The best news apps for Android in 2026
Apple News does not run on Android. These are the news apps that do, checked against their Google Play listings, with what each costs and what it does well on an Android phone.
The best news apps for Android are Newsreel, Google News, AP News, Reuters and Ground News. All of them are on Google Play. Google News is the easy default for a free, personalized feed. AP News and Reuters are free wire-service apps for breaking news. Ground News shows how one story is covered across the political spectrum. Newsreel is where vetted journalists publish directly, with no ads. Full disclosure: we built Newsreel.
The best news apps on Google Play
Newsreel
A news platform for people who have given up on the news. Vetted journalists and subject-matter experts publish directly to you, with no ads and no engagement-bait algorithm deciding what you see. Its Perspectives feature gathers the actual arguments people are making about a contested story, so you can weigh them yourself. The app is on Google Play and the App Store, and you can also read on the web at app.newsreel.co. Membership is $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year.
Best for: reading journalists you can name, with no ads in your feed.
Google News
Google's own news app has more than 1 billion downloads on Google Play. Your Briefing updates through the day with top local, national and world headlines. Full Coverage puts one story from many outlets in a single view. You can follow topics, sources and locations, and download articles over Wi-Fi to read offline. The same account works on the web at news.google.com. The app is free and shows ads.
Best for: a free, personalized feed plus a one-tap look at how every outlet covered a story.
AP News
The Associated Press app carries AP's own reporting plus stories from hundreds of local and international sources. Articles come in English and Spanish. You get live coverage of big stories as they happen, AP photography and short news videos. The app is free to download and shows ads. Google Play lists no in-app purchases.
Best for: fast breaking news from a wire service, at no cost.
Reuters
The Reuters app opens on a home tab called Today. My News builds a feed from your interests, and you can save articles for later. The Markets section lets you keep a watchlist and follow companies for breaking news. Alerts are customizable, so you can keep breaking news and skip the rest. It is free to download, with ads and in-app purchases.
Best for: international and business news from a newsroom that reports it.
BBC
The BBC app brings articles, video, podcasts and live coverage from the BBC's global network of journalists. In the US, full access costs $8.99 a month or $49.99 a year, and it includes a live stream of the BBC News channel and documentaries. Without paying, US readers still get select breaking news plus live BBC World Service and Radio 4. Radio keeps playing in the background when you switch to another app.
Best for: world news with live radio and TV in the same app.
Ground News
Ground News shows the bias, reliability and ownership of the sources covering each story. It says it draws on more than 50,000 sources. Some features are free. The Vantage plan adds Blindspot analysis, which flags stories one side of the spectrum barely covers, plus full coverage comparison and ownership data. Vantage is $8.33 a month, billed annually. You buy and manage it through your Google Play account.
Best for: seeing who covers a story and who skips it.
SmartNews
SmartNews collects stories from thousands of publishers, including AP, Reuters, Bloomberg and TIME. Its local section uses your location to cover government, traffic, weather and school boards. It also rewards reading: you earn points for articles and daily missions, then trade them for gift cards or charity donations. It is free to download, with ads and in-app purchases.
Best for: local news next to national headlines.
Flipboard turns your interests into a magazine of articles and videos. You can follow topics, your city and people on federated social networks like Threads and Mastodon. Tap the plus button on any story to save it to your own Flipboard magazine. The Flipboard widget puts new stories on your Android home screen. It is free, with ads.
Best for: browsing news and hobbies side by side, from your home screen.
Inoreader
Inoreader is a feed reader. You choose the websites, newsletters, YouTube channels and podcasts, and new posts come straight to you with no algorithm or editorial picks in between. The free plan covers up to 150 feeds. Pro costs $9.99 a month, or $7.50 a month billed annually, and adds offline reading, filter rules and monitoring feeds. It also reads articles aloud.
Best for: people who want to choose every source themselves.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Cost on Android |
|---|---|---|
| Newsreel | Named journalists, no ads, no outrage feed | $5.99/mo or $49.99/yr |
| Google News | Personalized feed, Full Coverage | Free |
| AP News | Fast wire-service breaking news | Free |
| Reuters | World and markets news | Free with in-app purchases |
| BBC | World news, live radio and TV | Free with limits; $8.99/mo or $49.99/yr in the US |
| Ground News | Seeing bias and blindspots | Free features; Vantage $8.33/mo billed yearly |
| SmartNews | Local and national news together | Free with in-app purchases |
| Magazine-style browsing, home screen widget | Free | |
| Inoreader | Picking every source yourself | Free up to 150 feeds; Pro $9.99/mo |
What about Apple News?
Apple News is not available on Android. Apple lists it for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, HomePod and CarPlay, and there is no Google Play version. If you switched from an iPhone, Google News is the closest match: a free, personalized feed from many publishers with a single view of how outlets covered one story.
How to pick the ones that fit
Start with a wire service for the facts, then add one app for range and one built to counter the feed. AP News or Reuters for speed, Google News for breadth, Ground News to see the gaps, and Newsreel for journalists you can name. Two or three apps cover most of what one person needs.
Android gives you more control over news alerts than most people use. Since Android 8.0, apps sort their notifications into channels, which your phone's settings call categories. Open an app's notification settings and you can turn each category on or off, or make it silent. That lets you keep breaking news alerts from one app and mute the daily digests from another.
The home screen is the other Android advantage. A widget like Flipboard's puts headlines in front of you without opening an app. Use that space for the source you trust most, not the one that sends the most alerts.
Last, watch who decides what you read. Aggregators rank stories by signals you do not control. A wire service reports plainly, a feed reader like Inoreader shows only what you picked, and Newsreel lets journalists publish to you directly.
Read the news from journalists you can name
Newsreel is a news platform for people who have given up on the news. Vetted journalists and subject-matter experts publish directly, with no ads and no engagement-bait algorithm. On Google Play and the App Store. $5.99 a month, or $49.99 a year.
Get the Newsreel appFrequently asked questions
What is the best news app for Android?
It depends on what you want. Google News is the best free all-round feed, with Full Coverage for comparing outlets on one story. AP News is the best free app for breaking news. Ground News is best for seeing media bias. Newsreel is best if you want vetted journalists with no ads, at $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year.
What are the best free news apps for Android?
Google News, AP News and Flipboard are free to download and read, with ads. Reuters and SmartNews are free with optional in-app purchases. The BBC, Ground News and Inoreader have free versions with paid plans. Newsreel is a paid membership at $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year.
Is Apple News available on Android?
No. Apple News runs only on Apple devices such as the iPhone, iPad and Mac. On Android, Google News is the closest alternative.
Does AP News have an Android app?
Yes. The Associated Press publishes AP News: World & Local on Google Play. It is free to download, shows ads and offers articles in English and Spanish.
How do I control news alerts on Android?
Open the news app's notification settings in your phone's settings. Since Android 8.0, apps sort alerts into categories, and you can turn each one on or off or make it silent. That way you can keep breaking news and mute the rest.