cleveland.com vs The Plain Dealer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
cleveland.com
Stay informed with local news, sports, and weather updates impacting your community. Get timely and reliable reporting from trusted local journalists covering news, politics, business, and culture.
- Local news reporting
- Sports coverage
- Weather updates
- Politics and business news
- Cultural event coverage
- Premium content access
Read full descriptionHide full description
Get trusted local news from across Northeast Ohio. Breaking news, in-depth reporting, and all the stories people are talking about. Stay connected to what's happening around you with timely coverage of news, weather, sports, and more, optimized for your phone. Free to download. Get breaking news, alerts, and top stories. Subscribers receive unlimited access to in-depth reporting, exclusive content, and additional features. Subscriptions are available in-app. Our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use: http://www.advance.net/advancedigitalUserAgreementPP/
The Plain Dealer
Access award-winning local news, sports, and entertainment from your favorite newspaper. Enjoy an enhanced reading experience with online-only content, interactive puzzles, and easy sharing. Subscribers get full access, while non-subscribers can opt for an app-only subscription.
- Award-winning local news
- Daily features and sports updates
- Entertainment highlights
- Online-only perks
- Interactive puzzles and games
- Easy article sharing
Read full descriptionHide full description
Welcome to the Plain Dealer's new Online Newspaper app! Dive into the newspaper anytime, anywhere. Keep up with award-winning local news, daily features, sports updates, entertainment highlights, special sections, and more—all at your fingertips! Enjoy online-only perks with an enhanced reading experience, including bonus magazines, supplements, interactive puzzles and games, and easy article sharing with friends and family. Plain Dealer subscribers receive full access to each edition without any extra cost. Just log in with your existing email and password to explore everything we offer! Terms of Use: https://www.advancelocal.com/advancelocalUserAgreement/user-agreement.html Privacy Policy: https://www.advancelocal.com/advancelocalUserAgreement/privacy-policy.html ====== SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION ====== If you are not a current Plain Dealer subscriber, we offer the following App-only subscription option: 1 Month Auto-renewing Subscription: $24.99 Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off 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. Your subscriptions may be managed (and auto-renewal can be turned off) by going to your iTunes Account Settings after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during the active subscription period.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: The Plain Dealer at free with in-app purchases against cleveland.com's subscription. The Plain Dealer also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (43% vs 30%). cleveland.com's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and rating (4.5 vs 4.2). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases and chart position 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. cleveland.com sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and The Plain Dealer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
cleveland.com holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12K and 4.8K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 30% of cleveland.com's written reviews are positive against 43% of The Plain Dealer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
cleveland.com ships an update every 3 weeks, The Plain Dealer every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | cleveland.com | The Plain Dealer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (12K ratings) — better | 4.2 (4.8K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 29.9% of reviews | 42.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 12K — better | 4.8K |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #81 — better | #134 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 35 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | cleveland.com | The Plain Dealer Publishing Company |
Customer experience
cleveland.com
The Plain Dealer
User reviews
cleveland.com
From 12K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ⭐ Informative local news and sports coverage
- 🌐 Convenient way to stay connected to Cleveland from afar
Room to improve
- 🐌 Slow app performance and frequent crashes
- 🔒 Inconsistent access to subscriber-only content
- 📰 Biased or low-quality journalism
- 💰 Excessive paywalling of content
The Plain Dealer
From 4.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and smooth app experience
- 👍 Replicates print edition well
- 📱 Convenient digital access
- 🗞️ Comprehensive local news coverage
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent bugs and glitches
- 🔍 Navigation and layout issues
- 📱 Suboptimal mobile experience
- 🔒 Login and access problems
Bugs and requests
cleveland.com
Reported bugs
2 issues- Saved articles frequently deleted
- Inability to access specific sports sections
Requested features
3 requests- Improved search and navigation
- Restore high school sports coverage
- Bring back user comments and community features
The Plain Dealer
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes and freezes
- Inconsistent page loading and scrolling
- Inability to properly display full pages
- Unreliable login and authentication
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to jump between sections easily
- Option to enlarge text and images
- Offline reading mode
- Improved crossword and puzzle integration
In-app purchases
cleveland.com
- cleveland.com Football Insider$7.991 Month
- Digital Access1 Month trial$9.991 Month
- Digital Access7 Days trial$9.991 Month
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Subscriber Exclusive Content1 Month trial2 variants$9.991 Month
- All Access to cleveland.com$11.991 Month
- All Access to Cleveland$15.001 Month
- All access to cleveland.com6 Months trial$75.001 Year
- All access to cleveland.com1 Year trial$99.991 Year
- All access to cleveland.com$119.991 Year
The Plain Dealer
- The Plain Dealer Subscription$24.991 Month
- Racing Is Indy$2.99
- Baseball Magazine: 2018$2.99
Questions
Is cleveland.com free?
Is The Plain Dealer free?
Which has better reviews, cleveland.com or The Plain Dealer?
Do cleveland.com or The Plain Dealer have ads?
Which is updated more often, cleveland.com or The Plain Dealer?
Which is more popular, cleveland.com or The Plain Dealer?
Other comparisons
