AL.com vs Montgomery Advertiser
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
AL.com
Get timely and reliable local news, sports, and weather updates directly impacting your community. Stay informed about unfolding events in your backyard, from politics and business to culture and more. Access essential information from a trusted source, anytime and anywhere.
- Local news reporting
- Sports updates
- Weather forecasts
- Community-focused content
- Timely and reliable information
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Get trusted local news across Alabama. 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/
Montgomery Advertiser
Stay informed with local news, in-depth journalism, and powerful photography. Get breaking alerts, sports scores, and weather updates. Enjoy a streamlined experience with customizable features and an eNewspaper edition.
- In-depth local journalism
- Breaking news alerts
- Sports coverage
- Weather alerts
- Customizable reading experience
- Offline reading
- eNewspaper edition
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From critically acclaimed storytelling to powerful photography to engaging videos — the Montgomery Advertiser 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.montgomeryadvertiser.com/privacy/ • Terms of Service: https://cm.montgomeryadvertiser.com/terms/ • Help Center: https://help.montgomeryadvertiser.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
Verdict
AL.com and Montgomery Advertiser both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 56% of Montgomery Advertiser's written reviews are positive against 24% of AL.com's. AL.com's advantage is ratings volume (16K vs 407) and chart position (#135 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. AL.com sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Montgomery Advertiser sells 4 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 AL.com against 4.4 for Montgomery Advertiser. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AL.com has 16K ratings behind it against 407, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 24% of AL.com's written reviews are positive against 56% of Montgomery Advertiser's.
AL.com ships an update every 3 weeks, Montgomery Advertiser monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | AL.com | Montgomery Advertiser |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (16K ratings) — better | 4.4 (407 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 23.8% of reviews | 56.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 16K — better | 407 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Monthly |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #135 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 32 MB | 186 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | al.com | USA TODAY Co., Inc. |
Customer experience
AL.com
Montgomery Advertiser
User reviews
AL.com
From 16K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💡 Great overall news source
- 🚀 Timely and informative news coverage
- 👍 Diverse content and topics
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
- 🔋 Performance issues, slow loading
- 💬 Biased and one-sided reporting
- 📢 Intrusive and disruptive ads
Montgomery Advertiser
From 407 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📰 Local news coverage and community connection
- 📱 Easy to navigate and user-friendly interface
- 🔔 Real-time news notifications throughout the day
- 🖥️ Digital version mirrors print edition layout
- ✨ Keeps users informed on local and regional events
Room to improve
- 🐛 Login and authentication issues persist
- 💰 Ads present despite paid subscription
- 📉 Declining content quality and local coverage
- 🔄 Subscription management problems and confusion
- ⚠️ Poor customer service and unresolved issues
Bugs and requests
AL.com
Reported bugs
3 issues- App title displaying incorrectly as 'OSU Basketball'
- Inability to access recent search history
- Difficulty closing ads or navigating back from articles
Requested features
3 requests- Improve app stability and performance
- Provide more balanced and objective news coverage
- Optimize ad placement to minimize disruption
Montgomery Advertiser
Reported bugs
8 issues- Login screen loops and prevents access
- Password reset not working properly
- Subscription status not persisting after login
- Ads blocking content and not closing properly
- Digital subscription access denied despite active account
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- App crashes with iOS updates
- Slow content loading over Wi-Fi and 4G
- Print edition access broken
Requested features
5 requests- Remove ads for paid subscribers
- Improve digital edition to match print version completely
- Better subscription management and account tracking
- Faster app performance and content loading
- Free or lower-cost subscription options
In-app purchases
AL.com
- Digital Access1 Month trial$9.991 Month
- Digital Access$9.991 Month
- Basic Access to Al.com$10.001 Month
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- All Access to Al.com$15.001 Month
- Premium Access to Al.com$20.001 Month
- Digital Access1 Year trial$99.991 Year
- Digital Access$99.991 Year
- Basic Access to Al.com$100.001 Year
- All Access to Al.com$150.001 Year
- Premium Access to Al.com$200.001 Year
Montgomery Advertiser
- Monthly Digital Rate1 Month trial$9.991 Month
- Monthly Digital Subscription1 Month trial$19.991 Month
- Montgomery Advertiser Digital Subscription1 Month trial$19.991 Month
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- Montgomery Advertiser Annual Digital Subscription1 Year trial$69.991 Year
Questions
Is AL.com free?
Is Montgomery Advertiser free?
Which has better reviews, AL.com or Montgomery Advertiser?
Do AL.com or Montgomery Advertiser have ads?
Which is updated more often, AL.com or Montgomery Advertiser?
Other comparisons
