# QCTimes vs QCOnline

The clearest difference is review sentiment: QCTimes at 28% against QCOnline's 0%. QCTimes also leads on ratings volume (212 vs 21). QCOnline's advantage is rating (3.9 vs 3.5). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. QCTimes sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $27.99 per month and QCOnline sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $27.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

QCOnline holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: QCTimes has 212 ratings behind it against 21, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 28% of QCTimes's written reviews are positive against 0% of QCOnline's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | QCTimes | QCOnline |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.5 (212 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/qctimes/id356499313/reviews) | **[3.9 (21 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/qconline/id1439877431/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **212** | 21 |
| Positive reviews | **27.6% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 103 MB | 103 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| 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


### QCOnline

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/qconline/id1439877431)

Access local news, sports, opinion, and entertainment from the Illinois Quad-Cities region. Personalize your feed, receive breaking news alerts, and enjoy exclusive content like podcasts and videos. Subscribers get an ad-free experience.

**Highlights:** Personalized news topics, Breaking news alerts, Exclusive commentary and podcasts, Video updates, Customizable text size, Hourly and 10-day weather forecasts

**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 |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is QCTimes free?

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

### Is QCOnline free?

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

### Which has better reviews, QCTimes or QCOnline?

QCOnline is rated higher. QCTimes averages 3.5 out of 5 from 212 ratings, while QCOnline averages 3.9 from 21 ratings.

### Do QCTimes or QCOnline have ads?

Both QCTimes and QCOnline show ads.

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

QCTimes ships an update every 2 months, and QCOnline every 2 months. Most recently, QCTimes was updated on October 23, 2026 and QCOnline on October 24, 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.*