Comparison

NJ.com vs CT Insider

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

Head to head
About

NJ.com

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
Currently charting
Read full description

Get trusted local news from across New Jersey. 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/

About

CT Insider

Access statewide Connecticut news, from local communities to statewide sports. Receive customized alerts, read the e-Edition, and enjoy text-to-audio storytelling. Offers puzzles and local guides.

Highlights
  • Connecticut news alerts
  • Customizable homepage
  • Sports coverage
  • e-Edition replica
  • Text-to-audio stories
  • Local guides and commentary
Features
Read full description

Know more about Bridgeport, Stamford, New Haven, Hartford and communities across Connecticut with the CT Insider app. Stay informed with trusted journalism wherever you are. - Get Connecticut news alerts and notifications, customized by preferred topics - Customize your homepage with local news from your community - Catch statewide high school, UConn and pro sports coverage, plus tune in to the GametimeCT high school sports podcast - Page through the e-Edition, a digital replica of the newspaper - Stay sharp with Puzzmo’s reimagined favorites and new puzzles - Listen to CT Insider stories with Everlit, a text-to-audio tool - Check out local guides and compelling columns and commentary SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS: Subscribe for unlimited digital access to the app, CTInsider.com and newsletters. Get 1 month free, then $14.99 per month. Cancel anytime. Current digital and print subscribers have unlimited access to the app. - Digital subscribers: Sign in to the app to access your benefit. - Print subscribers: If you haven’t activated your digital access yet, look for “Activate Access” at the bottom of the app welcome screen. PAYMENT: Payment will be charged to your iTunes account with the confirmation of your purchase and will automatically renew each month unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of your monthly period. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. PRIVACY POLICY: https://www.ctinsider.com/privacy/ TERMS OF SERVICE: https://www.ctinsider.com/tos/ FEEDBACK: We want to hear from you! Let us know if you have questions or suggestions: appsupport@hearstmediact.com.

Screenshots

NJ.com4 screens
CT Insider4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: NJ.com at none against CT Insider's shown. NJ.com also leads on ratings volume (25K vs 4.6K). CT Insider's advantage is review sentiment (35% vs 19%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases 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. NJ.com sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and CT Insider sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for NJ.com against 4.6 for CT Insider. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NJ.com has 25K ratings behind it against 4.6K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 19% of NJ.com's written reviews are positive against 35% of CT Insider's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
NJ.com versus CT Insider: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNJ.comCT Insider
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (25K ratings)4.6 (4.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews18.7% of reviews35.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings25K — better4.6K
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionSubscription
Best chart rank#50 — better#80
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB103 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperNJ.comHearst Newspapers

Customer experience

NJ.com

All ratings24,811 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral5.4%
Negative5.7%
Written reviews139 reviews
Positive18.7%
Neutral7.2%
Negative74.1%

CT Insider

All ratings4,569 ratings
Positive89.6%
Neutral4.3%
Negative6.1%
Written reviews48 reviews
Positive35.4%
Neutral12.5%
Negative52.1%

User reviews

NJ.com

From 25K App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

CT Insider

From 4.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to read news
  • 👍 Clean interface
  • 👍 Brings together local CT news

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App not working/freezing
  • 🐛 Unable to log in/stay logged in
  • 🐛 Outdated/missing local news
  • 🔍 Poor search/sorting options
  • 💰 Expensive subscription

Bugs and requests

NJ.com

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • 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

5 requests
  • 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

CT Insider

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Notifications don't open articles
  • Subscription issues/double billing
  • Compatibility problems on Android

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add search by keyword
  • Allow saving favorite articles
  • Enable article commenting
  • Improve integration with email/website

In-app purchases

16 purchases

NJ.com

Subscriptions16
  • Rutgers Sports Insider$5.991 Month
  • Digital Access$9.991 Month
  • Digital Access1 Month trial$9.991 Month
Show 13 more
  • Subscriber Exclusive Content7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Subscriber Exclusive Content1 Month trial2 variants$9.991 Month
  • Monthly Access1 Month trial$10.001 Month
  • All Access to NJ.com7 Days trial$10.001 Month
  • All Access to NJ.com$11.991 Month
  • All Access to New Jersey$15.001 Month
  • Full Access to NJ.com$15.001 Month
  • Rutgers Sports Insider$59.991 Year
  • All Access to NJ.com6 Months trial$75.001 Year
  • All Access to NJ.com1 Year trial$99.991 Year
  • Subscriber Exclusive Content1 Year trial2 variants$99.991 Year
  • Annual Access1 Year trial$100.001 Year
  • All Access to NJ.com$119.991 Year
2 purchases

CT Insider

Subscriptions2
  • CT Insider Monthly1 Month trial$14.991 Month
  • CT Insider Monthly2 Months trial$14.991 Month

Questions

Is NJ.com free?
NJ.com is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CT Insider free?
CT Insider is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, NJ.com or CT Insider?
CT Insider is rated higher. NJ.com averages 4.5 out of 5 from 25K ratings, while CT Insider averages 4.6 from 4.6K ratings.
Do NJ.com or CT Insider have ads?
CT Insider shows ads; NJ.com does not.
Which is updated more often, NJ.com or CT Insider?
NJ.com ships an update every 3 weeks, and CT Insider every 3 weeks. Most recently, NJ.com was updated on September 25, 2026 and CT Insider on September 25, 2026.
Which is more popular, NJ.com or CT Insider?
NJ.com currently peaks at #50 in the App Store charts, and CT Insider at #80. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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