Comparison

Alert SA vs The Nightly

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Alert SA

Receive timely alerts and warnings for various hazards like fires, heatwaves, severe weather, and floods. Customize notifications for up to 10 specific areas and stay informed about fire danger ratings and total fire bans. This official government app ensures you have critical public safety information.

Highlights
  • Multi-hazard alerts
  • Customizable watch zones
  • Fire danger ratings
  • Total fire ban information
  • Cross-border notifications
  • Accessibility features
Features
Read full description

The Alert SA App is the official mobile application of the South Australian Government, designed to provide timely and relevant information on a range of hazards. Stay informed and prepared with alerts and warnings for: · Fires · Heatwaves · Severe weather · Floods · Hazardous materials Additionally, receive important Fire Danger Rating and Total Fire Ban information via the app. With the Alert SA App, you can create up to 10 watch zones to receive notifications about hazards occurring in areas of interest to you. The app uses your mobile device’s GPS location and requires an internet connection to receive data. Key Features: Multi-Hazard Alerts: Receive notifications for various hazards, including fire, flood, severe weather, hazardous materials, and heatwaves. Customizable Watch Zones: Set up to 10 watch zones to get alerts for specific areas. Accessibility: Fully supports large text and voiceover features to ensure you receive information in a way that suits your needs. Cross-Border Notifications: Get fire warnings within 100km of the border of neighbouring states and territories. Modern User Interface: Enjoy a new, intuitive design with a dedicated onboarding screen and improved user experience. Please note that during emergencies and extreme weather events, such as bushfires, floods, or severe storms, telecommunications services may be unreliable. As a result, you may not receive timely information while using the app. The South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission (SAFECOM), the South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS), the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS), and the South Australian State Emergency Service (SES) recommend that you do not rely on any one single source of information during an emergency. Download the Alert SA App today and stay informed about public information and warnings in South Australia. If there’s anything you think we can improve, we’d love to hear from you at AlertSA@eso.sa.gov.au

About

The Nightly

Access Australia's top journalism for free, covering local and national news, politics, business, culture, and sports. Get curated global news from The New York Times, CNBC, and The Economist, plus a nightly digital newspaper.

Highlights
  • Premium local and national news coverage
  • International news from top global sources
  • Nightly digital newspaper edition
  • Breaking news alerts
  • Community comments section
  • Daily crossword puzzles
Read full description

Download The Nightly app now to access Australia’s best journalism for free. The Nightly offers quality local and national politics, opinion, business, culture, lifestyle and sport. You'll also be getting the best of global news, with content from The New York Times, CNBC and The Economist. Spend your night wisely with The Nightly Digital Edition - Australia’s only nightly digital newspaper, delivered to your pocket every weeknight. Features: - Premium News: unrivalled coverage of local and national news, plus informed opinion and analysis from Australia’s most trusted thought leaders - International Coverage: content from The New York Times, CNBC, The Economist, The Washington Post and more - Read The Edition, nightly: our weeknight digital newspaper designed to get you in front of tomorrow’s news - Notifications: Be the first to know with breaking news alerts - Comments: Join the conversation - Puzzles: Challenge yourself with our weekday Mini and Quick crosswords Your ideas and feedback will help guide future development. Please send your comments to support@thenightly.com.au Privacy Policy: https://www.sevenwestmedia.com.au/privacy-policies/privacy Terms of Use: https://thenightly.com.au/terms-of-use Please note: This app features IPSOS proprietary measurement software which will allow you to contribute to market research or audience ratings services.

Screenshots

Alert SA4 screens
The Nightly4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Alert SA at none against The Nightly's shown. Alert SA also leads on monetization model (free vs ad-supported) and review sentiment (53% vs 44%). The Nightly's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Alert SA ships an update every 3 months, The Nightly monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Alert SA versus The Nightly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAlert SAThe Nightly
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (15 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews53.1% of reviews — better43.8% of reviews
Number of ratings15 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.016.0
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB69 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperGovernment of South Australia – South Australian Fire and Emergency Services CommissionSeven Network (Operations) Ltd.

Customer experience

Alert SA

All ratings15 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews143 reviews
Positive53.1%
Neutral9.8%
Negative37.1%

The Nightly

Written reviews16 reviews
Positive43.8%
Neutral18.8%
Negative37.5%

Bugs and requests

Alert SA

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • App freezes on welcome screen after update (version 3.3.0+)
  • Fire hazard rating button causes app crash
  • Notifications not received despite enabled settings and watch zones configured
  • Push notifications fail after iPhone OS updates
  • App stuck in portrait mode on iPad in landscape orientation
Show 5 more
  • Notifications arrive days late or not at all
  • Incidents outside watch zones still trigger alerts
  • No push notification buttons visible on some iPhone models
  • App becomes unresponsive during high-incident periods
  • Inconsistent notification delivery across devices

Requested features

16 requests
  • Customizable notification sounds with multiple options
  • Ability to filter alert types (fires only vs. all incidents)
  • Watch zones smaller than 5km for suburban areas
  • Wind direction and speed information for fire events
  • Dynamic watch zones that adjust based on fire danger levels
Show 11 more
  • Landscape mode support for iPad/tablets
  • Route-based alert zones instead of radius-only
  • Evacuation point locations with facility details (pet-friendly, horse-friendly)
  • Different zone sizes for different hazard types
  • North indicator on map
  • Road closure information integrated into app
  • Burned area visualization (black zones for completed fires)
  • Toggle to hide completed incidents
  • Ability to sort incidents by most recent first
  • Optional heatwave and non-critical alerts
  • Street address in tree-down notifications

The Nightly

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Alert SA

No in-app purchases

None

The Nightly

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Alert SA free?
Alert SA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Nightly free?
The Nightly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Alert SA or The Nightly have ads?
The Nightly shows ads; Alert SA does not.
Which is updated more often, Alert SA or The Nightly?
Alert SA ships an update every 3 months, and The Nightly monthly. Most recently, Alert SA was updated on November 7, 2026 and The Nightly on November 4, 2026.

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