Comparison

The Irish Times vs Irish Echo

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

Head to head
About

The Irish Times

Access trusted journalism and in-depth reporting on Irish and world news. Stay informed with breaking updates, analysis, podcasts, and multimedia content. Enjoy interactive puzzles and a searchable archive.

Highlights
  • Breaking news and live updates
  • In-depth reporting and analysis
  • Audio journalism and podcasts
  • Video and photography
  • Crosswords and puzzles
  • Searchable archive
Features
Read full description

Discover trusted journalism and understand the stories shaping Ireland and the world with The Irish Times app. Follow breaking news as it happens, read award-winning reporting and analysis, and listen to audio versions of our best journalism — all in one place. Download the app to enjoy everything The Irish Times offers: breaking news, in-depth reporting, opinion and culture, podcasts, games and more, wherever you are. BREAKING NEWS AND LIVE UPDATES - Get the latest headlines from Ireland and around the world as stories develop - Stay informed with push notifications and customised alerts for news, business, sport and more - Your daily news app for trusted, independent journalism ORIGINAL REPORTING AND ANALYSIS - Read in-depth reporting, investigations and commentary from Ireland’s leading journalists - Follow expert analysis across politics, business, society and culture - Explore complex stories through thoughtful writing, data and visual journalism LISTEN: AUDIO JOURNALISM - Listen to audio versions of almost every Irish Times article - Enjoy our award-winning podcasts, including In the News, Inside Politics, Inside Business, The Women’s Podcast and Ross O’Carroll-Kelly - Stay informed on the go with narrated columns and features VIDEO, PHOTOGRAPHY AND MULTIMEDIA - Watch videos that add context and perspective to top stories - Experience powerful visual storytelling through award-winning Irish Times photography - Discover journalism brought to life across formats BUSINESS, SPORT, ARTS AND LIFESTYLE - Follow comprehensive coverage of Irish and international business - Keep up with sport, culture, arts, science, technology and lifestyle reporting - Read reviews, criticism and commentary from Ireland’s leading voices SAVE, SEARCH AND ARCHIVE - Bookmark articles to read later - Search the full archive of irishtimes.com within the app - Quickly find what matters to you with improved navigation CROSSWORDS AND PUZZLES - Take a break with Simplex, Crosaire, Sudoku, News Quiz - Access over 10,000 archived editions DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS Enjoy everything The Irish Times has to offer with a digital subscription, which includes unlimited access to: - Breaking news, stories, and articles in-app and on IrishTimes.com - The Irish Times Digital Archive, with over 165 years of journalism to search. - Over 10,000 crosswords and puzzles - Exclusive subscriber-only newsletters - Subscriber Rewards, including competitions and invitations to special events Subscribe now and enjoy your first week free. Promotional offers apply to new subscribers only. Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period. You can manage or cancel your subscription at any time through your iTunes account settings. Privacy Policy: http://www.irishtimes.com/policy-and-terms/privacy-policy Terms of Service: http://www.irishtimes.com/policy-and-terms/terms-conditions

About

Irish Echo

Access weekly editions of a newspaper on your iPad and iPhone. Offers various subscription options for continued access, with auto-renewing plans that can be managed through account settings. Stay informed with the latest news.

Highlights
  • Weekly newspaper editions
  • Subscription options
  • Auto-renewing plans
  • Manage subscriptions
  • iPad and iPhone compatible
Features
Read full description

Keep up-to-date with the Irish Echo, now available each week on iPad and iPhone. The Irish Echo provides availability to all editions of the paper by incorporating subscriptions through the purchase of a 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and a yearly subscription to the paper. The monthly and yearly subscriptions are auto-renewing subscriptions. Prices for the subscriptions are $0.99 for 1 week, $6.99 for 1 month, $12.99 for 3 months, $25.99 for 6 months and $49.99 for a year. Payment for this subscription will be charged to your iTunes account upon purchase. The subscription will auto-renew within 24 hours of the current subscription expiring. Auto-renewing subscriptions can be managed via Account Settings allowing them to be turned off. No cancellations of the current subscription are allowed during the active subscription period. For any further information see: Privacy policy: http://www.pagesuite.com/privacy-policy/ Terms of use: www.pagesuite.com/terms-of-service/

Screenshots

The Irish Times4 screens
Irish Echo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Irish Echo at 100% against The Irish Times's 17%. Irish Echo also leads on rating (3.7 vs 2.0) and ads (none vs shown). The Irish Times's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 30 months) and chart position (#61 vs unranked). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Irish Times sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month and Irish Echo sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Irish Echo holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of The Irish Times's written reviews are positive against 100% of Irish Echo's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Irish Times ships an update every 3 weeks, Irish Echo every 30 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
The Irish Times versus Irish Echo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Irish TimesIrish Echo
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.0 (5 ratings)3.7 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews16.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 30 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#61 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size135 MB134 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperThe Irish Times LtdBelfast Media Group

Customer experience

The Irish Times

All ratings5 ratings
Positive20.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative80.0%
Written reviews95 reviews
Positive16.8%
Neutral8.4%
Negative74.7%

Irish Echo

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

The Irish Times

Reported bugs

29 issues
  • App crashes on opening articles
  • Blank white screen
  • App crashes constantly
  • Cannot open articles
  • Cannot navigate
Show 24 more
  • App stops working after internet loss
  • Cookie preferences pop up on every screen
  • App tells user they are not a subscriber
  • Customer service link broken
  • App hangs in an infinite loop
  • App asks to pay via iTunes
  • App crashes frequently
  • App won't work offline
  • App asks to submit cookie preferences for every article
  • App crashes when opening an article
  • App crashes when loading content
  • App crashes on launch
  • App freezes
  • Podcast section not updating
  • Text and photos overlap on screen
  • Home page poorly formatted
  • App won't open
  • App freezes and ceases working on iPad
  • Newsfeed not updating
  • App gets into a dead end and cannot navigate back
  • Cannot navigate back from a story
  • Bug where back button doesn't work
  • Ads make app annoying
  • Pictures do not enlarge

Requested features

6 requests
  • Sort out navigation
  • Improve offline functionality
  • Add search function
  • Adjustable font size/spacing
  • Add crosswords
Show 1 more
  • Include all editorial and features

Irish Echo

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

The Irish Times

Subscriptions3
  • Standard Digital Subscription7 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Premium Digital Subscription7 Days trial$21.991 Month
  • Annual Standard Digital7 Days trial$159.991 Year
5 purchases

Irish Echo

Subscriptions5
  • Irish Echo - 7 Days$0.997 Days
  • Irish Echo - 1 Month$4.991 Month
  • Irish Echo - 3 Month$12.993 Months
Show 2 more
  • Irish Echo - 6 Month$25.996 Months
  • Irish Echo - 1 Year$44.991 Year

Questions

Is The Irish Times free?
The Irish Times is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Irish Echo free?
Irish Echo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Irish Times or Irish Echo?
Irish Echo is rated higher. The Irish Times averages 2.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Irish Echo averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do The Irish Times or Irish Echo have ads?
The Irish Times shows ads; Irish Echo does not.
Which is updated more often, The Irish Times or Irish Echo?
The Irish Times ships an update every 3 weeks, and Irish Echo every 30 months. Most recently, The Irish Times was updated on November 1, 2026 and Irish Echo on November 1, 2026.

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