Comparison

Journal Star vs Albuquerque Journal Newspaper

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

Head to head
About

Journal Star

Access in-depth local news, sports, and weather for Lincoln, Nebraska. Enjoy exclusive commentary, photography, and podcasts. Personalize your news feed and receive breaking alerts.

Highlights
  • Personalized news feed
  • Breaking news alerts
  • Exclusive commentary and podcasts
  • Video updates
  • Bookmark stories
  • Listen to articles
  • Customizable text size
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Your story lives in Lincoln. Get in-depth stories from Lincoln, Nebraska's No. 1 news outlet – including breaking news sports, opinion, obituaries, entertainment, and politics. From reporting on the Huskers to the news that matters most in your community, the state and beyond, we cover it all. 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. Support local journalism by subscribing today for unlimited digital access. 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 * Continue watching – pause a video and pick up where you left off across devices * 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 to breaking news updates, analysis, and more. Get the Lincoln Journal Star in Your Inbox Get convenient, curated updates delivered to your Inbox. Sign up for Breaking News updates as they happen, the Afternoon Update for a roundup of the latest local top stories, Local Sports for the latest sports headlines, Food & Drink for foodies, Garage Sales for bargain hunters and many more. Visit https://journalstar.com/newsletters/ to view and subscribe to all of The Lincoln Journal Star Newsletters. Keep Up with The Lincoln Journal Star Follow us on Facebook and other social platforms: https://x.com/JournalStarNews https://www.pinterest.com/ljsfeatures/ https://www.instagram.com/journalstarnews/ https://www.facebook.com/LincolnJournalStar/ https://www.youtube.com/user/JournalStarNews https://www.linkedin.com/company/lincoln-journal-star/ About The Lincoln Journal Star The Lincoln Journal Star is the premier news and information source in Southeast Nebraska covering local news, government, sports and events on https://journalstar.com/. Along with the area’s leading daily newspaper and website, we publish several niche publications and provide full service digital advertising services. We'd love to hear what you think! For any technical issues or questions, contact us at appsupport@lee.net https://journalstar.com/terms The Lincoln Journal Star is part of Lee Enterprises.

About

Albuquerque Journal Newspaper

Access local news and content with a redesigned interface for a cleaner, more intuitive experience. Enjoy personalized customization, rewards, and new video and podcast features.

Highlights
  • Redesigned user interface
  • Personalized content customization
  • Enhanced rewards platform
  • Video features
  • Podcast features
  • Intuitive user experience
Features
Read full description

Introducing the all-new Albuquerque Journal | jrnl+ app! We’ve redesigned the app to give you a cleaner look, a more intuitive user experience, and easier access to the content you care about. Enjoy personalized customization, an enhanced rewards platform, and new video and podcast features, all in one place. Terms of Service: https://subscriber.abqjournal.com/terms-of-service

Screenshots

Journal Star4 screens
Albuquerque Journal Newspaper4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Albuquerque Journal Newspaper at 66% against Journal Star's 4%. Albuquerque Journal Newspaper also leads on rating (4.3 vs 2.7) and ratings volume (1.6K vs 311). Journal Star's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, 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. Journal Star sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $29.99 per month and Albuquerque Journal Newspaper sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Albuquerque Journal Newspaper holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Albuquerque Journal Newspaper has 1.6K ratings behind it against 311, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 4% of Journal Star's written reviews are positive against 66% of Albuquerque Journal Newspaper's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Journal Star ships an update monthly, Albuquerque Journal Newspaper every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 10, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Journal Star versus Albuquerque Journal Newspaper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJournal StarAlbuquerque Journal Newspaper
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.7 (311 ratings)4.3 (1.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews4.0% of reviews65.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3111.6K — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#162#135 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB31 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperLee EnterprisesJournal Publishing Co.

