# QCTimes vs Clinton Herald

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Clinton Herald at 86% against QCTimes's 28%. Clinton Herald also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.5). QCTimes's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (213 vs 31). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. QCTimes sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $27.99 per month and Clinton Herald sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Clinton Herald holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: QCTimes has 213 ratings behind it against 31, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of QCTimes's written reviews are positive against 86% of Clinton Herald's.

QCTimes ships an update every 2 months, Clinton Herald every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | QCTimes | Clinton Herald |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.5 (213 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/qctimes/id356499313/reviews) | **[4.7 (31 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/clinton-herald/id912938335/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **213** | 31 |
| Positive reviews | 27.6% of reviews | **85.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 5 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 103 MB | 38 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | **12.4** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Madison Newspapers Incorporated](https://appshunter.io/developer/345874451) | [CNHI LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1422875061) |

## 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


### Clinton Herald

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/clinton-herald/id912938335)

Access local news, commentary, photos, and videos on the go. Download daily editions for offline reading and stay updated with breaking news, sports, and weather. Browse articles as they appear in print and share content with friends.

**Highlights:** Offline reading of daily editions, Breaking news alerts, Photo and video galleries, Print edition layout view, Local weather and events, Social sharing of content

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Today's ePaper | $1.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is QCTimes free?

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

### Is Clinton Herald free?

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

### Which has better reviews, QCTimes or Clinton Herald?

Clinton Herald is rated higher. QCTimes averages 3.5 out of 5 from 213 ratings, while Clinton Herald averages 4.7 from 31 ratings.

### Do QCTimes or Clinton Herald have ads?

Both QCTimes and Clinton Herald show ads.

### Which is updated more often, QCTimes or Clinton Herald?

QCTimes ships an update every 2 months, and Clinton Herald every 5 months. Most recently, QCTimes was updated on October 26, 2026 and Clinton Herald 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.*