Comparison

The Globe and Mail vs Sun.Star E

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

The Globe and Mail

Access award-winning news, commentary, and analysis from Canada and around the world. Customize your news feed, enjoy audio articles, and save content for offline reading. Subscribers gain access to exclusive features and can gift articles.

Highlights
  • Customized news feed
  • Audio articles
  • Offline reading
  • Stock Watchlist
  • Article commenting
  • Newsletter subscriptions
  • Gift articles
Features
Read full description

Stay informed around-the-clock with world-class, award-winning news, commentary and analysis from The Globe and Mail. Featuring: • Sign up and receive The Globe's newsletters in the app. • 'For You' section featuring customized news feed, crossword puzzles, and horoscopes. • Globe subscribers can gift up to three articles a month to family and friends. • Improved stock profile pages with graphs and more news. • Watchlist: Create and edit custom Watchlists of key stocks directly in the app with all changes synced seamlessly to the website • Commenting: Join the conversation by commenting and discussing articles • Saved articles: Bookmark your favourite articles to read later • Audio articles: Listen to select articles via the dedicated audio player • All Globe and Mail articles and sections, including subscriber-only features with a digital subscription • Latest news and top stories • Alerts: Opt-in to be notified about breaking news • Offline reading: Save articles to read when you’re offline • In-app purchase: Purchase a digital subscription to unlock subscriber-only content Subscribe today to access all Globe and Mail content on all platforms. App Store Policy: • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase By subscribing to The Globe and Mail, you agree to our Terms and Conditions: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/appview/privacy-terms/terms-and-conditions/ and Privacy Policy: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/appview/privacy-terms/privacy-policy/ We hope you enjoy using the new Globe iOS app. If you have any questions or comments, tweet @GlobeHelp or visit http://support.globeandmail.com.

About

Sun.Star E

Access the Sun.Star newspaper in its original digital format. Subscribe to daily editions and enjoy reading news as it's printed. Manage your subscriptions easily through account settings.

Highlights
  • Read newspaper in original format
  • Monthly subscription options
  • Manage subscriptions and auto-renewal
  • Access Sun.Star Cebu and SuperBalita Cebu
  • View news as printed
Features
Read full description

Sun.Star Read the Sun.Star newspaper in its original format. Sun.Star E-paper allows you to subscribe to two subscriptions: SunStar Cebu - 1 month or SuperBalita Cebu - 1 month • The cost of each subscription is $5.99 per month • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off 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 may manage your subscriptions and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the your Account Settings after purchase • No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period • http://sunstar.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/iphone/homepage.aspx#_terms • http://sunstar.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/iphone/homepage.aspx#_privacy • Any unused portion of a free trial period, will be forfeited when you purchase an in-app subscription or if you decide to migrate to an authorized subscription from in-app.

Screenshots

The Globe and Mail4 screens
Sun.Star E4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: The Globe and Mail at fortnightly against Sun.Star E's every 13 months. The Globe and Mail also leads on ratings volume (3K vs 17) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. The Globe and Mail sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per month and Sun.Star E sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Globe and Mail holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Globe and Mail has 3K ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 45% of The Globe and Mail's written reviews are positive against 50% of Sun.Star E's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Globe and Mail ships an update fortnightly, Sun.Star E every 13 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
The Globe and Mail versus Sun.Star E: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Globe and MailSun.Star E
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (3K ratings) — better4.5 (17 ratings)
Positive reviews44.9% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3K — better17
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 13 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#79 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size101 MB52 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperThe Globe and Mail Inc.PressReader Inc

Customer experience

The Globe and Mail

All ratings3,023 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral2.7%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews321 reviews
Positive44.9%
Neutral13.1%
Negative42.1%

Sun.Star E

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

The Globe and Mail

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Articles not loading properly or requiring internet connection
  • Notifications not working as expected
  • Syncing issues between app and website versions
  • Frequent login problems and account management difficulties

Requested features

5 requests
  • Automatic dark mode option
  • Improved offline reading capabilities
  • Better integration with user's portfolio and watchlists
  • Easier access to comments and ability to participate
  • More personalized news recommendations and content curation

Sun.Star E

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

The Globe and Mail

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$24.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription1 Month trial$229.991 Year
3 purchases

Sun.Star E

Subscriptions3
  • Sun.Star Cebu Monthly$5.991 Month
  • SuperBalita Cebu monthly2 variants$5.991 Month
  • SunStar Cebu Monthly$5.991 Month

Questions

Is The Globe and Mail free?
The Globe and Mail is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sun.Star E free?
Sun.Star E is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Globe and Mail or Sun.Star E?
The Globe and Mail is rated higher. The Globe and Mail averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3K ratings, while Sun.Star E averages 4.5 from 17 ratings.
Do The Globe and Mail or Sun.Star E have ads?
Both The Globe and Mail and Sun.Star E show ads.
Which is updated more often, The Globe and Mail or Sun.Star E?
The Globe and Mail ships an update fortnightly, and Sun.Star E every 13 months. Most recently, The Globe and Mail was updated on November 10, 2026 and Sun.Star E on November 1, 2026.

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