Customer experience

Journal Star

All ratings311 ratings
Positive42.1%
Neutral3.9%
Negative54.0%
Written reviews75 reviews
Positive4.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative96.0%

Albuquerque Journal Newspaper

All ratings1,341 ratings
Positive81.4%
Neutral5.1%
Negative13.6%
Written reviews169 reviews
Positive65.7%
Neutral5.3%
Negative29.0%

User reviews

Journal Star

From 311 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📱 Good for accessing local news on mobile
  • ✍️ Well-written articles
  • 📰 Comprehensive local news coverage

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Articles fail to load or display blank pages
  • 🐛 Login issues and constant re-authentication required
  • 💰 High subscription cost ($25.99-$26.99/month)
  • 📵 Intrusive and excessive ads

Albuquerque Journal Newspaper

From 1.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to navigate
  • 📰 Great source of local news
  • 💻 Convenient digital access
  • 👀 Readable text and layout
  • 🌐 Reliable app performance

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable
  • 🤔 Poor user interface
  • 🔍 Difficult to find content
  • 🔄 Frequent crashes and resets
  • 💰 Frustrating subscription issues

Bugs and requests

Journal Star

Reported bugs

16 issues
  • App crashes on launch or during use
  • Articles fail to load or display blank/white screens
  • Black screen pop-ups that cannot be closed
  • Login credentials not saved; constant re-authentication required
  • App stops loading pages in e-edition after some time
Show 11 more
  • Subscription verification failures despite active subscription
  • Articles not refreshing or updating
  • Links to articles not working properly
  • App incompatible with iPad landscape orientation
  • App incompatible with iOS 14+ versions
  • Random podcast audio playing in background
  • Pages jumping around while reading
  • Ads hijacking navigation to revenue pages
  • E-edition content not displaying correctly
  • Inconsistent menu states between old and new versions
  • App freezing or becoming unresponsive

Requested features

10 requests
  • Landscape mode support for tablets
  • Improved search functionality
  • Better content organization and categorization
  • Free or lower-cost subscription tier
  • Removal or reduction of ads for paid subscribers
Show 5 more
  • Consistent and intuitive menu design
  • Better local news prioritization in feed
  • Improved article loading reliability
  • Better support for older iOS versions
  • Ability to store sign-in information

Albuquerque Journal Newspaper

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Pages fail to load completely
  • App crashes when switching between articles
  • Login issues and password reset problems
  • Inconsistent performance across devices
  • Unexpected behavior when exiting and re-entering app

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improve page navigation and layout
  • Add more customization options
  • Enhance stability and reliability
  • Streamline login and subscription management
  • Optimize for mobile devices

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Journal Star

Subscriptions7
  • Subscriptions$29.991 Month
  • Subscriptions$42.991 Month
  • Subscriptions$44.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • Subscriptions$50.001 Year
  • Subscriptions$289.991 Year
  • Subscriptions$344.991 Year
  • Subscriptions$379.991 Year
3 purchases

Albuquerque Journal Newspaper

Subscriptions1
  • 1 Month Subscription$24.991 Month
One-time2
  • 24-Hour Digital Access Pass$0.99
  • Single Copy$1.99

Questions

Is Journal Star free?
Journal Star is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Albuquerque Journal Newspaper free?
Albuquerque Journal Newspaper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Journal Star or Albuquerque Journal Newspaper?
Albuquerque Journal Newspaper is rated higher. Journal Star averages 2.7 out of 5 from 311 ratings, while Albuquerque Journal Newspaper averages 4.3 from 1.6K ratings.
Do Journal Star or Albuquerque Journal Newspaper have ads?
Both Journal Star and Albuquerque Journal Newspaper show ads.
Which is updated more often, Journal Star or Albuquerque Journal Newspaper?
Journal Star ships an update monthly, and Albuquerque Journal Newspaper every 3 months. Most recently, Journal Star was updated on November 10, 2026 and Albuquerque Journal Newspaper on November 10, 2026.
Which is more popular, Journal Star or Albuquerque Journal Newspaper?
Journal Star currently peaks at #162 in the App Store charts, and Albuquerque Journal Newspaper at #135. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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