# Chicago Tribune vs WBEZ

The clearest difference is review sentiment: WBEZ at 71% against Chicago Tribune's 21%. WBEZ also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 9) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). Chicago Tribune's advantage is ratings volume (19K vs 651) and chart position (#52 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Chicago Tribune sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. WBEZ asks for nothing beyond the download.

WBEZ holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chicago Tribune has 19K ratings behind it against 651, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 21% of Chicago Tribune's written reviews are positive against 71% of WBEZ's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Chicago Tribune | WBEZ |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.4 (19K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chicago-tribune/id383137151/reviews) | **[4.7 (651 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wbez/id587477231/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **19K** | 651 |
| Positive reviews | 20.7% of reviews | **71.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Ad-supported** |
| Best chart rank | **#52** | — |
| Size | 190 MB | 31 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tribune Publishing Company, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/290161713) | [Chicago Public Media, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/379174218) |

## What reviewers say

### Chicago Tribune

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chicago-tribune/id383137151)

**Currently charting:** #52 Top Grossing · News (US App Store)

Access essential Chicago news, sports, business, and entertainment coverage. Customize your feed, receive breaking news alerts, and enjoy exclusive content like videos and photo galleries. Save articles for later and read offline.

**Highlights:** Personalized news feed, Breaking news notifications, Exclusive videos and photo galleries, Save stories for offline reading, Share stories easily, iPad visual news view

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited Digital Access | $19.99 | per month |
| News Apps Only | $19.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Digital Access | $198.99 | per year |
| Chicago Tribune | $199.99 | per year |
| Credit Access | $0.99 | one-time |
| Premium Story Credits | $0.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🗞️ Small town reporting for a big town
- 📰 Easy read for subscribers
- 🚀 Generally good news reporting

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Needs better search and navigation
- 🌙 Lack of dark mode
- 🔌 Frequent login issues
- 📱 Clunky user interface
- 💰 Too many ads and pop-ups

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to scroll through articles
- Frequent login prompts for subscribers
- Inconsistent behavior across updates
- Trouble accessing the digital edition

**Requested features**

- Dark mode option
- Audio playback for articles
- Improved search functionality with filters
- Better organization and navigation of content


### WBEZ

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wbez/id587477231)

Listen to Chicago's NPR news station live or on-demand. Access local and national news, podcasts, and investigative journalism from WBEZ and its partners. Catch up on missed shows with rewind functionality.

**Highlights:** Live radio streaming, On-demand audio features, Podcast library, Rewind live shows, Curated daily stories, Investigative journalism

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy access to live and on-demand content
- 👍 Convenient listening experience
- 🌐 Accessible from anywhere
- 🗞️ Comprehensive news coverage
- 🎧 High-quality audio

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔁 Ads interrupting playback
- 🔍 Confusing navigation and UI
- ⏱️ Playback issues (freezing, skipping)
- 🔋 High battery consumption

**Reported bugs**

- App crashing on launch
- Streaming issues on poor internet connections
- Push notifications causing app to freeze
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between audio sources

**Requested features**

- Improved search and content discovery
- Sleep timer functionality
- Ability to resume playback from where left off
- CarPlay and Bluetooth speaker support
- More granular access to local news


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Chicago Tribune free?

Chicago Tribune is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is WBEZ free?

WBEZ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Chicago Tribune or WBEZ?

WBEZ is rated higher. Chicago Tribune averages 4.4 out of 5 from 19K ratings, while WBEZ averages 4.7 from 651 ratings.

### Do Chicago Tribune or WBEZ have ads?

Both Chicago Tribune and WBEZ show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Chicago Tribune or WBEZ?

Chicago Tribune ships an update every 3 weeks, and WBEZ every 3 weeks. Most recently, Chicago Tribune was updated on November 1, 2026 and WBEZ on October 29, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*