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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

The Boston Globe vs The Atlantic Magazine

The Boston Globe 4.6★ · Free + IAP 40
Winner The Atlantic Magazine
The Atlantic Magazine 4.9★ · Free + IAP 65

The Atlantic Magazine is the better choice for most users due to its superior content quality and overall app experience, despite both apps having significant technical issues.

Full reviews: The Boston Globe · The Atlantic Magazine

The Atlantic Magazine generally offers higher quality journalism and a more engaging reading experience, though it struggles with ads in paid subscriptions and app glitches. The Boston Globe is plagued by persistent login problems, poor app functionality, and a less consistent content experience.

Head to head

Content Quality & Bias edge: The Atlantic MagazineR8R10R14R26
The Boston Globe The Boston Globe receives mixed reviews on its content, with some users praising its professional, concise, and unbiased reporting of national and local news R8R14R26. However, a significant number of users criticize it for being too liberal, biased, and lacking objectivity R10. Some also feel it lacks global news coverage compared to other major papers .
The Atlantic Magazine The Atlantic Magazine is widely praised for its intelligent, analytical, well-researched, and thought-provoking journalism, often providing deep insights . Users appreciate its less biased, fact-checked approach and strong investigative reporting . However, some recent reviews note a shift towards more opinionated content and an excessive focus on specific political topics .
Ease of Use & Features tieR4R6R12R13
The Boston Globe The Boston Globe app is frequently criticized for its clunky user experience and navigation R4R13R19. Users report issues with articles refreshing and exiting, loading web versions instead of in-app content, and a difficult-to-find search function R6R13. The games section is often described as outdated, glitchy, and unusable R12. Sharing articles is limited , and some users find the font size too small on iPads .
The Atlantic Magazine The Atlantic Magazine app generally offers a well-designed reading experience and functional search, though some users find the search feature needs improvement . Key features like text size adjustment are missing, which is a significant issue for many readers R63R111. The audio version of articles is appreciated , but the audio player itself is flawed, with freezing, slow responses, and poor controls . Users also note a lack of dark mode for comments and difficulty sharing articles .
Reliability & Performance tieR1R3R7R9
The Boston Globe The Boston Globe app is plagued by severe and chronic login and authentication issues, with users constantly being forced to log in multiple times a day or unable to access content despite being paid subscribers R1R3R7R9. The app also suffers from articles refreshing or losing place R13, and some users report it not working on certain devices .
The Atlantic Magazine The Atlantic Magazine app also experiences reliability issues, including articles going blank or refreshing unexpectedly . Users report the app losing their place in articles when switching apps . There are also reports of subscription recognition problems, requiring reinstallation , and the app being slow or consuming excessive battery . Links from external sources often don't open directly in the app .
Price & Value tieR1R3R13R19
The Boston Globe The Boston Globe is criticized for its pricing, with some users finding it too expensive for retirees and frustrated by misleading $1 subscription teasers that don't work R1. The value is diminished by the app's poor functionality, making it a frustrating experience for paid subscribers R1R3R13R19.
The Atlantic Magazine The Atlantic Magazine faces significant criticism for displaying ads within articles even for paid subscribers, which many users find unacceptable and a poor value for money R61R70R75. Some users unsubscribe due to this issue R61.
Customer Support tieR25R36R61R112
The Boston Globe The Boston Globe's customer service receives negative feedback, with users reporting rude and unhelpful interactions when trying to resolve app issues or get refunds R25R36. Support agents are perceived to assume user error rather than acknowledge bugs R36.
The Atlantic Magazine The Atlantic Magazine's technical support is also criticized, with one user reporting being stuck in loops with a helper bot and unable to reach a human after 40 minutes R61. Another user found the subscription process unbelievably complicated due to too many bots R112.
Pick The Boston Globe if

Pick The Boston Globe if you are primarily interested in local Boston-area news and appreciate a traditional newspaper format, and are willing to tolerate significant app functionality issues .

Pick The Atlantic Magazine if

Pick The Atlantic Magazine if you prioritize high-quality, in-depth, and analytical journalism on a wide range of topics, and value features like audio articles, even if it means dealing with ads in a paid subscription and some app glitches .

Evidence note: Both apps have a mix of positive and negative reviews, but the negative reviews for The Boston Globe are heavily concentrated on persistent, critical app functionality issues like login failures, which significantly impact usability for paid subscribers. The Atlantic Magazine's negative reviews often highlight ads within paid subscriptions and some app glitches, but the core content quality is consistently praised.

Frequently asked

Do I get ads with a paid subscription for The Atlantic Magazine?
No, you should not get ads with a paid subscription for The Atlantic Magazine, but many users report seeing ads directly embedded in articles even after paying for a subscription, which they find unacceptable R61R70R75R100.
Are there persistent login issues with The Boston Globe app?
Yes, many users of The Boston Globe app report persistent and frustrating login and authentication issues, often requiring them to log in multiple times a day or preventing access to articles despite having an active subscription R1R3R7R9.
Does The Atlantic Magazine app offer text size adjustment?
No, The Atlantic Magazine app currently lacks a text size adjustment feature, which is a significant point of frustration for many users, particularly older readers R63R111.

