# syracuse.com vs SC Times

The clearest difference is monetization model: SC Times at free with in-app purchases against syracuse.com's subscription. SC Times also leads on review sentiment (26% vs 15%). syracuse.com's advantage is rating (4.4 vs 4.1) and ratings volume (6.9K vs 481). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. syracuse.com sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and SC Times sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

syracuse.com holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: syracuse.com has 6.9K ratings behind it against 481, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 15% of syracuse.com's written reviews are positive against 26% of SC Times's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

syracuse.com ships an update every 3 weeks, SC Times monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | syracuse.com | SC Times |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.4 (6.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/syracusecom/id419888786/reviews)** | [4.1 (481 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sc-times/id493275576/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **6.9K** | 481 |
| Positive reviews | 14.6% of reviews | **26.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#62** | — |
| Size | 32 MB | 190 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [syracuse.com](https://appshunter.io/developer/419888789) | [USA TODAY Co., Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/404843797) |

## What reviewers say

### syracuse.com

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/syracusecom/id419888786)

**Currently charting:** #62 Top Grossing · News (US App Store)

Stay informed with local news, sports, and weather impacting your community. Get timely and reliable reporting from trusted local journalists covering a wide range of topics.

**Highlights:** Local news reporting, Sports coverage, Weather updates, Politics and business news, Culture and lifestyle content, Premium content access

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

**In-app purchases (15)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Orange Sports Insider | $7.99 | per month |
| All Access to syracuse.com | $9.99 | per month |
| Digital Access | $9.99 | per month |
| Digital Access | $9.99 | per month |
| Subscriber Exclusive Content | $9.99 | per month |
| Monthly Access | $10.00 | per month |
| All Access to syracuse.com | $10.00 | per month |
| All Access to syracuse.com | $11.99 | per month |
| All Access to Syracuse | $15.00 | per month |
| All Access to syracuse.com | $75.00 | per year |
| All Access to syracuse.com | $99.99 | per year |
| All Access to syracuse.com | $99.99 | per year |
| Subscriber Exclusive Content | $99.99 | per year |
| Annual Access | $100.00 | per year |
| All Access to syracuse.com | $119.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great content and curation
- 🚀 Informative and true news
- 🤑 Subscription provides value

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App crashes and freezes
- 💰 Expensive subscription fees
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate and use
- 📢 Too many ads and paywalls
- 🗞️ Sloppy reporting and writing

**Reported bugs**

- Login and subscription issues
- Compatibility problems with newer devices
- Frequent app crashes and freezes
- Inability to refresh news feed or access content

**Requested features**

- Improved app performance and stability
- Subscription options that are more affordable
- Better user interface and navigation
- Reduction in ads and paywalls for content access
- Improved quality of reporting and writing


### SC Times

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sc-times/id493275576)

Stay informed with local news, in-depth journalism, and 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 | $7.99 | per month |
| Monthly Digital Rate | $14.99 | per month |
| St. Cloud Times Digital Subscription | $16.99 | per month |
| St. Cloud Times Annual Digital Subscription | $69.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 📰 Improved local news coverage
- 👍 Well-organized eNewspaper layout
- 🔔 Push notifications for breaking news
- 📱 Reliable app performance
- 🆓 Free access to much of the content

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App freezes and crashes frequently
- 📄 Page navigation issues and skipping
- 📢 Intrusive popup advertisements
- 🔐 Account access problems on iPhone
- 📊 Declining local news coverage and relevance

**Reported bugs**

- App freezes and becomes unresponsive
- Pages skip or fail to load when selected
- iPhone account access not working
- Blurry article images until opened
- Breaking news notifications don't load stories

**Requested features**

- Remove or reduce popup advertisements
- Add option to disable ads entirely
- Improve page navigation and selection
- Support landscape orientation
- Better organization of local news categories


## Frequently asked questions

### Is syracuse.com free?

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

### Is SC Times free?

SC Times is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, syracuse.com or SC Times?

syracuse.com is rated higher. syracuse.com averages 4.4 out of 5 from 6.9K ratings, while SC Times averages 4.1 from 481 ratings.

### Do syracuse.com or SC Times have ads?

Both syracuse.com and SC Times show ads.

### Which is updated more often, syracuse.com or SC Times?

syracuse.com ships an update every 3 weeks, and SC Times monthly. Most recently, syracuse.com was updated on September 25, 2026 and SC Times on September 26, 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.*