# NJ.com vs Patch

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Patch at 58% against NJ.com's 19%. Patch also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 18) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). NJ.com's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ratings volume, chart position 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. Patch asks for nothing beyond the download.

Patch holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25K and 26K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 19% of NJ.com's written reviews are positive against 58% of Patch's.

NJ.com ships an update every 3 weeks, Patch every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | NJ.com | Patch |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (25K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/njcom/id419202474/reviews) | **[4.7 (26K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/patch-everything-local/id430049632/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 25K | **26K** |
| Positive reviews | 18.7% of reviews | **58.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Ad-supported** |
| Best chart rank | **#60** | #166 |
| Size | 32 MB | 66 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [NJ.com](https://appshunter.io/developer/419202477) | [Patch Media](https://appshunter.io/developer/1088403234) |

## What reviewers say

### NJ.com

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

**Currently charting:** #60 Top Grossing · News, #194 Top Free · 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


### Patch

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/patch-everything-local/id430049632)

**Currently charting:** #166 Top Free · News (US App Store)

Stay informed about your local community with real-time news, events, and weather updates. Discover schools, homes for sale, jobs, and announcements in a single, easy-to-scroll feed. Receive breaking news alerts and share stories with friends.

**Highlights:** Local news and events for 1,200+ towns, Breaking news push notifications, Local weather forecasts and alerts, Find local jobs and announcements, One-scroll feed for town happenings, Bookmark articles for later reading, Support for following multiple towns

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🗞️ Informative local news
- 📰 Comprehensive coverage of community events
- 🔍 Useful for staying up-to-date on local happenings
- 🗓️ Timely and relevant information
- 💻 Convenient online/mobile access to local news

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔌 App stability and performance issues
- 🔍 Limited ability to customize content and notifications
- 📢 Concerns about removal of reader comments
- 🗺️ Lack of location-specific focus in some areas
- 💲 Paid subscription model for full access

**Reported bugs**

- Articles failing to load or open properly
- Notification issues, including duplicate or missing alerts
- Inconsistent app behavior after updates
- Difficulty clearing unread article indicators

**Requested features**

- Allow users to select specific news categories of interest
- Improve notification system to be more reliable and customizable
- Restore reader comment functionality
- Enhance location-based targeting and content curation
- Offer more affordable or free access options


## Frequently asked questions

### Is NJ.com free?

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

### Is Patch free?

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

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

Patch is rated higher. NJ.com averages 4.5 out of 5 from 25K ratings, while Patch averages 4.7 from 26K ratings.

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

Patch shows ads; NJ.com does not.

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

NJ.com ships an update every 3 weeks, and Patch every 2 months. Most recently, NJ.com was updated on October 15, 2026 and Patch on October 16, 2026.

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

NJ.com currently peaks at #60 in the App Store charts, and Patch at #166. 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.*