QCTimes vs Telegraph Herald
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
QCTimes
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.
- Personalized local news topics
- Breaking news and custom alerts
- Exclusive commentary and podcasts
- Photo and video updates
- Article listening option
- Customizable text size
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Your story lives in the Illinois Quad-Cities. From reporting on all of your favorite teams to the news that matters most, we cover it all. Get in-depth stories from the region and beyond – including news, sports, opinion, obituaries, entertainment, and politics. Easily access the very latest news in an app built for you. Read, see, and hear exclusive commentary, stunning photography, video updates, and binge-worthy podcasts. Plus, subscribers have the ability to upgrade to News+, our premium ad-free experience! That means faster-loading pages and an uninterrupted reading experience. Our app features: * Your Stories – personalize your experience by selecting the local news topics that matter most to you * Get notified – stay in the loop by selecting alerts for news, sports, weather, and more * Easy navigation – see all the latest local stories by simply swiping up/down, and left/right. * Read stories your way – either in the News Feed or via the E-edition * Breaking news updates – top banners let you know what’s happening right now * Follow author – get notifications whenever your favorite writers post a story * Bookmark for later – save stories to enjoy at your leisure * Listen to articles – press the play button to listen instead * Customize your text size – make the content bigger or smaller in your profile settings * Weather where you are – hourly, 10-day forecasts, and frequent video updates Free to download. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access. https://qctimes.com/terms
Telegraph Herald
Access the digital version of a local newspaper, allowing you to browse its print pages. Stay updated with breaking news and new stories published throughout the day. Requires an existing account for full access.
- Digital print edition
- Live news updates
- New story alerts
- Account login
- Local news
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The Telegraph Herald app is the easiest way to keep up with Dubuque news. Choose the e-edition and flip through the pages of our print edition, or check in with live news and see new stories that have been added throughout the day. Use your existing TelegraphHerald.com username and password to gain access to the app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Telegraph Herald at 86% against QCTimes's 28%. Telegraph Herald also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.5) and in-app purchases (none vs 7). QCTimes's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support 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
Both are free to download. QCTimes sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $27.99 per month. Telegraph Herald asks for nothing beyond the download.
Telegraph Herald holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 213 and 409 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of QCTimes's written reviews are positive against 86% of Telegraph Herald's.
QCTimes ships an update every 2 months, Telegraph Herald every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | QCTimes | Telegraph Herald |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (213 ratings) | 4.6 (409 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 27.6% of reviews | 86.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 213 | 409 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 103 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Madison Newspapers Incorporated | WOODWARD COMMUNICATIONS, INC. |
Customer experience
QCTimes
Telegraph Herald
User reviews
QCTimes
From 213 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great local news source
- 📱 Easy to use on mobile
- 📰 Good newspaper content
- 🚀 Fast updates (historically)
- 💬 Ability to comment on stories
Room to improve
- 😩 Invasive and unclosable ads
- 🐌 Slow response times
- 🗞️ Outdated news content
- 👎 Poor app performance
- 🗑️ Difficult navigation
Telegraph Herald
From 409 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to navigate and user-friendly interface
- 📱 Convenient access on phone and tablet devices
- 🌍 Read newspaper anywhere in the world
- ⚡ Real-time news updates as they happen
- 📰 Full newspaper content, not just article snippets
Room to improve
- 🐛 Text expansion doesn't stay in place, jumps around
- 🐛 App resets position when leaving and returning
- 📍 Delayed loading of new editions by 1-2 hours
- 🔴 Red circles covering article headlines obstruct reading
- 📱 Not available for Mac OS desktop
Bugs and requests
QCTimes
Reported bugs
14 issues- 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
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- Ads that cannot be clicked out of
- Update pop-ups that prevent updates
- App redirects to other apps/ads
- Freezes and pop-ups
- PDF version not opening
- Inconsistent performance
- Obituaries not updated
- Sports section issues
- Old app worked better
Requested features
10 requests- Bring back obituaries
- Add pull to refresh
- Include gas prices
- More pictures with articles
- Dedicated weather page
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Improve subscription access
- Fix ad pop-ups
- Make news current
- Restore old app features
- Improve navigation
Telegraph Herald
Reported bugs
8 issues- Text expansion jumps to different location than selected
- App loses reading position when user leaves and returns
- New edition fails to load at scheduled time
- Login authentication errors - email already taken messages
- App icon freezes on full screen
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- App won't open or launch
- Password reset not recognized
- Crossword puzzles lost when navigating away
Requested features
8 requests- Mac OS desktop application version
- Reduce size of red circles on article headlines
- Persistent crossword puzzle state when switching apps
- Persistent reading position when leaving and returning to app
- Restore 'House of the Week' feature in Sunday paper
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Email sharing functionality for articles
- Balanced reporting from multiple perspectives
- Improved customer support response times
In-app purchases
QCTimes
- Subscriptions$27.991 Month
- Subscriptions$40.991 Month
- Subscriptions$44.991 Month
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Subscriptions$50.001 Year
- Subscriptions$269.991 Year
- Subscriptions$329.991 Year
- Subscriptions$364.991 Year
Telegraph Herald
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is QCTimes free?
Is Telegraph Herald free?
Which has better reviews, QCTimes or Telegraph Herald?
Do QCTimes or Telegraph Herald have ads?
Which is updated more often, QCTimes or Telegraph Herald?
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