NJ.com vs The Star
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/
The Star
Access New Jersey's largest newspaper on your mobile device. Enjoy award-winning local news, sports, entertainment, and more with an enhanced reading experience. Subscribers get full access.
- Award-winning local news
- Daily features and sports updates
- Entertainment highlights
- Bonus magazines and supplements
- Interactive puzzles and games
- Easy article sharing
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Welcome to The Star-Ledger's new Online Newspaper app! Dive into New Jersey’s largest newspaper anytime, anywhere. Keep up with award-winning local news, daily features, sports updates, entertainment highlights, special sections, and more—all at your fingertips! Enjoy online-only perks with an enhanced reading experience, including bonus magazines, supplements, interactive puzzles and games, and easy article sharing with friends and family. Star-Ledger subscribers receive full access to each edition without any extra cost. Just log in with your existing email and password to explore everything we offer! Terms of Use: https://www.advancelocal.com/advancelocalUserAgreement/user-agreement.html Privacy Policy: https://www.advancelocal.com/advancelocalUserAgreement/privacy-policy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: The Star at free with in-app purchases against NJ.com's subscription. The Star also leads on review sentiment (48% vs 19%). NJ.com's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (25K vs 2.8K). On price, rating, ads 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
Both are free to download. NJ.com sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and The Star sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $24.99 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 4.4 for The Star. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NJ.com has 25K ratings behind it against 2.8K, 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 48% of The Star's.
NJ.com ships an update every 3 weeks, The Star every 5 months. Both last shipped on September 26, 2026.
| Parameter | NJ.com | The Star |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (25K ratings) — better | 4.4 (2.8K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 18.7% of reviews | 48.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 25K — better | 2.8K |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #57 — better | #193 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 32 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | NJ.com | The Star-Ledger LLC |
Customer experience
NJ.com
The Star
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
The Star
From 2.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to read digital format
- 👍 Convenient access to news
- 💡 Ability to email/share articles
- 🚀 Responsive app performance
Room to improve
- 🐛 Glitches and bugs in new app version
- 👎 Difficult to navigate and read on mobile
- 👎 Removal of useful features like printing
- 👎 Inconsistent service and access issues
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 Star
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes and freezes
- Unable to download or access certain issues
- Login and account issues
- Formatting problems on mobile devices
Requested features
4 requests- Bring back ability to print puzzles and articles
- Improve app usability and navigation
- Provide more local news coverage
- Offer a more affordable digital-only subscription
In-app purchases
NJ.com
- Rutgers Sports Insider$5.991 Month
- Digital Access$9.991 Month
- Digital Access1 Month trial$9.991 Month
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- 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
The Star
- Auto-Renewing subscription to The Star-Ledger$24.991 Month
Questions
Is NJ.com free?
Is The Star free?
Which has better reviews, NJ.com or The Star?
Do NJ.com or The Star have ads?
Which is updated more often, NJ.com or The Star?
Which is more popular, NJ.com or The Star?
Other comparisons
