Best News Subscriptions · head-to-head
The Washington Post vs The Economist
A sourced, side-by-side comparison for news subscriptions. The Economist has the lower entry price. Every figure links to the vendor's own page and the date we captured it.
At a glance
- Price: The Washington Post $11.67/mo vs The Economist $6.9/mo — The Economist is cheaper to start.
- Free tier: The Washington Post No; The Economist No.
- HIPAA: The Washington Post —; The Economist —.
Side by side
| The Washington Post | The Economist | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $11.67/mo (Core Annual) | $6.9/mo (Podcasts+) |
| Free tier | No | No |
| HIPAA (BAA) | — | — |
| SOC 2 | — | — |
| GDPR | — | — |
| Best for | US politics and policy readers wanting in-depth investigative journalism | Global affairs and policy readers who want weekly depth over daily breaking news |
Sources — The Washington Post: apps.apple.com (verified 2026-06-13). The Economist: apps.apple.com (verified 2026-06-13).
Key features
The Washington Post: The 7: daily morning briefing covering seven essential stories; Personal Podcast: subscriber-shaped daily podcast (choose topics, ask questions); Audio articles and original podcasts; My Post: personalized news feed with curated recommendations; Augmented reality exclusives and innovative graphics; Custom breaking-news alerts; Premium: shareable bonus subscription and exclusive journalist eBooks; Fact Checker column and investigative reporting; Multi-platform: web, iOS, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, iMessage
The Economist: Weekly print edition available digitally with offline download; Full audio edition of each weekly issue (MP3, available Thursday 9pm London time); Award-winning podcasts: The Intelligence (daily), Babbage (tech), Money Talks (finance); Economist Podcasts+ standalone audio subscription; Espresso app: daily briefing curated by editors (included for subscribers); World in Brief: quick news summary feature; News games: crosswords, history quizzes, current events trivia; Short videos distilling major news topics; Article bookmarking, dark mode, adjustable text size; Global coverage across 200+ countries