# The Plain Dealer — user reviews > 123 indexed App Store user reviews of The Plain Dealer by The Plain Dealer Publishing Company, rated 4.20/5 from 4,699 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-plain-dealer/id457556777/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-plain-dealer/id457556777.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 3,051 · 4★ 752 · 3★ 288 · 2★ 178 · 1★ 430 ## What do users think of The Plain Dealer? Overall sentiment: neutral **Pros** - 🚀 Fast and smooth app experience - 👍 Replicates print edition well - 📱 Convenient digital access - 🗞️ Comprehensive local news coverage **Cons** - 🐛 Frequent bugs and glitches - 🔍 Navigation and layout issues - 📱 Suboptimal mobile experience - 🔒 Login and access problems **Commonly reported bugs** - App crashes and freezes - Inconsistent page loading and scrolling - Inability to properly display full pages - Unreliable login and authentication **Most requested features** - Ability to jump between sections easily - Option to enlarge text and images - Offline reading mode - Improved crossword and puzzle integration ## Newest reviews (15 of 123) ### 3/5 — Much improved on the iPad *2026-02-21* The new version is a major improvement over the old. It seems the slow refresh, blurry images and text of the past has finally been solved. The navigation seems to work well also once you understand the new interface. One problem that occurs however is the startup in landscape mode. Even though I set the preference to view one page wide, when I pick the paper to read, it initially displays one page but it is very small with lots of space on the sides. A workaround for this is to turn the device momentarily to portrait mode and then back to landscape after which the page displays full width. This should be an easily solvable problem. Update Feb 2026: A couple pain points with this app that I would have hoped to be solved by now but still remain: 1. Why does the app nearly always exit if you momentarily switch to another app or switch off the display and then come back? No other iPad app has this behavior. 2. When you do relaunch it, you have to endure watching the dumb PD logo splash screen again before you “sort of” return to where you were. 3. It eventually does restore you to the page you were on, but only at the top of the page without any zoom you might have had on. It won’t position you vertically on that page where you were. Also, if you try to zoom again within the first 10 seconds or so, the app overrides you and resets the screen to full width! Very annoying! These are easy problems to solve. Please fix them! Took off another star due to these problems. ### 3/5 — Online blocked *2026-02-11, version 8.0.0* My PD online stopped working. I can log in, but when I try to view the paper it says I don’t have a subscription. I need to subscribe to the PD. My $90 a month payment suggests otherwise. PD chat says there is a glitch somewhere and has been escalated to another department. Can I get a refund for the days I don’t get a physical paper (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday)??? ### 4/5 — Needs improvement *2025-10-09, version 6.1.1* Love getting the paper this way, and for the most part app is great. The one thing I would improve on is you should be able to one touch select all, and be able to listen to an article. Hard to read on a phone. ### 3/5 — Can’t read all stories based on the structure and layout *2025-10-04, version 6.1.1* See comments ### 1/5 — Terrible App *2025-03-08, version 6.0.0* For every other news app I click once and read off my iPhone or iPad. For the PD I have to do 5 clicks and sign in every time, asked either ton”activate” by account or sign in. I called once to clarify and the call tree didn’t have a human and kept bouncing me to subscribe. Your app almost makes me not want to read the paper and just use cleveland.com. ### 4/5 — The new format stinks *2025-03-03, version 6.0.0* Almost impossible to read the paper through - fix it ### 1/5 — It wasn’t broke. *2025-02-05, version 6.0.0* Enjoyed this app until the latest update. Now you can’t fit an entire page on your screen and have to scroll more than in the past. Easy to miss a half page if you’re not careful. Things were fine before. This didn’t need to be this way. ### 4/5 — New format *2025-01-30, version 6.0.0* In the 2 weeks trying to view the new PD format on my iPad, I have given up, totally frustrated, all but one day. It seems to have a mind of it’s own, restarting, reversing on its own, making it unreadable. Very close to quitting my subscription. ### 1/5 — Pages *2025-01-30, version 6.0.0* The changed the way the paper is presented pages on my I pad are not small enough to find the articles I want to read ### 1/5 — new app is not good *2025-01-27, version 6.0.0* I am having issues trying to access PD with new updated app... why the change... frustrating ### 2/5 — Why the change? *2025-01-27, version 6.0.0* Seems you didn’t make things better maybe it’s cheaper for the PD to do it this way no tab at the top and hate the layout ### 1/5 — New App is a step backwards *2025-01-26, version 6.0.0* The previous app worked fine. The new app is a major step backwards. The fonts are harder to read and I haven’t been able to increase the size. I miss not being able to see the sections and jump to the ones I want to read. The thumbnail pages at the bottom are worthless and unreadable. I’m seriously thinking about canceling and just using Cleveland.com or TV station websites for local news. ### 1/5 — Terrible update *2025-01-26, version 6.0.0* The new app is a significant step backwards. The display does not fit my screen properly when an article is opened. The scrolling function up and down is not smooth, but jittery. There’s no ability to go to an individual section directly. Hopefully there will be significant improvements quickly. ### 4/5 — Half page issues *2025-01-25, version 6.0.0* I don’t like when the PD has a front page half issue or one on inside pages. It makes it hard to hold and read. The first thing I do is remove it and throw it in the garbage ### 1/5 — PD *2025-01-25, version 6.0.0* Dislike this version. Very disappointing. Very difficult to read. Challenging to go page by page. Need to improve so there is easier access for reading. Most likely will cancel my subscription. