# PennLive vs Evening Sun

The clearest difference is monetization model: Evening Sun at free with in-app purchases against PennLive's subscription. Evening Sun also leads on review sentiment (36% vs 16%). PennLive's advantage is ratings volume (3.6K vs 164) and rating (4.5 vs 4.3). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PennLive sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Evening Sun sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

PennLive holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PennLive has 3.6K ratings behind it against 164, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 16% of PennLive's written reviews are positive against 36% of Evening Sun's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

PennLive ships an update every 3 weeks, Evening Sun monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PennLive | Evening Sun |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (3.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pennlive/id421910267/reviews)** | [4.3 (164 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/evening-sun/id1025200618/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **3.6K** | 164 |
| Positive reviews | 16.4% of reviews | **36.4% 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 | **#153** | — |
| Size | 32 MB | 184 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [PennLive LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/421910270) | [USA TODAY Co., Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/404843797) |

## What reviewers say

### PennLive

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pennlive/id421910267)

**Currently charting:** #153 Top Grossing · News (US App Store)

Stay informed about local happenings with timely and reliable reporting on news, sports, and weather. Access in-depth coverage of community events, politics, business, and culture from a trusted source.

**Highlights:** Local news reporting, Sports coverage, Weather updates, Politics and business news, Culture and community events

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (14)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Basic Access to PennLive.com | $5.99 | per month |
| PennLive Sports Insider | $7.99 | per month |
| Basic Access to PennLive.com | $9.99 | per month |
| Basic Access to PennLive.com | $9.99 | per month |
| Basic Access to PennLive.com | $9.99 | per month |
| Subscriber Exclusive Content | $9.99 | per month |
| All Access to PennLive.com | $11.99 | per month |
| All Access to PennLive.com | $15.00 | per month |
| All Access to PennLive.com | $75.00 | per year |
| PennLive Sports Insider | $79.99 | per year |
| All Access to PennLive.com | $99.99 | per year |
| Basic Access to PennLive.com | $99.99 | per year |
| BasicAccess to PennLive.com | $99.99 | per year |
| Basic Access to PennLive.com | $119.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast news coverage
- 👍 Great local news focus
- 👍 Excellent reporting staff

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app freezes and crashes
- 🔍 Difficult navigation and poor UI
- 💰 Excessive ads and paywall
- 🔍 Outdated and stale content
- 🔍 Biased and opinionated reporting

**Reported bugs**

- App freezes and crashes on launch
- Inability to access articles after updates
- Inconsistent behavior across devices

**Requested features**

- Improved app stability and performance
- Streamlined and intuitive navigation
- Ability to read articles without paywall
- Unbiased and fact-based reporting


### Evening Sun

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/evening-sun/id1025200618)

Stay informed with local news, in-depth journalism, and engaging multimedia content. Get breaking news alerts, sports updates, and weather forecasts delivered directly to your device. Customize your reading experience and access a digital replica of the print edition.

**Highlights:** In-depth local journalism, Breaking news and alerts, Sports coverage, 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 |
| Hanover Evenning Sun Digital Subscription | $16.99 | per month |
| The Evening Sun Annual Digital Subscription | $69.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PennLive free?

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

### Is Evening Sun free?

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

### Which has better reviews, PennLive or Evening Sun?

PennLive is rated higher. PennLive averages 4.5 out of 5 from 3.6K ratings, while Evening Sun averages 4.3 from 164 ratings.

### Do PennLive or Evening Sun have ads?

Both PennLive and Evening Sun show ads.

### Which is updated more often, PennLive or Evening Sun?

PennLive ships an update every 3 weeks, and Evening Sun monthly. Most recently, PennLive was updated on October 23, 2026 and Evening Sun on October 20, 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.*