# NJ.com vs PennLive

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | NJ.com | PennLive |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (25K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/njcom/id419202474/reviews) | **[4.5 (3.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pennlive/id421910267/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **25K** | 3.2K |
| Positive reviews | **18.7% of reviews** | 16.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Subscription | Subscription |
| Best chart rank | **#54** | #160 |
| Size | 32 MB | 32 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [NJ.com](https://appshunter.io/developer/419202477) | [PennLive LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/421910270) |

## What reviewers say

### NJ.com

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

**Currently charting:** #54 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 New Jersey | $15.00 | per month |
| Full Access to NJ.com | $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


### PennLive

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pennlive/id421910267)

**Currently charting:** #160 Top Grossing · News (US App Store)

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.

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

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (14)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Basic Access to PennLive.com | $5.99 | per month |
| PennLive Sports Insider | $7.99 | per month |
| Basic Access to PennLive.com | $9.99 | per month |
| Basic Access to PennLive.com | $9.99 | per month |
| Basic Access to PennLive.com | $9.99 | per month |
| Subscriber Exclusive Content | $9.99 | per month |
| All Access to PennLive.com | $11.99 | per month |
| All Access to PennLive.com | $15.00 | per month |
| All Access to PennLive.com | $75.00 | per year |
| PennLive Sports Insider | $79.99 | per year |
| All Access to PennLive.com | $99.99 | per year |
| Basic Access to PennLive.com | $99.99 | per year |
| BasicAccess to PennLive.com | $99.99 | per year |
| Basic Access to PennLive.com | $119.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast news coverage
- 👍 Great local news focus
- 👍 Excellent reporting staff

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app freezes and crashes
- 🔍 Difficult navigation and poor UI
- 💰 Excessive ads and paywall
- 🔍 Outdated and stale content
- 🔍 Biased and opinionated reporting

**Reported bugs**

- App freezes and crashes on launch
- Inability to access articles after updates
- Inconsistent behavior across devices

**Requested features**

- Improved app stability and performance
- Streamlined and intuitive navigation
- Ability to read articles without paywall
- Unbiased and fact-based reporting


## Frequently asked questions

### Is NJ.com free?

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

### Is PennLive free?

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

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

PennLive is rated higher. NJ.com averages 4.5 out of 5 from 25K ratings, while PennLive averages 4.5 from 3.2K ratings.

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

PennLive shows ads; NJ.com does not.

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

NJ.com ships an update every 3 weeks, and PennLive every 3 weeks. Most recently, NJ.com was updated on September 25, 2026 and PennLive on September 23, 2026.

### Which is more popular, NJ.com or PennLive?

NJ.com currently peaks at #54 in the App Store charts, and PennLive at #160. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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