# VicEmergency vs news.com.au

The clearest difference is rating: VicEmergency at 3.5 against news.com.au's 2.7. VicEmergency also leads on ads (none vs shown). news.com.au's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (177 vs 4). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

VicEmergency holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: news.com.au has 177 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 19% of news.com.au's.

VicEmergency ships an update every 3 months, news.com.au every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | VicEmergency | news.com.au |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.5 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vicemergency/id356559665/reviews)** | [2.7 (177 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/newscomau/id1454481155/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 4 | **177** |
| Positive reviews | **23.1% of reviews** | 19.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 15 MB | 107 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.4 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [State of Victoria - Department of Justice](https://appshunter.io/developer/688084760) | [News Digital Media](https://appshunter.io/developer/369849699) |

## What reviewers say

### VicEmergency

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vicemergency/id356559665)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### news.com.au

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/newscomau/id1454481155)

Access Australia's leading news source for breaking stories and trending topics. Stay informed on politics, pop culture, finance, sports, and more with a personalized feed and offline reading capabilities. Receive timely notifications for important updates.

**Highlights:** Breaking news alerts, Trending stories, Personalized news feed, Offline reading, Politics, sport, entertainment coverage, Weather updates

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 📰 Free news app with no paywall
- 🎬 Video content and watch tab available
- 📱 Wide range of topics covered
- ⚡ Fast news alerts and notifications
- 🎨 Improved app design and layout

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing
- 📢 Excessive and intrusive advertisements
- ✍️ Numerous spelling and grammar errors
- 📄 Clickbait headlines and sensationalism
- 🔄 Content duplication and story repetition

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on startup or during article scrolling
- Crashes with iOS 15 and later updates
- Blank screen after welcome slides
- App fails to open after updates
- Endless loading spinner preventing app launch

**Requested features**

- Dark mode support for iOS
- Dark-tinted app icon for dark mode
- Ability to filter news by location/state
- Remove auto-playing video headlines
- Disable auto-play videos that interrupt music


## Frequently asked questions

### Is VicEmergency free?

VicEmergency is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is news.com.au free?

news.com.au is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, VicEmergency or news.com.au?

VicEmergency is rated higher. VicEmergency averages 3.5 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while news.com.au averages 2.7 from 177 ratings.

### Do VicEmergency or news.com.au have ads?

news.com.au shows ads; VicEmergency does not.

### Which is updated more often, VicEmergency or news.com.au?

VicEmergency ships an update every 3 months, and news.com.au every 2 weeks. Most recently, VicEmergency was updated on October 27, 2026 and news.com.au on October 26, 2026.

---

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