# NJ.com vs Newark Advocate

The clearest difference is monetization model: Newark Advocate at free with in-app purchases against NJ.com's subscription. Newark Advocate also leads on review sentiment (47% vs 19%). NJ.com's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (25K vs 618). On price, rating, update cadence 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 Newark Advocate sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

NJ.com holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NJ.com has 25K ratings behind it against 618, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 19% of NJ.com's written reviews are positive against 47% of Newark Advocate's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

NJ.com ships an update every 3 weeks, Newark Advocate monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | NJ.com | Newark Advocate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (25K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/njcom/id419202474/reviews)** | [4.4 (618 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/newark-advocate/id553330240/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **25K** | 618 |
| Positive reviews | 18.7% of reviews | **46.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#58** | #142 |
| Size | 32 MB | 184 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [NJ.com](https://appshunter.io/developer/419202477) | [USA TODAY Co., Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/404843797) |

## What reviewers say

### NJ.com

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

**Currently charting:** #58 Top Grossing · News, #177 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


### Newark Advocate

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/newark-advocate/id553330240)

**Currently charting:** #142 Top Grossing · Magazines & Newspapers (US App Store)

Stay informed with local news, in-depth journalism, and engaging multimedia content. Receive real-time alerts for breaking news, sports, and weather. Customize your reading experience and access a digital replica of the print edition.

**Highlights:** In-depth local journalism, Breaking news alerts, Sports coverage, Weather alerts, Customizable reading experience, Offline reading, eNewspaper access

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Digital Rate | $9.99 | per month |
| Monthly Digital Rate | $14.99 | per month |
| The Newark Advocate Digital Subscription | $16.99 | per month |
| The Newark Advocate Annual Digital Subscription | $69.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 📰 Strong local news coverage and reporting
- 🏈 Excellent high school sports coverage
- 👍 User-friendly navigation and interface
- 📱 Convenient access to news on-the-go
- 🔔 Helpful notification system for updates

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent login requirement issues
- 📉 Limited local news coverage despite being local paper
- 💰 Paywall restrictions limiting article access
- 🛑 Intrusive rolling ads disrupting reading experience
- ⚙️ Poor app stability and performance

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes and freezes frequently
- Requires reinstalling app daily to function
- Slow launch times (3-5 minutes on some devices)
- Login loops - users must repeatedly log in
- Text display issues - blurry, enlarged text jumps, chopped articles

**Requested features**

- More local Licking County news coverage
- Reduce or eliminate national/USA Today content
- Improved comic section readability
- Direct editor contact and comment functionality
- Better account settings accessibility


## Frequently asked questions

### Is NJ.com free?

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

### Is Newark Advocate free?

Newark Advocate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, NJ.com or Newark Advocate?

NJ.com is rated higher. NJ.com averages 4.5 out of 5 from 25K ratings, while Newark Advocate averages 4.4 from 618 ratings.

### Do NJ.com or Newark Advocate have ads?

Newark Advocate shows ads; NJ.com does not.

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

NJ.com ships an update every 3 weeks, and Newark Advocate monthly. Most recently, NJ.com was updated on October 24, 2026 and Newark Advocate on October 23, 2026.

### Which is more popular, NJ.com or Newark Advocate?

NJ.com currently peaks at #58 in the App Store charts, and Newark Advocate at #142. 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.*