Alabama's 42 vs AL.com
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Alabama's 42
Stay informed with local news and weather updates directly from your trusted news team. Access top stories, real-time developing news, and in-depth community journalism. Get detailed weather forecasts, live alerts, and interactive radar maps to plan your day.
- Top local news stories
- Real-time developing news
- In-depth community journalism
- Storm Team weather updates
- Interactive radar map
- Breaking news alerts
- Save stories for later
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News has never been more local than in the palm of your hand. The CBS 42 News mobile app brings you all the top stories from our daily broadcasts, as well as stories developing in real time. CBS 42 News delivers in-depth, community-first journalism, along with Storm Team weather updates and real-time traffic. With the revamped CBS 42 News app, you're getting "Local Coverage You Can Count On" from Central Alabama's top trusted news team. FEATURES: • Watch video of your trusted reporters on the scene, and read revealing articles on what's going on in your community. • Plan your day and week with detailed weather conditions, live alerts of severe conditions, and an interactive radar map. • Optional alerts on breaking news keep you in the know.
AL.com
Get timely and reliable local news, sports, and weather updates directly impacting your community. Stay informed about unfolding events in your backyard, from politics and business to culture and more. Access essential information from a trusted source, anytime and anywhere.
- Local news reporting
- Sports updates
- Weather forecasts
- Community-focused content
- Timely and reliable information
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Get trusted local news across Alabama. 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/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Alabama's 42 at none against AL.com's 10. Alabama's 42 also leads on review sentiment (37% vs 23%) and device support (4 vs 2). AL.com's advantage is ratings volume (16K vs 1.4K) and chart position (#107 vs unranked). On price, rating and ads 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. AL.com sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Alabama's 42 asks for nothing beyond the download.
Alabama's 42 holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AL.com has 16K ratings behind it against 1.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 37% of Alabama's 42's written reviews are positive against 23% of AL.com's.
Alabama's 42 ships an update every 6 weeks, AL.com every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Alabama's 42 | AL.com |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.4K ratings) — better | 4.5 (16K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 36.6% of reviews — better | 23.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.4K | 16K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #107 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | LIN Television Corporation | al.com |
Customer experience
Alabama's 42
AL.com
User reviews
Alabama's 42
From 1.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💡 Keeps users informed
- 🚀 Provides up-to-date news
- 👍 Professional and on-point news coverage
Room to improve
- 🐛 Accessibility issues with VoiceOver
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🐛 Unreliable live stream and notifications
- 🐛 Cluttered and confusing UI
- 🐛 Difficulty finding and accessing old articles
AL.com
From 16K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💡 Great overall news source
- 🚀 Timely and informative news coverage
- 👍 Diverse content and topics
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
- 🔋 Performance issues, slow loading
- 💬 Biased and one-sided reporting
- 📢 Intrusive and disruptive ads
Bugs and requests
Alabama's 42
Reported bugs
4 issues- Text jumping around in articles
- Notification settings not working properly
- In-app settings not accessible
- Inability to save articles for later reading
Requested features
4 requests- Improve accessibility for VoiceOver users
- Provide more reliable live stream and notifications
- Redesign the UI for better navigation and readability
- Implement a robust search function to find old articles
AL.com
Reported bugs
3 issues- App title displaying incorrectly as 'OSU Basketball'
- Inability to access recent search history
- Difficulty closing ads or navigating back from articles
Requested features
3 requests- Improve app stability and performance
- Provide more balanced and objective news coverage
- Optimize ad placement to minimize disruption
In-app purchases
Alabama's 42
No in-app purchases
AL.com
- Digital Access1 Month trial$9.991 Month
- Digital Access$9.991 Month
- Basic Access to Al.com$10.001 Month
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- All Access to Al.com$15.001 Month
- Premium Access to Al.com$20.001 Month
- Digital Access1 Year trial$99.991 Year
- Digital Access$99.991 Year
- Basic Access to Al.com$100.001 Year
- All Access to Al.com$150.001 Year
- Premium Access to Al.com$200.001 Year
