# NJ.com vs Houston Chronicle

The clearest difference is ads: NJ.com at none against Houston Chronicle's shown. Houston Chronicle's advantage is review sentiment (32% vs 19%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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 Houston Chronicle sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 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 Houston Chronicle. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25K and 14K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 19% of NJ.com's written reviews are positive against 32% of Houston Chronicle's.

NJ.com ships an update every 3 weeks, Houston Chronicle fortnightly. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | NJ.com | Houston Chronicle |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (25K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/njcom/id419202474/reviews) | [4.5 (14K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/houston-chronicle/id453564805/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **25K** | 14K |
| Positive reviews | 18.7% of reviews | **31.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Subscription | Subscription |
| Best chart rank | #50 | **#40** |
| Size | 32 MB | 103 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [NJ.com](https://appshunter.io/developer/419202477) | [Hearst Newspapers](https://appshunter.io/developer/397018366) |

## What reviewers say

### NJ.com

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

**Currently charting:** #50 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


### Houston Chronicle

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/houston-chronicle/id453564805)

**Currently charting:** #40 Top Grossing · Magazines & Newspapers, #58 Top Grossing · News, #136 Top Free · Magazines & Newspapers (US App Store)

Stay informed with trusted journalism about Houston and Texas. Receive news alerts, sports coverage, and in-depth analysis. Access a digital replica of the newspaper and enjoy exclusive content and puzzles.

**Highlights:** Customizable news alerts, Local and Texas news coverage, Sports and politics podcasts, Digital newspaper replica (e-Edition), Puzzles and exclusive guides, Text-to-audio story feature

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

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Houston Chronicle | $14.99 | per month |
| Houston Chronicle Monthly | $14.99 | per month |
| Houston Chronicle for iPad | $14.99 | per month |
| Houston Chronicle | $14.99 | per month |
| Houston Chronicle for iPad | $59.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to navigate and read
- 👍 Enjoyable and informative
- 👍 Great local coverage
- 👍 Excellent investigative reporting

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes constantly
- 🐛 Glitchy and unreliable app
- 🔒 Poor login experience
- 🔍 Lacking in national/world news coverage
- 📰 Biased and one-sided reporting

**Reported bugs**

- Articles not loading properly
- Frequent log-out issues
- Inconsistent content availability between app and website

**Requested features**

- Ability to save, listen, or share articles
- Improved search functionality
- Seamless integration between print and digital subscriptions
- More balanced and objective reporting


## Frequently asked questions

### Is NJ.com free?

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

### Is Houston Chronicle free?

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

### Which has better reviews, NJ.com or Houston Chronicle?

NJ.com and Houston Chronicle are both rated 4.5 out of 5 on the App Store, from 25K and 14K ratings respectively.

### Do NJ.com or Houston Chronicle have ads?

Houston Chronicle shows ads; NJ.com does not.

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

NJ.com ships an update every 3 weeks, and Houston Chronicle fortnightly. Most recently, NJ.com was updated on September 25, 2026 and Houston Chronicle on September 25, 2026.

### Which is more popular, NJ.com or Houston Chronicle?

NJ.com currently peaks at #50 in the App Store charts, and Houston Chronicle at #40. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

---

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