# NJ.com vs The Daily Journal

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.

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.

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | NJ.com | The Daily Journal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (25K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/njcom/id419202474/reviews)** | [4.4 (253 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-daily-journal/id566359405/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **25K** | 253 |
| Positive reviews | 18.7% of reviews | **65.2% 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 | **#52** | — |
| Size | 34 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:** #52 Top Grossing · 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 Daily Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-daily-journal/id566359405)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Digital Rate | $9.99 | per month |
| The Daily Journal Digital Subscription | $16.99 | per month |
| The Daily Journal Annual Digital Subscription | $69.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- More Cumberland County news
- Easier subscription cancellation


## Frequently asked 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.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*