NJ.com vs PennLive
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Local news reporting
- Sports coverage
- Weather updates
- Politics and business news
- Culture and events
- Premium content access
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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/
PennLive
Stay informed about local happenings with timely and reliable reporting on news, sports, and weather. Access in-depth coverage of community events, politics, business, and culture from a trusted source.
- Local news reporting
- Sports coverage
- Weather updates
- Politics and business news
- Culture and community events
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Get trusted local news from across Central Pennsylvania. 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. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. Your subscriptions may be managed (and auto-renewal can be turned off) by going to your iTunes Account Settings after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during the active subscription period. If we offer a free trial, any unused portion of the free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use: http://www.advance.net/advancedigitalUserAgreementPP/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: NJ.com at none against PennLive's shown. NJ.com also leads on ratings volume (25K vs 3.2K). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. NJ.com sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and PennLive sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for NJ.com against 4.5 for PennLive. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NJ.com has 25K ratings behind it against 3.2K, 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 16% of PennLive's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NJ.com | PennLive |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (25K ratings) | 4.5 (3.2K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 18.7% of reviews — better | 16.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 25K — better | 3.2K |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Subscription |
| Best chart rank | #61 — better | #167 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 32 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | NJ.com | PennLive LLC |
Customer experience
NJ.com
PennLive
User reviews
NJ.com
From 25K App Store ratingsWhat 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
PennLive
From 3.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast news coverage
- 👍 Great local news focus
- 👍 Excellent reporting staff
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app freezes and crashes
- 🔍 Difficult navigation and poor UI
- 💰 Excessive ads and paywall
- 🔍 Outdated and stale content
- 🔍 Biased and opinionated reporting
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
PennLive
Reported bugs
3 issues- App freezes and crashes on launch
- Inability to access articles after updates
- Inconsistent behavior across devices
Requested features
4 requests- Improved app stability and performance
- Streamlined and intuitive navigation
- Ability to read articles without paywall
- Unbiased and fact-based reporting
In-app purchases
NJ.com
- Rutgers Sports Insider$5.991 Month
- Digital Access$9.991 Month
- Digital Access1 Month trial$9.991 Month
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- 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
PennLive
- Basic Access to PennLive.com$5.991 Month
- PennLive Sports Insider$7.991 Month
- Basic Access to PennLive.com$9.991 Month
Show 11 moreShow fewer
- Basic Access to PennLive.com1 Month trial2 variants$9.991 Month
- Basic Access to PennLive.com7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Subscriber Exclusive Content1 Month trial$9.991 Month
- All Access to PennLive.com$11.991 Month
- All Access to PennLive.com$15.001 Month
- All Access to PennLive.com6 Months trial$75.001 Year
- PennLive Sports Insider$79.991 Year
- All Access to PennLive.com$99.991 Year
- Basic Access to PennLive.com1 Year trial$99.991 Year
- BasicAccess to PennLive.com1 Year trial$99.991 Year
- Basic Access to PennLive.com$119.991 Year
Questions
Is NJ.com free?
Is PennLive free?
Which has better reviews, NJ.com or PennLive?
Do NJ.com or PennLive have ads?
Which is updated more often, NJ.com or PennLive?
Which is more popular, NJ.com or PennLive?
Other comparisons
