Comparison

NJ.com vs The Baltimore Sun

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
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

The Baltimore Sun

Access exclusive news, sports, business, and entertainment from Maryland's top news source. Stay informed with breaking alerts, save articles for later, and enjoy offline reading. Customize your news feed and share stories easily.

Highlights
  • Exclusive premium storytelling
  • Breaking news push notifications
  • Exclusive videos and photo galleries
  • Customizable section list
  • Save stories for offline reading
  • Easy social sharing
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Now there's a simple, elegant and customizable way to get all of the Baltimore Sun's exclusive, premium storytelling on your iPhone and iPad. FEATURES: • Stay informed with Baltimore's best source of news, sports, business and entertainment • Sign up for push notifications to get the latest news from our newsroom as soon as stories break • Enjoy exclusive videos and photo galleries • Edit the section list to be in your preferred order • Save must-read stories, photos and videos for when you have the time to enjoy them • Get the latest breaking news from our newsroom in your notifications • Share stories easily with Twitter, Facebook, or email • Offline reading: Download and read content offline SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS: • For full access, try one free month of Unlimited Digital Access to the app, the Baltimore Sun website, and our eNewspaper; then it's only $19.99 a month. Make sure to create a registration while in the app so you'll be able to log in to the website and eNewspaper when you visit them in web browsers. • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. • Your subscription automatically renews each month unless auto-renew is turned off within your Account Settings at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. • Your iTunes account will be charged $19.99 for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. • No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. • Subscriptions may be managed by the user by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. • You can read our Privacy Policy here: http://www.tribpub.com/privacy-policy/ • You can read our Terms of Service here: http://www.tribpub.com/central-terms-of-service/ • Questions about your subscription, including adding or removing Web access to the Baltimore Sun website from your app access, can be directed to Customer Service: 888-539-1280. CRASHES / PROBLEMS? We've been working hard to fix any and all crashes in the app. If you're still experiencing crashes or freezes after installing this update, please contact us at mobile@baltimoresun.com. A quick email to our support team helps our developers identify and resolve crashes faster.

Screenshots

NJ.com4 screens
The Baltimore Sun4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: NJ.com at none against The Baltimore Sun's shown. NJ.com also leads on ratings volume (25K vs 5.8K). The Baltimore Sun's advantage is review sentiment (30% 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 The Baltimore Sun sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 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 4.5 for The Baltimore Sun. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25K and 5.8K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 19% of NJ.com's written reviews are positive against 30% of The Baltimore Sun's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
NJ.com versus The Baltimore Sun: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNJ.comThe Baltimore Sun
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (25K ratings)4.5 (5.8K ratings)
Positive reviews18.7% of reviews30.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings25K — better5.8K
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionSubscription
Best chart rank#58 — better#78
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB190 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperNJ.comTribune Publishing Company, LLC

Customer experience

NJ.com

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

The Baltimore Sun

All ratings5,820 ratings
Positive86.7%
Neutral5.2%
Negative8.2%
Written reviews126 reviews
Positive30.2%
Neutral9.5%
Negative60.3%

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

The Baltimore Sun

From 5.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Hard to use
  • 👍 A new reader
  • 👍 Old Pimlico boy
  • 👍 The latest redesign of the app is a keeper

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Full of Ads and Broken Features
  • 🐛 Requires constant updates
  • 🐛 Missing functions
  • 🐛 Terrible app just got worse
  • 🐛 Dominated by Ads

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

The Baltimore Sun

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • No access to digital paper
  • App stopped working
  • News will not load
  • Can't login
  • Scrolling doesn't work
Show 5 more
  • Unable to view content in the app as a subscriber
  • Fee to read!
  • So much respect for the Sun but...
  • Awful and scam
  • Can't find the comics

Requested features

4 requests
  • Allow for rotation display on ipad
  • Landscape mode turned off
  • Restore Restore landscape orientation
  • Bring back landscape view!

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 NJ.com$15.001 Month
  • All Access to New Jersey$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
10 purchases

The Baltimore Sun

Subscriptions9
  • App-only subscription - Stage$0.991 Month
  • Unlimited Access - Stage$1.991 Month
  • App-Only Access$4.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • Unlimited Digital Access - Tes$7.991 Month
  • Unlimited Digital Access1 Month trial3 variants$19.991 Month
  • News App Only$19.991 Month
  • Baltimore Sun Monthly Subscription1 Month trial$19.991 Month
  • The Baltimore Sun1 Year trial$199.991 Year
  • Baltimore Sun Yearly Subscription1 Year trial$199.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Story Credits$0.99

Questions

Is NJ.com free?
NJ.com is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is The Baltimore Sun free?
The Baltimore Sun is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, NJ.com or The Baltimore Sun?
NJ.com and The Baltimore Sun are both rated 4.5 out of 5 on the App Store, from 25K and 5.8K ratings respectively.
Do NJ.com or The Baltimore Sun have ads?
The Baltimore Sun shows ads; NJ.com does not.
Which is updated more often, NJ.com or The Baltimore Sun?
NJ.com ships an update every 3 weeks, and The Baltimore Sun every 3 weeks. Most recently, NJ.com was updated on September 26, 2026 and The Baltimore Sun on September 25, 2026.
Which is more popular, NJ.com or The Baltimore Sun?
NJ.com currently peaks at #58 in the App Store charts, and The Baltimore Sun at #78. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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