# QCTimes vs Pantagraph

The clearest difference is chart position: Pantagraph at #148 against QCTimes's unranked. QCTimes's advantage is review sentiment (28% vs 19%). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.5 for QCTimes against 3.4 for Pantagraph. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 212 and 402 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 28% of QCTimes's written reviews are positive against 19% of Pantagraph's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | QCTimes | Pantagraph |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.5 (212 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/qctimes/id356499313/reviews)** | [3.4 (402 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pantagraph/id372316599/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 212 | **402** |
| Positive reviews | **27.6% of reviews** | 19.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | — | **#148** |
| 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 |


### Pantagraph

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pantagraph/id372316599)

**Currently charting:** #148 Top Grossing · News (US App Store)

Access local news, sports, and community stories from the Bloomington-Normal area. Features exclusive commentary, photography, video, and podcasts. Subscribers can upgrade to an ad-free premium experience.

**Highlights:** Personalized news topics, Breaking news alerts, Exclusive multimedia content, Ad-free premium option, Listen to articles, Customizable text size, Hourly and 10-day weather forecasts

**Features:** 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**

- 👍 Good local news
- 🚀 Always on time
- 👍 Convenient for on the go
- 🚀 Fast news delivery
- 👍 Easy to navigate

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Repetitive articles
- 🐛 Update issues
- 🐛 Misleading update messages
- 🐛 Sparse local university coverage
- 🐛 Expensive subscription

**Reported bugs**

- Update message misleading
- App unusable after update
- Paywall appears and won't allow viewing
- Saved articles gone after update
- App blacks out

**Requested features**

- Stop repeating things
- Fix update message to go to update page
- More local articles
- More local news coverage
- Improve coverage of local small university


## Frequently asked questions

### Is QCTimes free?

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

### Is Pantagraph free?

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

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

QCTimes is rated higher. QCTimes averages 3.5 out of 5 from 212 ratings, while Pantagraph averages 3.4 from 402 ratings.

### Do QCTimes or Pantagraph have ads?

Both QCTimes and Pantagraph show ads.

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

QCTimes ships an update every 2 months, and Pantagraph every 2 months. Most recently, QCTimes was updated on September 28, 2026 and Pantagraph on September 30, 2026.

---

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