# NJ.com vs The Star

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | NJ.com | The Star |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (25K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/njcom/id419202474/reviews)** | [4.4 (2.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-star-ledger/id530250550/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **25K** | 2.8K |
| Positive reviews | 18.7% of reviews | **48.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 5 months |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#58** | #193 |
| Size | 32 MB | 32 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [NJ.com](https://appshunter.io/developer/419202477) | [The Star-Ledger LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/530250553) |

## What reviewers say

### NJ.com

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

**Currently charting:** #58 Top Grossing · News, #167 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


### The Star

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-star-ledger/id530250550)

**Currently charting:** #193 Top Grossing · Magazines & Newspapers (US App Store)

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.

**Highlights:** Award-winning local news, Daily features and sports updates, Entertainment highlights, Bonus magazines and supplements, Interactive puzzles and games, Easy article sharing

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Auto-Renewing subscription to The Star-Ledger | $24.99 | per month |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to read digital format
- 👍 Convenient access to news
- 💡 Ability to email/share articles
- 🚀 Responsive app performance

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes and freezes
- Unable to download or access certain issues
- Login and account issues
- Formatting problems on mobile devices

**Requested features**

- 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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is NJ.com free?

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

### Is The Star free?

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

### Which has better reviews, NJ.com or The Star?

NJ.com is rated higher. NJ.com averages 4.5 out of 5 from 25K ratings, while The Star averages 4.4 from 2.8K ratings.

### Do NJ.com or The Star have ads?

Neither NJ.com nor The Star shows ads.

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

NJ.com ships an update every 3 weeks, and The Star every 5 months. Most recently, NJ.com was updated on September 26, 2026 and The Star on September 26, 2026.

### Which is more popular, NJ.com or The Star?

NJ.com currently peaks at #58 in the App Store charts, and The Star at #193. 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.*