WNYC
Tap into the NY conversation
How much does WNYC cost?
Prices are current as of 8 Oct 2026.
WNYC has no in-app products on record in the United States.
10+ alternatives to WNYC
| WNYC |   NPR: National & Local News |   New York Daily News |   KQED: Bay Area Culture & News |   WBUR |   WHYY Listen: News & Podcasts |   NBC 4 New York: News & Weather |   Haaretz - Israel News |   LAist |   WBEZ |   Democracy Now! | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating / 5 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.5 |
| Reviews | 831 | 72K | 12K | 9.4K | 4.2K | 2.9K | 1.9K | 1.4K | 721 | 682 | 513 |
| Released | 2011 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | 2017 | 2009 | 2012 | 2008 | 2012 | 2015 |
| Monthly price | — | — | $19.99 | — | — | — | — | $15.49 | — | — | — |
| Annual price | — | — | $199.99 | — | — | — | — | $159.99 | — | — | — |
The going rate for each plan in United States, in its own currency, shaded from the cheapest price on the row to the dearest.
WNYC reviews
4.5 out of 5, based on 831 reviews.
What people like
- Great in-depth news reporting
- You can listen offline easily
- Huge variety of shows to choose from
- Unbiased and fact-checked content
What they complain about
- Stream cuts out and won’t restart
- App crashes frequently on your phone
- Battery drains way too fast
- Interface is confusing and hard to use
The app is very amazing
I get to know what’s going on the world while having to do busy stuff and the app has the schedule to know what’s on now.
A battery-eating behemoth
Whatever happened in the last update turned this from a simply bloated streaming app into a power hog of monstrous proportions. Since upgrading, streaming has caused my battery to drain at alarming rates—so fast, even wireless charging can’t keep up—and my phone to overheat to the point I get on-screen warnings—even when switching from speaker to EarPods. All the things one is supposed to do to reset an iPhone in cases like this have so far failed. If WNYC doesn’t update this update soon, I will have to look for a technologically superior public radio app.
Glitchy
Normally a great way to listen to this great NPR station but recently has been glitching.
Very glitchy live stream
The content on WNYC is A +. This review is specifically about the functionality of the app, which is poor. This has been true for previous versions and continues with the app overhaul that occurred and all updates. The issue is with the audio not restarting when there is some interruption to the feed. For example, if you lose connection to WiFi/cell, if you get a call or text, you pause the feed, you switch from phone speaker to headphones or headphones to car etc, or any other such disruption. Sometimes, you are lucky and the stream comes back on its own. Sometimes you are semi lucky and you just need to press play to continue. Routinely, you are unlucky and the audio won’t come back. You have to close the app and restart it. And even when it does come back, you often have to re-listen to the intro advertisement, which is obviously annoying. Honestly, no other audio app I use is this glitchy. I can only imagine that the generally high reviews are more so due to the content and perhaps other features, but the live stream is primarily what I use it for, and this type of glitch occurs every day, multiple times.
New Update, New Bugs…
Since the update to Version v5.0.0, more often than not clicking on a WNYC app notification redirects me to a Wagtail sign-in page in my device’s default browser. iPhone 16 running iOS 27.
Thank you WNYC
My every day listen
Outdated and Poorly Designed
This is one of the most poorly designed apps that I've ever used. If you browse or search for news, the stations most important news programs--Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition--do not even show up in the search. During this time when podcasts are so popular, WNYC and NPR seem to not what to do to reach audiences or make their shows easily assessable on their own app!!! Maybe WNYC should cheat and copy exactly the NYTimes does with their app because the NYT app is coming for your audience!!!
Great station, app should save your place
I love WNYC! Please fix the app so that it saves your place in a given story.
Confusing and disorganized
WNYC used to have an easy to understand app. Now it’s a kludge. First when you open it it defaults to WQXR the music station. If you want WNYC you have to choose live, then choose AM or FM, THEN hit play on the app. Why not have the option to pick one station, and play it at the same time? Never mind that AM and FM no longer have different programming so you could choose what program you wanted. But that’s not an app problem.
Dude, where’s my broadcast?
I love the programming of course — but the app drives me crazy. Every morning, as I’m listening, the app will just go silent — in the middle of a sentence — and nothing I can do will restore the sound. I need to turn off my cellphone, wait for it to restart, and then reopen the app. Today the app reopened to the Holiday Channel, and wouldn’t budge. I finally gave up, discarded the app, and I have just downloaded it again from the App Store. Very frustrating — to say the least.
An excellent station
I can’t imaging missing a day of programming from NPR. It’s an excellent station with a variety of satisfying programs for many interested.
The app no longer works
The app has kicked the bucket. The main page opens but the programs won't load. It is no longer functional. Please fix!
