Comparison

NJ.com vs The Daily Journal

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
Currently charting
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 Daily Journal

Access in-depth local journalism, including community events, sports, and breaking news. Enjoy a fast, customizable reading experience with real-time notifications and offline access. Includes a digital replica of the print edition and access to other eNewspapers.

Highlights
  • In-depth local journalism
  • Breaking news alerts
  • Streamlined reading experience
  • Customizable settings
  • Offline reading
  • eNewspaper access
Features
Read full description

From critically acclaimed storytelling to powerful photography to engaging videos — The Daily Journal app delivers the local news that matters most to your community. APP FEATURES: • Access all of our in-depth journalism, including things to do around town, sports coverage from high school to the pros, and much more. • Enjoy a streamlined, fast-loading experience that makes it easy to view the stories, photos, and videos that matter to you. • Get breaking news, sports scores, and weather alerts with real-time notifications tailored to your interests. • Customize your experience by saving your favorite stories, adjusting text size, using night mode, or reading offline. • eNewspaper: Just like our print edition but accessible on your mobile devices. And access to USA TODAY and 200+ local eNewspapers. MORE INFORMATION: • Privacy Policy: https://cm.thedailyjournal.com/privacy/ • Terms of Service: https://cm.thedailyjournal.com/terms/ • Help Center: https://help.thedailyjournal.com • Subscriptions are charged to your account at confirmation of purchase and automatically renew each month or year, unless turned off in your account settings at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage your subscriptions and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription, where applicable. See "Subscription Support" in the app's Settings for more details and customer service contact information.

Screenshots

NJ.com3 screens
The Daily Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

NJ.com and The Daily Journal both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 65% of The Daily Journal's written reviews are positive against 19% of NJ.com's. The Daily Journal also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription). NJ.com's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (25K vs 253). 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 Daily Journal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 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 4.4 for The Daily Journal. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NJ.com has 25K ratings behind it against 253, 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 65% of The Daily Journal's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NJ.com ships an update every 3 weeks, The Daily Journal monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
NJ.com versus The Daily Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNJ.comThe Daily Journal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (25K ratings) — better4.4 (253 ratings)
Positive reviews18.7% of reviews65.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings25K — better253
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#51 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size34 MB184 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperNJ.comUSA TODAY Co., Inc.

Customer experience

NJ.com

All ratings25,067 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral5.4%
Negative5.8%
Written reviews139 reviews
Positive18.7%
Neutral7.2%
Negative74.1%

The Daily Journal

All ratings252 ratings
Positive86.5%
Neutral6.3%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive65.2%
Neutral4.3%
Negative30.4%

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 Daily Journal

From 253 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 📰 Articles appear before print
  • 🚀 Indispensable when traveling
  • 👍 Love the writers
  • 👍 Convenient for getting news

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sometimes hard to load
  • 👎 Impossible to cancel subscription
  • 👎 Password and email don't work consistently
  • 👎 Never lets me sign in
  • 👎 Terrible content

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 Daily Journal

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Still being charged after cancellation
  • Cannot get ahold of anyone for help
  • Password and email issues
  • App is awful, want newspaper back

Requested features

2 requests
  • More Cumberland County news
  • Easier subscription cancellation

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
3 purchases

The Daily Journal

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Digital Rate1 Month trial2 variants$9.991 Month
  • The Daily Journal Digital Subscription1 Month trial$16.991 Month
  • The Daily Journal Annual Digital Subscription1 Year trial$69.991 Year

Questions

Is NJ.com free?
NJ.com is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is The Daily Journal free?
The Daily Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, NJ.com or The Daily Journal?
NJ.com is rated higher. NJ.com averages 4.5 out of 5 from 25K ratings, while The Daily Journal averages 4.4 from 253 ratings.
Do NJ.com or The Daily Journal have ads?
The Daily Journal shows ads; NJ.com does not.
Which is updated more often, NJ.com or The Daily Journal?
NJ.com ships an update every 3 weeks, and The Daily Journal monthly. Most recently, NJ.com was updated on October 26, 2026 and The Daily Journal on October 23, 2026.

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