A Pugpig alternative for magazine publishers
If you are looking at Pugpig, you are probably weighing a platform for the reader side of your magazine: branded apps, digital editions and a back-issue archive. That is a different job from running the business behind the magazine. The useful question is which problem you are solving: how readers reach your content, or how your team sells advertising, manages advertisers and subscribers, plans each issue and invoices. RunMags is an option to evaluate for the second job, and the two can sit side by side: keep your app vendor, and let RunMags run ad sales, CRM, billing and print planning.
RunMags connects your magazine business from proposal to paid invoice, with Maggie built in. Plans scale by legal entities and brands. Explore the publishing software comparison hub.
What Pugpig says about its product
As of 2026-10-04, Pugpig describes itself as a mobile app platform for publishers and media brands, used to launch apps, digital editions and archives. Its products page lists Bolt and Archive, alongside consulting. Sources: official Pugpig homepage and official Pugpig products page, retrieved 2026-10-04. Bolt is described as iOS, Android and web apps that combine live feeds with replica and HTML editions, audio and podcasts, short video and puzzles, monetised with display, in-content, full-screen and video ads, sponsored content and paywalls. Source: official Pugpig Bolt page, retrieved 2026-10-04. Archive is described as a curated, searchable back catalogue in HTML and the original PDF. Source: official Pugpig Archive page, retrieved 2026-10-04. These are vendor claims, not independently tested results.
For reader revenue, Pugpig's help centre documents paywall and entitlement options such as in-app purchase, voucher codes, a metered paywall, a Piano integration and a generic security API for other subscription systems. Source: Pugpig help centre: authentication and subscriptions, retrieved 2026-10-04. A two-stage paywall (register first, then pay) was announced on 2026-02-10. Source: Pugpig Bolt February 2026 update, retrieved 2026-10-04. Its help centre lists third-party integrations for Bolt such as Newspack, Parse.ly, Poool and Firebase. Source: Pugpig help centre: Bolt third-party integrations, retrieved 2026-10-04.
On advertising, Pugpig serves ads inside its apps: its September 2026 update adds Android PPID support for Google Ad Manager and announces Google Ad Manager interstitial video ads in its Clips feature as coming. Source: Pugpig Bolt September 2026 update, retrieved 2026-10-04. The pages we checked do not document ad orders, advertiser contracts or rate cards.
Side by side: what each vendor documents
Pugpig statuses are vendor claims from the official pages linked in each cell, as of 2026-10-04. RunMags statuses come from our own capability review in October 2026. Not shown means we found no public evidence on the pages we checked; it does not mean the product lacks it.
| Capability | Pugpig (vendor-claimed) | RunMags |
|---|---|---|
| Reader apps for iOS, Android and web | Shown. Bolt apps combining live feeds, editions, audio, video and puzzles. Bolt page | Not offered. RunMags is not an app platform |
| Replica and HTML digital editions | Shown. Bolt page | Not offered. RunMags plans the print issue but has no digital-edition reader |
| Searchable back-issue archive | Shown. HTML and original-PDF archive, searchable across covers, articles, ads and images. Archive page | Not offered as a reader product |
| Paywall and in-app entitlements | Shown. In-app purchase, vouchers, metered and two-stage paywalls, Piano and a generic security API. Help centre, February 2026 update | Partial. Issue- and time-based print and digital subscription orders on the customer record. RunMags is not a paywall platform and has no in-app purchase |
| Advertising | Shown for in-app ad serving through Google Ad Manager. Ad orders, contracts and rate cards are not shown on the pages we checked. September 2026 update | Supported for selling: contracts with order rows per channel for print and digital ads. RunMags does not serve ads |
| Advertiser and subscriber CRM | Not shown on the pages we checked. Products page | Supported. Advertisers and subscribers share one customer record |
| Print flatplan and issue planning | Not shown on the pages we checked. Products page | Supported. The flatplan is built from booked advertising orders, next to your stories |
| Advertiser invoicing and accounting sync | Not shown on the pages we checked. Products page | Supported. Advertiser invoices sync to Fortnox, QuickBooks Online or Xero per legal entity, with EU VAT |
| Newsletters | Not shown on the pages we checked. Bolt page | Supported for sending: subscribe forms, the built-in email editor and newsletter sends |
| Published pricing and a self-serve start | No public price on pugpig.com as of 2026-10-04; product pages offer a demo. Bolt page | Supported. Published plans and a self-serve trial |
Published pricing (checked )
There was no public price on pugpig.com as of 2026-10-04: the pricing address returned no page, and the product pages offer a demo instead. Sources: official Pugpig Bolt page and official Pugpig products page, retrieved 2026-10-04. Ask Pugpig for a quote. See RunMags pricing.
