Comparison

Pantagraph vs Journal Star

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

Head to head
About

Pantagraph

Access local news, sports, and community stories from the Bloomington-Normal area. Features exclusive commentary, photography, video, and podcasts. Subscribers can upgrade to an ad-free premium experience.

Highlights
  • Personalized news topics
  • Breaking news alerts
  • Exclusive multimedia content
  • Ad-free premium option
  • Listen to articles
  • Customizable text size
  • Hourly and 10-day weather forecasts
Features
Read full description

Your story lives in The Pantagraph. From reporting on all of your favorite teams to the news that matters most in your community, we cover it all. Get in-depth stories from the Bloomington-Normal area 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://pantagraph.com/terms/

About

Journal Star

Stay informed with local news, in-depth journalism, and breaking alerts. Access a digital replica of the print edition, along with national news. Customize your reading experience and save articles for offline access.

Highlights
  • In-depth local journalism
  • Breaking news and alerts
  • eNewspaper replica
  • Customizable reading experience
  • Offline reading
  • Sports coverage
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

From critically acclaimed storytelling to powerful photography to engaging videos — the Journal Star app delivers the local news that matters most to your community. APP FEATURES: • Access all of our in-depth journalism, including things to do around town, sports coverage from high school to the pros, and much more. • Enjoy a streamlined, fast-loading experience that makes it easy to view the stories, photos, and videos that matter to you. • Get breaking news, sports scores, and weather alerts with real-time notifications tailored to your interests. • Customize your experience by saving your favorite stories, adjusting text size, using night mode, or reading offline. • eNewspaper: Just like our print edition but accessible on your mobile devices. And access to USA TODAY and 200+ local eNewspapers. MORE INFORMATION: • Privacy Policy: https://cm.pjstar.com/privacy/ • Terms of Service: https://cm.pjstar.com/terms/ • Help Center: https://help.pjstar.com • Subscriptions are charged to your account at confirmation of purchase and automatically renew each month or year, unless turned off in your account settings at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage your subscriptions and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription, where applicable. See "Subscription Support" in the app's Settings for more details and customer service contact information.

Screenshots

Pantagraph4 screens
Journal Star4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Journal Star at 4.4 against Pantagraph's 3.4. Journal Star also leads on review sentiment (46% vs 19%) and chart position (#195 vs unranked). Pantagraph's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Pantagraph sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $27.99 per month and Journal Star sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Journal Star holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 402 and 761 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 19% of Pantagraph's written reviews are positive against 46% of Journal Star's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pantagraph ships an update every 2 months, Journal Star every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Pantagraph versus Journal Star: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPantagraphJournal Star
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (402 ratings)4.4 (761 ratings) — better
Positive reviews19.0% of reviews45.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings402761 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#195 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size101 MB185 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperLee EnterprisesUSA TODAY Co., Inc.

Customer experience

Pantagraph

All ratings402 ratings
Positive50.7%
Neutral20.9%
Negative28.4%
Written reviews63 reviews
Positive19.0%
Neutral11.1%
Negative69.8%

Journal Star

All ratings761 ratings
Positive86.2%
Neutral5.1%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews96 reviews
Positive45.8%
Neutral9.4%
Negative44.8%

User reviews

Pantagraph

From 402 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Good local news
  • 🚀 Always on time
  • 👍 Convenient for on the go
  • 🚀 Fast news delivery
  • 👍 Easy to navigate

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Repetitive articles
  • 🐛 Update issues
  • 🐛 Misleading update messages
  • 🐛 Sparse local university coverage
  • 🐛 Expensive subscription

Journal Star

From 761 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Lightning-fast load times
  • 👍 Continuous reading experience
  • 👍 Convenient digital delivery
  • 👍 Comprehensive local news coverage
  • 👍 Great sports reporting

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate and use
  • 💸 Invasive ads even for paid subscribers
  • 🔒 Login and subscription management problems
  • 🔍 Outdated and incomplete content

Bugs and requests

Pantagraph

Reported bugs

25 issues
  • Update message misleading
  • App unusable after update
  • Paywall appears and won't allow viewing
  • Saved articles gone after update
  • App blacks out
Show 20 more
  • Article reloads when scrolling
  • Popups look like malware
  • Request cannot be processed, no content available
  • Pictures can no longer be enlarged
  • App randomly blacks out
  • App no longer works, loads blackout video
  • Twitchy scrolling, article reloads
  • Ads hijack you
  • Redirected to advertiser's site
  • App redirects to game in App Store
  • App crashes every time after software update
  • New version does not open
  • Annoying adverts take you to safari
  • Ads redirect to website, cannot return to news
  • App redirects to their website
  • Pop-up video ads before viewing article
  • Notifications never worked
  • App keeps crashing
  • Cannot see comments
  • App does not seem to work as well

Requested features

15 requests
  • Stop repeating things
  • Fix update message to go to update page
  • More local articles
  • More local news coverage
  • Improve coverage of local small university
Show 10 more
  • Offer subscription without advertising
  • Allow viewing of E-edition
  • Improve categorization and organization
  • Allow print size adjustment
  • Fix comment section accessibility
  • Disable comments section
  • More local news or all local news
  • Option to view paper as E-edition
  • Fix notification system
  • Allow viewing of comments

Journal Star

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Pages not loading properly
  • Subscription issues and lack of customer support
  • Inability to access full content
  • Blurry and misaligned content
  • Frequent app crashes and freezes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to print articles
  • Improved obituary section
  • More local sports coverage
  • Seamless cross-device experience
  • Better organization and search functionality

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Pantagraph

Subscriptions7
  • Subscriptions$27.991 Month
  • Subscriptions$40.991 Month
  • Subscriptions$44.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • Subscriptions$50.001 Year
  • Subscriptions$269.991 Year
  • Subscriptions$329.991 Year
  • Subscriptions$364.991 Year
4 purchases

Journal Star

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Digital Rate1 Month trial$14.991 Month
  • Monthly Digital Subscription1 Month trial$19.991 Month
  • Journal Star - Monthly1 Month trial$24.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Journal Star - Annual1 Year trial$69.991 Year

Questions

Is Pantagraph free?
Pantagraph is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Journal Star free?
Journal Star is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pantagraph or Journal Star?
Journal Star is rated higher. Pantagraph averages 3.4 out of 5 from 402 ratings, while Journal Star averages 4.4 from 761 ratings.
Do Pantagraph or Journal Star have ads?
Both Pantagraph and Journal Star show ads.
Which is updated more often, Pantagraph or Journal Star?
Pantagraph ships an update every 2 months, and Journal Star every 4 weeks. Most recently, Pantagraph was updated on November 1, 2026 and Journal Star on November 10, 2026.

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