Pantagraph vs WAND News
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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/
WAND News
Stay informed with the latest news, weather forecasts, and sports updates from Central Illinois. This mobile application delivers accurate coverage directly to your device, ensuring you're always up-to-date.
- Accurate news coverage
- Weather forecasts
- Sports updates
- On-the-go information
- Central Illinois focus
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WAND News is your central Illinois station providing the most accurate news, weather and sports coverage. This app will keep you informed while you are on the go.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: WAND News at 4.6 against Pantagraph's 3.4. WAND News also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 7). Pantagraph's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Pantagraph sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $27.99 per month. WAND News asks for nothing beyond the download.
WAND News holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 402 and 718 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 19% of Pantagraph's written reviews are positive against 23% of WAND News's.
Pantagraph ships an update every 2 months, WAND News every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pantagraph | WAND News |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.4 (402 ratings) | 4.6 (718 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 19.0% of reviews | 23.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 402 | 718 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 103 MB | 83 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Lee Enterprises | Gray Television Group, Inc. |
Customer experience
Pantagraph
WAND News
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
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- 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
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- 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
WAND News
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Pantagraph
- Subscriptions$27.991 Month
- Subscriptions$40.991 Month
- Subscriptions$44.991 Month
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- Subscriptions$50.001 Year
- Subscriptions$269.991 Year
- Subscriptions$329.991 Year
- Subscriptions$364.991 Year
WAND News
No in-app purchases
