# AL.com vs Birmingham Lights

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Birmingham Lights at none against AL.com's 10. Birmingham Lights also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). AL.com's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 7 months) and chart position (#113 vs unranked). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. AL.com sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Birmingham Lights asks for nothing beyond the download.

AL.com ships an update every 3 weeks, Birmingham Lights every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | AL.com | Birmingham Lights |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (16K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alcom/id419876008/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **16K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 23.4% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 7 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | **#113** | — |
| Size | 32 MB | 106 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [al.com](https://appshunter.io/developer/419876011) | [CyberCrow Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/600757268) |

## What reviewers say

### AL.com

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alcom/id419876008)

**Currently charting:** #113 Top Grossing · News (US App Store)

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.

**Highlights:** Local news reporting, Sports updates, Weather forecasts, Community-focused content, Timely and reliable information

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

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Digital Access | $9.99 | per month |
| Digital Access | $9.99 | per month |
| Basic Access to Al.com | $10.00 | per month |
| All Access to Al.com | $15.00 | per month |
| Premium Access to Al.com | $20.00 | per month |
| Digital Access | $99.99 | per year |
| Digital Access | $99.99 | per year |
| Basic Access to Al.com | $100.00 | per year |
| All Access to Al.com | $150.00 | per year |
| Premium Access to Al.com | $200.00 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 💡 Great overall news source
- 🚀 Timely and informative news coverage
- 👍 Diverse content and topics

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
- 🔋 Performance issues, slow loading
- 💬 Biased and one-sided reporting
- 📢 Intrusive and disruptive ads

**Reported bugs**

- App title displaying incorrectly as 'OSU Basketball'
- Inability to access recent search history
- Difficulty closing ads or navigating back from articles

**Requested features**

- Improve app stability and performance
- Provide more balanced and objective news coverage
- Optimize ad placement to minimize disruption


### Birmingham Lights

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birmingham-lights/id6455259733)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is AL.com free?

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

### Is Birmingham Lights free?

Birmingham Lights is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do AL.com or Birmingham Lights have ads?

AL.com shows ads; Birmingham Lights does not.

### Which is updated more often, AL.com or Birmingham Lights?

AL.com ships an update every 3 weeks, and Birmingham Lights every 7 months. Most recently, AL.com was updated on October 19, 2026 and Birmingham Lights on September 19, 2026.

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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.*