that I’ve already paid. They need to be taken out if I pay for a subscription. Or add a “no ad subscription”
  17. [R88] The Athletic 1/5 · US Pretty much unusable: Now that the app has added an advertisement between every other paragraph and a video that automatically plays between the other paragraphs, I can’t even get to the end of a story half the time without my phone completely freezing up.
  18. [R92] The Athletic 5/5 · US I’d give it a zero if I could: The whole thing here was “pay for it, no advertising”. Well, no. It’s now plastered with ads. I’m paying way too much to also put up with this nonsense.
  19. [R93] The Athletic 3/5 · GB Too many ads: The app is perfect for football news and offers a refreshing switch up from what I was previously using (Twitter/X - filled with unwanted content). However very disappointed that despite paying for a membership there are still an awful lot of ads. At times taking up the whole screen! Close to being the perfect sport news app but slightly out of touch in that aspect.

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store