Comparison

Journal Star vs Kearney Hub

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

Kearney Hub

Access local and regional news, sports, opinion, and entertainment. Enjoy exclusive commentary, photography, and podcasts. Subscribers can upgrade for an ad-free experience with faster loading pages.

Highlights
  • Personalized news feed
  • Customizable alerts
  • Easy swipe navigation
  • Audio playback for articles
  • Adjustable text size
  • Hourly and 10-day weather forecasts
Read full description

Your story lives in the Kearney Hub. From reporting on all of your favorite teams to the news that matters most in the community, we cover it all. Get in-depth stories from the region 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://www.kearneyhub.com/terms

Screenshots

Journal Star4 screens
Kearney Hub4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Kearney Hub at 50% against Journal Star's 4%. Kearney Hub also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.7). Journal Star's advantage is chart position (#188 vs unranked) and update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months). 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. Journal Star sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $29.99 per month and Kearney Hub sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $25.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Kearney Hub holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 311 and 134 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 4% of Journal Star's written reviews are positive against 50% of Kearney Hub's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Journal Star ships an update monthly, Kearney Hub every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Journal Star versus Kearney Hub: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJournal StarKearney Hub
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.7 (311 ratings)4.6 (134 ratings) — better
Positive reviews4.0% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings311 — better134
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#188 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB102 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperLee EnterprisesBH Media Group

Customer experience

Journal Star

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

Kearney Hub

All ratings134 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral4.5%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

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

Kearney Hub

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
7 purchases

Kearney Hub

Subscriptions7
  • Subscriptions$25.991 Month
  • Subscriptions$38.991 Month
  • Subscriptions$42.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • Subscriptions$50.001 Year
  • Subscriptions$249.991 Year
  • Subscriptions$314.991 Year
  • Subscriptions$349.991 Year

Questions

Is Journal Star free?
Journal Star is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Kearney Hub free?
Kearney Hub is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Journal Star or Kearney Hub?
Kearney Hub is rated higher. Journal Star averages 2.7 out of 5 from 311 ratings, while Kearney Hub averages 4.6 from 134 ratings.
Do Journal Star or Kearney Hub have ads?
Both Journal Star and Kearney Hub show ads.
Which is updated more often, Journal Star or Kearney Hub?
Journal Star ships an update monthly, and Kearney Hub every 2 months. Most recently, Journal Star was updated on November 10, 2026 and Kearney Hub on November 11, 2026.

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