# Observer vs The Post

The clearest difference is ads: The Post at none against Observer's shown. The Post also leads on chart position (#197 vs unranked) and ratings volume (1.6K vs 285). Observer's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months) and rating (4.5 vs 4.3). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Observer sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and The Post sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $24.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Observer holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Post has 1.6K ratings behind it against 285, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 54% of Observer's written reviews are positive against 56% of The Post's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Observer ships an update monthly, The Post every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Observer | The Post |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (285 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/observer-dispatch-utica-ny/id421242018/reviews)** | [4.3 (1.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-post-standard/id587841406/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 285 | **1.6K** |
| Positive reviews | 53.6% of reviews | **55.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Monthly** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | **#197** |
| Size | 184 MB | 35 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **16.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [USA TODAY Co., Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/404843797) | [The Post-Standard](https://appshunter.io/developer/456629154) |

## What reviewers say

### Observer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/observer-dispatch-utica-ny/id421242018)

Access in-depth local journalism, breaking news, and sports coverage with real-time notifications. Enjoy a streamlined reading experience, customize your view, and read offline. Includes a digital replica of the print edition and access to other eNewspapers.

**Highlights:** In-depth local journalism, Breaking news alerts, Sports coverage, Streamlined reading experience, Customizable text size and night mode, Offline reading, eNewspaper access

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Digital Rate | $9.99 | per month |
| Monthly Digital Subscription | $24.99 | per month |
| Observer-Dispatch monthly | $24.99 | per month |
| Observer-Dispatch annual | $69.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 📰 Good local news coverage and content
- 🚀 Fast page loading and performance
- 👍 User-friendly interface and layout
- 📱 Convenient mobile access to newspaper
- 🎯 Well-organized categories and sections

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
- 📺 Excessive and intrusive advertisements
- 👁️ Small text size difficult for older users
- 📄 Pages don't fill screen properly
- 🔄 Content not updating regularly

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when reading obituaries
- App freezes during normal use
- Network error messages preventing content access
- Pop-up ads don't close properly
- App won't open or load

**Requested features**

- Expand local sports coverage (high school, college, golf)
- Increase local news content
- Restore original newspaper page-by-page format
- Improve text size and readability for accessibility
- Full-screen article display


### The Post

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-post-standard/id587841406)

**Currently charting:** #197 Top Grossing · Magazines & Newspapers (US App Store)

Access local news, sports, and entertainment from your favorite newspaper. Enjoy an enhanced reading experience with online-only content, puzzles, and games. Subscribers get full access, while others can opt for an app-only subscription.

**Highlights:** Award-winning local news, Daily features and sports updates, Entertainment highlights, Online-only perks, Interactive puzzles and games, Article sharing

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ePOST-STANDARD | $24.99 | per month |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to read and follow
- 👍 Enjoyable to use
- 👍 Convenient to read on mobile devices
- 👍 Provides good local news coverage

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and connectivity issues
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find content
- 👎 Inferior to previous app version
- 👎 Inconvenient layout and formatting changes
- 👎 Unreliable subscription management

**Reported bugs**

- Login and authentication problems
- Automatic page redirects and loss of progress
- Inability to print or save content
- Frequent crashes and freezes

**Requested features**

- Bring back daily crosswords and puzzles
- Improve page navigation and section browsing
- Allow for font size and page scaling adjustments
- Restore 'Live News' feature


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Observer free?

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

### Is The Post free?

The Post is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Observer or The Post?

Observer is rated higher. Observer averages 4.5 out of 5 from 285 ratings, while The Post averages 4.3 from 1.6K ratings.

### Do Observer or The Post have ads?

Observer shows ads; The Post does not.

### Which is updated more often, Observer or The Post?

Observer ships an update monthly, and The Post every 3 months. Most recently, Observer was updated on October 4, 2026 and The Post on October 16, 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.*