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. [R8] The Boston Globe 5/5 · US Boston Globe: Very well done publication
  2. [R10] The Boston Globe 1/5 · US No longer journalism: Sadly this has become too biased to regularly read.
  3. [R14] The Boston Globe 5/5 · US Professional Journalism: Concise, unbiased reporting of national & world events. A pleasurable reading experience.
  4. [R26] The Boston Globe 5/5 · US Accurate and concise report of the days news: The Globe knows how to provide the days news without extraneous commentary and stays focused on the important news
  5. [R4] The Boston Globe 1/5 · US Format: I liked the old format much better. It was easier to get around the paper!
  6. [R6] The Boston Globe 3/5 · US Search function needs more prominence: I read the hard copy BG and only use the app to share articles with others. I want the search function obvious on the Home Screen. I’m tech literate so this is not a Luddite complaint.
  7. [R12] The Boston Globe 3/5 · US Globe app review: The functionality of the news section of the app is pretty good and intuitive. If you are interested in playing the crossword or other typical newspaper games do not bother, that section of the app is wildly out of date and almost unusable.
  8. [R13] The Boston Globe 1/5 · US No Thought to UX: It refreshes and exits articles if you put the phone down for a second. Tons of articles just load the web version that then pops up a subscription pop up that you need to manually log in every time.
  9. [R1] The Boston Globe 1/5 · US doesn’t work: Your $1 for six months subscription doesn’t work. Signed up on May 10, now can’t get in.
  10. [R3] The Boston Globe 3/5 · US Can only log on or see on phone not on PC: Even though I am a paid subscriber I cannot read articles on a PC as I get challenged to log in. However clicking the log in icon produces no response. This is a chronic problem that was temporarily resolved by Support I can access the paper on the phone however.
  11. [R7] The Boston Globe 1/5 · US App doesn’t authenticate: Title says it all
  12. [R9] The Boston Globe 3/5 · US Why not make it work?: The app has a weird limitation. When I click a link using Gmail and it launches a web page that makes me login and then launches the app... Why not have the authentication built into the app like others?
  13. [R19] The Boston Globe 1/5 · US Worst: Boston Globe digital version is by far the worst digital newspaper I know of. I subscribe to NYT, WSJ, FT, Wash Post, Japan Times, Nikkei, New York Post and The economist. Hands down the globe is the clunkiest, bugiest digital newspaper source out there. Why?? There are so many good role models. Please fix this or I will have to leave.
  14. [R25] The Boston Globe 1/5 · US Terrible app experience: I’m consistently unable to get into article articles and the customer service associated with this is awful. I’ve called and they were so rude and unwilling to refund the charges. I didn’t even know we’re being charged to me. Don’t download this app.
  15. [R36] The Boston Globe 3/5 · US Great content, poor app and support: I’ve found at least 2 bugs in the app, and I reported each one. When I report a bug, the customer service agent seems to assume it’s a user error rather than a bug. For one bug, she told to restart the app and/or restart my phone. If you’re giving me a work around, acknowledge thaf it’s a bug.
  16. [R61] The Atlantic Magazine 2/5 · US $100 Subscription Contains Ads: Content aside (-4.7 bias from AllSides), which y’all probably know going into a subscription, the platform contains ads directly embedded in its articles on the app. Unsubscribing after less than 1 hour of use. Edit: dropping star rating after attempting to interact with technical support for about 40min. Never got to a human and entered multiple loops with the hel
  17. [R112] The Atlantic Magazine 1/5 · US Subscribing: Unbelievably complicated; too many “bots”
  18. [R70] The Atlantic Magazine 1/5 · US Subscription?: You pay for a "subscription", and yet, the articles are littered with TEMU Ads. among many? = W R O N G ! ! !
  19. [R75] The Atlantic Magazine 3/5 · US Great articles, too many ads: Advertisements every few paragraphs in an article I PAID to read are not acceptable. The Atlantic isn’t the only digital magazine to suffer from this issue, but video ads are extra distracting and annoying.
  20. [R100] The Atlantic Magazine 1/5 · US Ads with a paid subscription??: Constant ads while you’re trying to read an article, all while PAYING. What a joke
  21. [R63] The Atlantic Magazine 3/5 · US Give your readers text size adjustments!!!: One of, maybe THE dean of thoughtful topical writing, can’t seem to provide what virtually every half-baked news source does … give its readers the ability to adjust font size! Your average subscriber, I’d guess, is not 20 years old. Provide dynamic adjustable display sizes now please. It’s vital. The Atlantic is an outlier in its inability to keep
  22. [R111] The Atlantic Magazine 3/5 · GB Minor complaint: Text of articles is too close to the left side of my iPad screen, almost off the edge, making it a bit hard to read. Also, Cannot find a way to increase text size.

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