Comparison

VicEmergency vs The Age

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

VicEmergency

Receive official emergency warnings and information for Victoria, Australia. Set up personalized watch zones to get alerts for areas that matter to you, and view a live incident map with real-time updates.

Highlights
  • Live incident map
  • Personalized watch zones
  • Push notifications for warnings
  • GPS integration for location
  • Forecast Fire Danger Ratings
  • Total Fire Ban status
Features
Read full description

VicEmergency is the official Victorian Government app for emergency warnings and information. Download VicEmergency, set up a user profile and watch zones to ensure you receive official warnings and information for areas that interest you. Watch the VicEmergency video at www.youtube.com/channel/UCskGgVGdfEp1C3BMiiwAyzQ To review support articles or submit a request, visit http://support.emergency.vic.gov.au Main Features: • Live incident map showing current warnings, planned burns and other types of incidents across Victoria.*** • Simple to create a profile and use watch zones that ensure you get official warnings for your local area. Warnings and information* are pushed out to a user's phone when issued by Victoria’s emergency services.  • GPS integration to determine your current location** and surrounding incidents.  • Emergency Warnings, Warnings, Advice and information as issued by Victoria’s emergency services • Share incidents and warnings with friends and family. • View forecast Fire Danger Ratings on the map. • View today's and tomorrow’s Total Fire Ban status. * Your device must have an internet connection to receive warnings and information issued by Victorian emergency services.  ** To view your current location, GPS must be switched on and location functionality enabled. *** Map symbols represent the origin of the emergency, not its current location or spread. The VicEmergency app is just one tool to assist you to access warnings and information about emergencies, however you should never rely on just one information channel. Emergency services use a range of other information channels including SKY TV, ABC local radio, some commercial and designated community radio stations, VicEmergency Hotline on 1800 226 226, VicEmergency website on www.emergency.vic.gov.au and VicEmergency Twitter and Facebook. Are you getting a message asking you to turn on notifications? You need to ensure that push notifications are enabled specifically for the VicEmergency app, as follows: For iOS10, iOS9, iOS8 and iOS6: 1. Click on the Settings icon and then select Notifications.  2. Scroll down, click the VicEmergency icon 3. Ensure 'Allow Notifications" or "Notification Centre" (iOS6) at top of the screen is set to On.  4. We recommend that you set Alert Style as 'Banners' or Alerts' and ensure that Sounds and "Show on Lock Screen" or "View in Lock Screen" (iOS6) are set to On.  For iOS7:  1. Open the device's Settings icon and then select 'Notification Center'. 2. Under 'Access on Lock Screen', check that 'Notifications View' is On (showing as green). 3. Scroll further down and ensure that VicEmergency is in the list under INCLUDE. Click it to open it. 4. At the top, set Alert Style as 'Banners' or Alerts' 5. Then ensure that everything in this section is turned On - ‘Badge App Icon’, ‘Sounds’, 'Show in Notification Center', 'Show on Lock Screen’, etc (all should be showing as green).

About

The Age

Stay informed with breaking news and in-depth stories. Customize your news feed with topics you care about and listen to exclusive podcasts. Access premium content and daily puzzles with a subscription.

Highlights
  • Breaking headlines
  • Push notifications
  • Podcast catalogue
  • Customizable news feed
  • Today's Paper
  • Daily crosswords
  • Daily Sudoku
Features
Read full description

Get straight to the stories that matter with The Age app. Top Stories and push notifications keep you up to date with breaking headlines while our Podcast catalogue lets you tune into thought-provoking audio storytelling and discussions from our newsroom. My News lets you customise your feed, showing the topics you're interested in, in the order you want them. The app is free to download. You can unlock unlimited access to all content with a Starter Digital subscription through the App Store. To unlock premium features such as Today's Paper and puzzles including Daily Crosswords and Daily Sudoku, you can subscribe to Premium Digital via in-app purchase. Additional information about Apple subscriptions: - Purchase of an auto-renewable, monthly subscription is required to access content on The Age app - Starter Digital subscriptions are available for AU$25.99 per month (or local currency equivalent) - Premium Digital subscriptions are available for AU$37.49 per month (or local currency equivalent) - Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your iTunes App Store Account Settings after purchase - Your iTunes account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period Terms of use and privacy policy apply when accessing content via The Age app - Privacy policy: https://login.nine.com.au/privacy?client_id=theage - Terms and conditions: https://login.nine.com.au/terms?client_id=theage

Screenshots

VicEmergency4 screens
The Age4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: The Age at 4.7 against VicEmergency's 3.5. The Age also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (31 vs 4). VicEmergency's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. The Age sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month. VicEmergency asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Age holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Age has 31 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 23% of VicEmergency's written reviews are positive against 27% of The Age's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

VicEmergency ships an update every 6 months, The Age every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
VicEmergency versus The Age: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVicEmergencyThe Age
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (4 ratings)4.7 (31 ratings) — better
Positive reviews23.1% of reviews26.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings431 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB134 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperState of Victoria - Department of JusticeFairfax Digital Australia & New Zealand Pty Limited

Customer experience

VicEmergency

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews121 reviews
Positive23.1%
Neutral12.4%
Negative64.5%

The Age

All ratings31 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews150 reviews
Positive26.7%
Neutral8.0%
Negative65.3%

Bugs and requests

VicEmergency

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

The Age

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between sections
  • Issues with downloading and accessing offline content
  • Unreliable login and authentication processes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Bring back the old iPad app design and functionality
  • Improve article saving and bookmarking capabilities
  • Add more customization options for content display
  • Enhance crossword and puzzle experiences
  • Provide better support for offline reading

In-app purchases

None

VicEmergency

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

The Age

Subscriptions2
  • Starter Digital1 Month trial$17.991 Month
  • Premium Digital1 Month trial$24.991 Month

Questions

Is VicEmergency free?
VicEmergency is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Age free?
The Age is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, VicEmergency or The Age?
The Age is rated higher. VicEmergency averages 3.5 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while The Age averages 4.7 from 31 ratings.
Do VicEmergency or The Age have ads?
Neither VicEmergency nor The Age shows ads.
Which is updated more often, VicEmergency or The Age?
VicEmergency ships an update every 6 months, and The Age every 3 weeks. Most recently, VicEmergency was updated on September 23, 2026 and The Age on September 25, 2026.

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