# NJ.com vs The

The clearest difference is rating: NJ.com at 4.5 against The's 4.0. NJ.com also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 29 months) and ratings volume (25K vs 2). The's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 18) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. NJ.com sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. The asks for nothing beyond the download.

NJ.com holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NJ.com has 25K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

NJ.com ships an update every 3 weeks, The every 29 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | NJ.com | The |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (25K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/njcom/id419202474/reviews)** | [4.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-sandpaper/id1500607774/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **25K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 18.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 29 months |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#52** | — |
| Size | 32 MB | 53 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [NJ.com](https://appshunter.io/developer/419202477) | [Our Hometown, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/429747057) |

## What reviewers say

### NJ.com

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/njcom/id419202474)

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

Stay informed with local news, sports, and weather impacting your community. Access timely and reliable reporting from journalists who live and work in your area. Covers a wide range of topics including news, politics, business, and culture.

**Highlights:** Local news reporting, Sports coverage, Weather updates, Politics and business news, Culture and events, Premium content access

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

**In-app purchases (16)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Rutgers Sports Insider | $5.99 | per month |
| Digital Access | $9.99 | per month |
| Digital Access | $9.99 | per month |
| Subscriber Exclusive Content | $9.99 | per month |
| Subscriber Exclusive Content | $9.99 | per month |
| Monthly Access | $10.00 | per month |
| All Access to NJ.com | $10.00 | per month |
| All Access to NJ.com | $11.99 | per month |
| All Access to NJ.com | $15.00 | per month |
| All Access to New Jersey | $15.00 | per month |
| Rutgers Sports Insider | $59.99 | per year |
| All Access to NJ.com | $75.00 | per year |
| All Access to NJ.com | $99.99 | per year |
| Subscriber Exclusive Content | $99.99 | per year |
| Annual Access | $100.00 | per year |
| All Access to NJ.com | $119.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🗞️ Informative local news coverage
- 📰 Reliable source for NJ news
- 🔍 Helpful search functionality

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Excessive paywall restrictions
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
- 💤 Slow loading times and performance issues
- 📢 Overwhelming ads and notifications
- 🗣️ Lack of user commenting features

**Reported bugs**

- Login issues and inability to access subscriber content
- Frequent app crashes and freezes
- Navigation and search functionality problems
- Incompatibility with certain devices and OS versions

**Requested features**

- Bring back ability to save articles
- Improve app stability and performance
- Offer more free content access
- Restore team-specific sports browsing
- Add user commenting functionality


### The

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-sandpaper/id1500607774)

Access the latest Print and Online editions of a local newspaper directly on your mobile device. Stay informed with current news and articles from your community.

**Highlights:** Digital newspaper editions, Online edition access, Mobile access, Latest news updates

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is NJ.com free?

NJ.com is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is The free?

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

### Which has better reviews, NJ.com or The?

NJ.com is rated higher. NJ.com averages 4.5 out of 5 from 25K ratings, while The averages 4.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do NJ.com or The have ads?

Neither NJ.com nor The shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, NJ.com or The?

NJ.com ships an update every 3 weeks, and The every 29 months. Most recently, NJ.com was updated on October 25, 2026 and The on October 12, 2026.

---

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