Engadget vs Ars Technica

Engadget lands on Depends, and Ars Technica lands on Worth it.

Engadget

Depends

Confidence: Medium

Engadget is a free, ad-supported tech news site . useful for gadget news and pre-purchase research, but it is content, not software you buy.

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Ars Technica

arstechnica.com

Worth it

Confidence: Medium

Buy the Ars Pro subscription if you read tech news weekly and want ad-free long-form plus forums; the free ad-supported site already covers casual readers.

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Engadget versus Ars Technica
Compare	Engadget	Ars Technica
Verdict	Depends	Worth it
Best for	Casual gadget news readers	IT professionals and sysadmins
Who it's not for	Anyone shopping for software or tools	Casual skimmers wanting short headlines
Privacy	No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.	No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed; the site's ad slot was reportedly abused in one malware campaign.¹⁶
Support quality	No evidence in reviewed sources	No evidence in sources
Public sentiment	Long-running and widely read, but Reddit sentiment is polarized, with recurring complaints about trust, spam bans, and fading relevance.^⁴	Readers consistently praise the depth and quality of the reporting and recommend subscribing.
Biggest gotcha	Ad-supported model means sponsored coverage; Reddit users allege shilling, so cross-check big claims.^⁵	Ars Pro/Pro++ pricing not visible in reviewed sources . check the subscribe page before committing¹¹

Pick Engadget when

Casual gadget news readers
Pre-purchase product research
Following launches and price news

When Engadget is not a fit

Anyone shopping for software or tools
Deep technical or enterprise research
Readers wanting rigorous, ad-free reviews

Pick Ars Technica when

IT professionals and sysadmins
Security news followers
Long-form tech readers
Gadget review shoppers

When Ars Technica is not a fit

Casual skimmers wanting short headlines
Shoppers wanting simple buy/don't-buy verdicts
Non-technical readers
Anyone refusing subscriptions for news

Sources

Engadget homepageengadget.com
official
Engadget on YouTube (founded 2004)youtube.com
official
Engadget Cybersecurity sectionengadget.com
official
Reddit, r/Amd . trustworthiness complaintreddit.com
review
Reddit, r/Android . reddit-wide ban for spam and shillingreddit.com
review
Reddit, r/technology . relevance complaintsreddit.com
review
Wired . Engadget vs Gizmodo rivalrywired.com
news
Trustpilot . ces.engadget.comtrustpilot.com
review
Ars Technica homepagearstechnica.com
official
Ars Pro and Ars Pro++ Details & FAQarstechnica.com
official
Subscribe to Ars Technicaarstechnica.com
official
Category: Reviewsarstechnica.com
official
Author: Dan Goodin, Senior Security Editorarstechnica.com
official
Editor's Note: Retraction of article containing fabricated quotationsarstechnica.com
news
Ars Technica Fires Reporter Over AI-Generated Quotesreddit.com
review
Ars Technica used in malware campaignreddit.com
security