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Terrible coverage *2026-04-27, version 8.0.0* Terrible coverage of the White House Press event attempted assassination What a useless paper ### 1/5 — Will most likely cancel soon *2026-02-04* To sum up the paper articles in one word——-NEGATIVE. Your reporters are socialist who have nothing good to say about our nation. But I can understand that because Cleveland schools are failing, 3 Cleveland professional sports teams are failures, business development is poor ,the airport is really bad compared to others around the country, anybody 60 years old or younger has never experienced a winning culture in Cleveland. But then what do you expect with one party rule of incompetence for so many years. And you wonder why people leave the city?? ### 1/5 — Plain Dealer is completely liberal *2026-01-23, version 8.0.0* I have been reading the PD for 50 years. It has become a leftist propaganda paper. Completely devoid of conservative values. The paper has become unreadable. The only conservative article is written by GEORGE WILL. Every single day the PD has a negative article about president TRUMP. HE HAS ACCOMPLISHED more in one year than any president in my lifetime. Start having articles that talk about his success. Otherwise, this paper will continue to lose subscribers and remain irrelevant. Just be fair and unbiased. ### 1/5 — Worst App and Site EVER *2025-12-21, version 6.1.1* O.nly a 1 star as you can't give a Zero. Anyone resposible for this abomination should be terminated and the PD should ask for its money back ### 1/5 — Democrat Rag *2025-12-20, version 6.1.1* If you favor the GOP, get used to getting beat up everyday. It’s all Associated Press, Washington Post, or the PD writers. It gets old. It’s also the only paper in Cleveland. ### 1/5 — Late ! *2025-11-09, version 6.1.1* I’m very tired of the enews being posted late. I get an email saying the paper is ready and it’s NOT! ### 1/5 — Stop trying to advance your personal opinions while calling it “news”! *2025-07-20* From news story titles to full news content I have witnessed a continued shift by The Plain Dealer to more far left-wing opinions saturating the supposed news reports. The majority of all readers (whether liberal or conservative) would classify themselves as moderate. We also appreciate receiving our news in a non-opinionated manner. Until The Plain Dealer returns to a more healthy “news reporting” platform without political commentary, you will continue to loose readership due to a lack of trust. ### 1/5 — Bias in reporting *2025-07-07, version 6.1.0* I much preferred the unbiased reporting of the news, as opposed to the current clearly biased reporting. Ok, you guys hate the president. I’m not crazy about him either. Report what government is doing, but please stop reporting in such a way as to bias your readers. Make believe you’re Walter Cronkite, not some despicable counterpoint to Fox News. ### 1/5 — PD Problems *2025-03-25, version 6.0.0* PD online is clumsy to access and unnecessarily complicated to navigate. A mess. They should have left it alone. ### 1/5 — Layout is the worst *2025-03-09, version 6.0.0* I have been a loyal subscriber for 30 years. We look forward to our Sunday newspaper as it’s the only one we have delivered. My husband and I like to read the newspaper together in the morning, read our horoscopes for a laugh, and then he works on his crossword puzzle why I work on my Sudoku. Today’s layout is impossible for us to do that! The Sudoku is on the same page as the crossword puzzles! Please change it back to the way it was before. Also, there’s no horoscope anymore? ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — 35 Year Customer *2026-01-20, version 8.0.0* Thirty five years of home delivery. Will be a satisfied customer for years to come ### 5/5 — No Title *2026-01-18, version 8.0.0* Blessed to have the Plain Dealer in my house everyday either in my hand or on my phone. Please do keep up the excellent work. You are needed now more than ever. Later. ### 5/5 — As good as PBS News Hour but with comics and more! *2025-07-07* Chris Quinn has taken the paper from average to national quality. Great reporting, great columnists from Larkin to Diadiun with Suddes and Kouba rounding out a great Sunday paper. Sports? Don’t miss Mary Kay Cabot and Terry Pluto. Pluto is also the Renaissance man writing a weekly column about things not sports. Finally they have a world class online experience as good or better than the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. ### 5/5 — Fantastic app, easy to use *2025-02-07, version 6.0.0* I love using it ### 5/5 — headers *2025-01-27, version 6.0.0* the old version had headers that could be chose to go to sports extra or or. now their gone …. very disappointing !!! ### 5/5 — New format *2025-01-23, version 6.0.0* I am not happy with the new on line format. As a subscriber, I have always found the website cumbersome. Cleveland.com and The PD need help with on-line access. Please hire a UX Designer! ### 5/5 — Pages *2025-01-21, version 6.0.0* Where are the page numbers. Can’t tell when your approaching the end ? ### 5/5 — Subpar *2025-01-20, version 6.0.0* Can’t size page to screen. Can’t adjust text size. Please fix. ### 5/5 — New format *2025-01-20, version 6.0.0* Your new format, eliminating headings, does not allow readers to navigate quickly to the sections they want to read! ### 5/5 — The New On-Line Format *2025-01-19, version 6.0.0* It took a day or two to get use to the new format but now I really think it’s better than before. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-02.*