# St. Louis Post vs First Alert 4

The clearest difference is rating: First Alert 4 at 4.6 against St. Louis Post's 3.8. First Alert 4 also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 7) and ratings volume (13K vs 3K). St. Louis Post's advantage is review sentiment (31% vs 14%) and chart position (#76 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. St. Louis Post sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $29.99 per month. First Alert 4 asks for nothing beyond the download.

First Alert 4 holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3K and 13K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 31% of St. Louis Post's written reviews are positive against 14% of First Alert 4's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

St. Louis Post ships an update every 2 months, First Alert 4 monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | St. Louis Post | First Alert 4 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.8 (3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/st-louis-post-dispatch/id398032168/reviews) | **[4.6 (13K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/first-alert-4/id401082205/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 3K | **13K** |
| Positive reviews | **31.3% of reviews** | 13.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Ad-supported** |
| Best chart rank | **#76** | — |
| Size | 105 MB | 82 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [St. Louis Post-Dispatch](https://appshunter.io/developer/473060787) | [Gray Television Group, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/416888140) |

## What reviewers say

### St. Louis Post

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/st-louis-post-dispatch/id398032168)

**Currently charting:** #76 Top Grossing · News (US App Store)

Stay informed with local news, sports, and weather from St. Louis and surrounding areas. Access in-depth reporting, exclusive commentary, photography, video, and podcasts. Subscribe for unlimited digital access and an ad-free experience.

**Highlights:** Personalized news topics, Breaking news alerts, Easy swipe navigation, News Feed and E-edition reading, Exclusive commentary and podcasts, Hourly and 10-day weather forecasts, Customizable text size

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| STL Post-Dispatch Monthly | $29.99 | per month |
| Subscriptions | $42.99 | per month |
| Subscriptions | $46.99 | per month |
| Subscriptions | $50.00 | per year |
| Subscriptions | $289.99 | per year |
| Subscriptions | $344.99 | per year |
| Subscriptions | $379.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 📰 Enjoy daily St. Louis area news
- 🏒 Great coverage of Blues and Cardinals
- 🗞️ Appreciate crime alerts

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and login issues
- 🤖 Poorly designed and difficult to navigate
- 💰 Expensive subscription for limited content
- 📢 Intrusive and loud advertisements
- 🗞️ Outdated and repetitive news coverage

**Reported bugs**

- Articles frequently fail to load
- Slideshow and navigation features are buggy
- Subscription login issues and paywalls

**Requested features**

- Allow article sharing for subscribers
- Improve organization and categorization
- Provide more comprehensive local sports coverage
- Implement a dark mode option


### First Alert 4

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/first-alert-4/id401082205)

Stay informed with breaking news, sports headlines, and localized weather and traffic updates. Receive instant notifications for urgent alerts, even when you're on the go.

**Highlights:** Breaking news alerts, Sports headlines, Geo-targeted weather, Real-time traffic, Customizable notifications

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Loyal customer
- 🚀 Excellent weather coverage
- 👍 Best news in town
- 👍 Comprehensive and professional reporting

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Ads interrupt story
- 🔇 Autoplay of video ads with sound on should never be default
- 🔇 Ads ruin app
- 🔇 Too many ads
- 🔇 Forced to watch ads

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes and freezes
- Broken features and links
- Notifications not working as expected
- Weather information inaccurate

**Requested features**

- Option to increase font size
- Ability to control notifications
- Bring back the old weather app
- Ability to rotate the app to landscape mode


## Frequently asked questions

### Is St. Louis Post free?

St. Louis Post is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is First Alert 4 free?

First Alert 4 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, St. Louis Post or First Alert 4?

First Alert 4 is rated higher. St. Louis Post averages 3.8 out of 5 from 3K ratings, while First Alert 4 averages 4.6 from 13K ratings.

### Do St. Louis Post or First Alert 4 have ads?

Both St. Louis Post and First Alert 4 show ads.

### Which is updated more often, St. Louis Post or First Alert 4?

St. Louis Post ships an update every 2 months, and First Alert 4 monthly. Most recently, St. Louis Post was updated on September 25, 2026 and First Alert 4 on September 26, 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.*