# QCTimes vs BreakingOne

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: BreakingOne at none against QCTimes's 7. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. QCTimes sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $27.99 per month. BreakingOne asks for nothing beyond the download.

QCTimes ships an update every 2 months, BreakingOne every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | QCTimes | BreakingOne |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.5 (212 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/qctimes/id356499313/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **212** | — |
| Positive reviews | 27.6% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Size | 103 MB | 39 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Madison Newspapers Incorporated](https://appshunter.io/developer/345874451) | [Lee Enterprises](https://appshunter.io/developer/366562520) |

## What reviewers say

### QCTimes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/qctimes/id356499313)

Access local news, sports, and in-depth stories from the Illinois Quad-Cities region. Enjoy exclusive commentary, photography, video, and podcasts. Personalize your news feed and receive breaking alerts.

**Highlights:** Personalized local news topics, Breaking news and custom alerts, Exclusive commentary and podcasts, Photo and video updates, Article listening option, Customizable text size

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Subscriptions | $27.99 | per month |
| Subscriptions | $40.99 | per month |
| Subscriptions | $44.99 | per month |
| Subscriptions | $50.00 | per year |
| Subscriptions | $269.99 | per year |
| Subscriptions | $329.99 | per year |
| Subscriptions | $364.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great local news source
- 📱 Easy to use on mobile
- 📰 Good newspaper content
- 🚀 Fast updates (historically)
- 💬 Ability to comment on stories

**What reviewers complain about**

- 😩 Invasive and unclosable ads
- 🐌 Slow response times
- 🗞️ Outdated news content
- 👎 Poor app performance
- 🗑️ Difficult navigation

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes frequently
- Stories fail to open
- App tells users they need to subscribe when they already do
- Blank screen on app open
- Page not available for download messages

**Requested features**

- Bring back obituaries
- Add pull to refresh
- Include gas prices
- More pictures with articles
- Dedicated weather page


### BreakingOne

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/breakingone/id1421788234)

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is QCTimes free?

QCTimes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is BreakingOne free?

BreakingOne is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do QCTimes or BreakingOne have ads?

Both QCTimes and BreakingOne show ads.

### Which is updated more often, QCTimes or BreakingOne?

QCTimes ships an update every 2 months, and BreakingOne every 3 months. Most recently, QCTimes was updated on October 15, 2026 and BreakingOne on September 29, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*