Where RunMags works differently
RunMags puts print and digital advertising sales, the advertiser and subscriber CRM, contracts and orders, advertiser invoicing, editorial and the flatplan in one system. An advertiser's print and digital ads are order rows on one contract, the flatplan is built from those booked orders, and advertiser invoices sync to Fortnox, QuickBooks Online or Xero. Newsletters are designed and sent in RunMags. Plans and prices are published, and you can start a trial yourself. Maggie, your publishing sidekick, is built in across sales, CRM and editorial.
The Pugpig pages we checked, including its official Pugpig products page and official Pugpig Bolt page, as of 2026-10-04, do not document advertiser contracts and orders, a publishing CRM, a print flatplan or advertiser invoicing. Absence from a cited page is not proof that something is missing, so ask Pugpig directly if you need them.
When Pugpig may be the better fit
If your main need is branded reader apps, replica or HTML digital editions, or a searchable back-issue archive, Pugpig may be the better fit. RunMags is not an app, digital-edition or paywall platform, and it does not serve ads. Many publishers will need both kinds of tool: an app platform for readers and a business system for sales, planning and billing. This guide makes no claim about Pugpig's reviews, cost or quality.
Test one issue from booking to invoice
Pick a real issue with print and digital advertisers. In RunMags, follow one advertiser from proposal to signed contract, see the ads land on the flatplan, and check the invoice in your accounting system. Then move one ad to a later issue and watch which records change. Ask your app vendor separately how the finished issue reaches readers.
Plan a bounded switch
You do not have to change your reader apps to start. Keep Pugpig or your current app vendor for apps, editions and the archive, and add RunMags for ad sales, CRM, contracts, the flatplan and billing. Decide first which records RunMags should hold: advertiser organisations and contacts, and subscribers. Agree field mapping, consent handling and duplicates, and import a small sample before the full list. No connector between Pugpig and RunMags is documented, so agree with the RunMags team how subscriber data will move. Compare current RunMags plans using your legal entities and brands.
Frequently asked questions
Is RunMags an alternative to Pugpig?
Only partly. As of 2026-10-04, Pugpig describes a platform for reader apps, digital editions and archives (pugpig.com). RunMags does not build apps or digital editions; it runs ad sales, CRM, contracts, the flatplan and advertiser invoicing. Many publishers can use both.
Does Pugpig publish its prices?
No. As of 2026-10-04 there was no public price on pugpig.com; the product pages offer a demo. Ask Pugpig for a quote.
Does RunMags offer apps, digital editions or a paywall like Pugpig?
No. RunMags is not an app, digital-edition or paywall platform and does not serve ads. It holds issue- and time-based print and digital subscription orders on the customer record.
Can I use RunMags next to Pugpig?
Yes, if that suits your team: Pugpig can run your reader apps and editions while RunMags holds advertisers, contracts, the flatplan and invoicing. No connector between the two is documented, so agree with the RunMags team how subscriber data will move before you rely on it.
See ad sales, planning and billing in one workflow
Bring one issue with print and digital advertisers. Start a trial or book a walkthrough with the team.
