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News & Media · head to head

Flipboard vs SmartNews

Flipboard logo

Flipboard

News & Media

Your personal magazine for news and stories

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SmartNews logo

SmartNews

News & Media

Local news and breaking news from top sources

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Flipboard flipboard is free to use with no paid tier; the product carries no subscription, so there is no plan limit to compare against rivals that charge; SmartNews the core app is free, but a premium tier called SmartNews+ exists for business news and coupon aggregation, with no price published on the homepage
  • They diverge on capability: Flipboard covers Magazine-style layout, SmartNews covers Machine learning curation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Flipboard and SmartNews actually diverge.

Attributes where Flipboard and SmartNews differ
AttributeFlipboardSmartNews
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidIos, Android
Founded20102012

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (News & Media).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Flipboard

  • Magazine-style layout
  • Content curation
  • Topic discovery
  • Smart magazines
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Google

Only in SmartNews

  • Machine learning curation
  • Smart Mode
  • Local news
  • Breaking alerts
  • Offline reading
  • News publishers

Both cover

  • Social sharing
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Flipboard

  • News consumptionnot SmartNews
  • Content discoverynot SmartNews
  • Magazine creationnot SmartNews
  • Social readingnot SmartNews

SmartNews

  • Daily newsnot Flipboard
  • Local newsnot Flipboard
  • Breaking newsnot Flipboard
  • Quick readingnot Flipboard

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Flipboard

  • Flipboard is free to use with no paid tier; the product carries no subscription, so there is no plan limit to compare against rivals that charge

SmartNews

  • The core app is free, but a premium tier called SmartNews+ exists for business news and coupon aggregation, with no price published on the homepage

Pricing, plan by plan

Flipboard

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited reading
    • Personalized feeds
    • Magazine creation

SmartNews

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Trending news
    • Local news
    • Smart Mode reading

Which should you pick?

Choose Flipboard if

  • You need magazine-style layout.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want content curation.
Flipboard review

Choose SmartNews if

  • You need machine learning curation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Ios, Android.
  • You also want smart mode.
SmartNews review

Questions people ask

Is Flipboard or SmartNews better?
Neither clearly leads. Flipboard starts at Free and SmartNews at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Flipboard or SmartNews?
Flipboard starts at Free and SmartNews at Free.
Does Flipboard or SmartNews run on more platforms?
Flipboard runs on Web, Ios, Android. SmartNews runs on Ios, Android.
Can I use Flipboard for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Flipboard best used for?
Flipboard is most often used for news consumption, content discovery, magazine creation, social reading. Of those, news consumption and content discovery are not what SmartNews is typically brought in for.
What can Flipboard do that SmartNews cannot?
Flipboard covers Magazine-style layout, Content curation, Topic discovery, Smart magazines. SmartNews covers Machine learning curation, Smart Mode, Local news, Breaking alerts. Both handle Social sharing, Ios support, Android support.
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