CarPlay Support Please!
I like the app overall, but I would love to see support for CarPlay!
Doesn’t work
Love WNYC. But maybe there needs to be an update? The livestream doesn’t work. NYC Now does via the app. But not the livestream. I can only play the livestream from safari, specifically, and only on my phone. Not a computer or smart speaker.
Sleep doesn’t work
Sleep doesn’t work, the app just blacks out. Disappointing
Best Radio
I am a sustaining member. Been listening all of my life!
Archive broken
When I go to page listing programs like BBC and Bruan Lehrer and others it is now blank. Can’t listen to my usual programs
Where’s the am stream
I prefer to listen to am on Sunday mornings. That option isn’t available on this version.
Glitchy
This new version is glitchy: lose the signal 2x or more an hour, have to reboot app if it stays open but unplayed, sometimes the sound bars indicate its playing, yet no sound comes out (yes, my volume is up). Please fix.
Everything
Love NPRs programs and that I can listen at my convenience when I’ve missed something. It’s a great service
Couldn’t even find the am station
Pointless and disappointing
it works mostly
Navigation is a drag, but I almost always just listen live. It was a missed opportunity not to place show links in the player. Indeed, one has to open a separate browser window to reach complete show information.
Time to issue an update: unreliable stream / app functionality not user friendly
In brief, in comparison to streaming from the website, the stream from the app is far less reliable and often cuts off or just stops. And when this happens the app has to be closed and reopened and the stream reacquired. Additionally when I am on the subway, go underground and loose the stream (even if only going one stop) the app does not automatically reacquire the stream. It must be close and reopened (I listen to the ho and at home on Apple devices) Last, the app interface does not keep up with the show schedule real time. If I start my day with Brian Leher the app continues to display Brian Leher all day and does not refresh unless I close and reopen. Sincerely
The best
WNYC is on 24/7 in my kitchen and whenever I’m in my car (not listening to music) and all of the other times, I’m on the app with my Bluetooth speaker proudly playing all the hosts various shows. I am a WNYC fanatic! <3
Terrible continuity
This App has gotten worse on iPhone with regular breakup/ dropouts. I am now using WMAU’s DC NPR app. No issues.
Very glitchy
Inconsistent, cuts out often and disconnects
Great app to stay in touch.
Greats way to get unbiased, fact checked news and entertainment
Simply terrible
This app has one basic function: open a stream from WNYC. It fails miserably at that primary function. If you start the app fresh, it will open the stream just fine. Stop the stream and want to restart it? Sorry, chump. Have to quit the app and restart. Them yon can start the stream. But only the FM stream because for some bizarre reason, they have removed the AM stream completely. Again, all the app has do it open a URL and play the resulting stream and it fails at this task all the time. If you could click one link in a web browser and then have to restart the browser, you would be infuriated. That is the case here, but the case is so limited it is absurd it doesn’t work.
Glitchy
Inconsistent connection to speakers. Requires restarting frequently to hear audio (which is sort of its main job).
Perfect 👏
I loved this app even before it came out with this new Discover option. For those of us here in the city who HAVE to go underground where there is no WiFi, this is a godsent. Five stars for WNYC looking out for its customers.
Glitchy
The same problems the app has had for years: app freezes, podcasts cut off mid-stream, app won’t open. The second most disappointing thing about being a WNYC supporter (the both-sidesism of the annoying Steve Inskeep being the worst).
Unstable on IOS 6
The app looks impressive with tons of features, However, it crashes often. I restore mu IPod - erased and re-installed the app with same results. I have an older iPod Touch with IOS 6 - this might be the cause
Stories that matter!
WNYC gives in-depth reporting on the things I care about!
Working/not working
Not always dependable. I often do better accessing on through a web browser.
WNYC
Public Radio
Just give us back our old app
This app is terrible. It stops the feed multiple times, or it simply crashes, or it says there’s no Internet when there is. Please just bring back the old app. Until you fix it I’m just using Tune in Radio.
WNYC FAQ
- Is WNYC free?
- Yes. The app is free, in all 175 countries it sells in, and it sells nothing inside it.
- Does WNYC have a free trial?
- No. None of its offers (US) come with a free trial.
- What are the best alternatives to WNYC?
- NPR: National & Local News (4.6 from 72,218 reviews), New York Daily News (4.6 from 11,941 reviews, premium from $19.99) and KQED: Bay Area Culture & News (4.9 from 9,416 reviews).
WNYC download
Last updated 23 days ago.
WNYC sells in 175 countries. It was released 14 years and 11 months ago, on 13 Oct 2011. It holds a 4.5 rating from 831 reviews.
Supports 1 language: English.