Comparison

Sun Sentinel vs BocaBeacon

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

Head to head
About

Sun Sentinel

Access in-depth local news, sports, business, and entertainment from South Florida's premier news source. Customize your reading experience with personalized sections, exclusive videos, and photo galleries. Read stories offline and receive breaking news alerts.

Highlights
  • Local news, sports, business, entertainment
  • Push notifications for breaking news
  • Exclusive videos and photo galleries
  • Customizable section order
  • Save stories for later
  • Offline reading
  • Progress tracking for read articles
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Now there's a simple, elegant and customizable way to get all of the Sun Sentinel's exclusive, in-depth local reporting on your iPhone and iPad. FEATURES: • Stay informed with South Florida's best source of news, sports, business, and entertainment • Sign up for push notifications to get the latest news from our newsroom as soon as stories break • Enjoy exclusive videos and photo galleries • Edit the section list to be in your preferred order • Save must-read stories, photos and videos for when you have the time to enjoy them • Keep track of what you've read and what you haven't with Progress Report • Turn your device sideways for an entirely different visual view of the news (iPad only) • Get the latest breaking news from our newsroom in your notifications • Share stories easily with Twitter, Facebook, or email • Offline reading: Download and read content offline • See your progress: Articles that have been read are greyed out to make your reading experience more efficient SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS: • Download the app to enjoy a sampling of free stories each month. For full access, try a free month of Unlimited Digital Access to the app, the Sun Sentinel website, and our eNewspaper; then it's only $19.99 a month. Make sure to create a registration while in the app so you'll be able to log in to the website and eNewspaper when you visit them in web browsers. • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable • Your subscription automatically renews each month unless auto-renew is turned off within your Account Settings at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. • Your iTunes account will be charged $19.99 for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. • No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period • You can read our Privacy Policy here: http://www.tribpub.com/privacy-policy/ • You can read our Terms of Service here: http://www.tribpub.com/central-terms-of-service/ • Questions about your subscription, including adding or removing Web access to the Sun Sentinel website from your app access, can be directed to Customer Service: 954-393-0111. CRASHES / PROBLEMS? We've been working hard to fix any and all crashes in the app. If you're still experiencing crashes or freezes after installing this update, please contact us at mobile@sun-sentinel.com. A quick email to our support team helps our developers identify and resolve crashes faster.

About

BocaBeacon

Access a digital replica of a weekly newspaper serving Boca Grande, Florida, on your iPad. Stay updated on local news, island happenings, nature, fishing, and events. Connect with social media to share content.

Highlights
  • Digital newspaper replica
  • Local news and events
  • Island news, nature, fishing updates
  • Facebook and Twitter integration
  • Read in 47 countries
Features
Read full description

Your locally-owned, award-winning weekly newspaper serving Boca Grande, Florida now on the iPad! An exact digital replica of our printed newspaper featuring the news that’s unique to Boca Grande, read in 47 countries. Link up with Facebook and Twitter, catch island news, nature, fishing and local events.

Screenshots

Sun Sentinel4 screens
BocaBeacon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: BocaBeacon at 100% against Sun Sentinel's 27%. BocaBeacon also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 5) and rating (4.9 vs 4.5). Sun Sentinel's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 8 months) and ratings volume (7K vs 31). On price, ads and device support 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. Sun Sentinel sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. BocaBeacon asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BocaBeacon holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sun Sentinel has 7K ratings behind it against 31, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 27% of Sun Sentinel's written reviews are positive against 100% of BocaBeacon's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sun Sentinel ships an update monthly, BocaBeacon every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Sun Sentinel versus BocaBeacon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSun SentinelBocaBeacon
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (7K ratings)4.9 (31 ratings) — better
Positive reviews27.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7K — better31
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 8 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionAd-supported — better
Best chart rank#104 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size191 MB26 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperTribune Publishing Company, LLCHopkins & Daughter, Inc.

Customer experience

Sun Sentinel

All ratings6,999 ratings
Positive89.0%
Neutral3.6%
Negative7.5%
Written reviews125 reviews
Positive27.2%
Neutral8.0%
Negative64.8%

BocaBeacon

All ratings31 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Sun Sentinel

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • Repeated login issues for subscribers
  • Inability to access subscriber-only content
  • Outdated and repetitive content

Requested features

4 requests
  • Restore landscape mode on iPad
  • Improve search functionality
  • Reduce ads for paid subscribers
  • Provide a dark mode option

BocaBeacon

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Sun Sentinel

Subscriptions3
  • News App Only$19.991 Month
  • Unlimited Digital Access1 Month trial2 variants$19.991 Month
  • Sun Sentinel1 Year trial$199.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Story Credits$0.99
None

BocaBeacon

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sun Sentinel free?
Sun Sentinel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BocaBeacon free?
BocaBeacon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Sun Sentinel or BocaBeacon?
BocaBeacon is rated higher. Sun Sentinel averages 4.5 out of 5 from 7K ratings, while BocaBeacon averages 4.9 from 31 ratings.
Do Sun Sentinel or BocaBeacon have ads?
Both Sun Sentinel and BocaBeacon show ads.
Which is updated more often, Sun Sentinel or BocaBeacon?
Sun Sentinel ships an update monthly, and BocaBeacon every 8 months. Most recently, Sun Sentinel was updated on October 15, 2026 and BocaBeacon on October 13, 2026.

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