# The Globe and Mail vs CHEK Mobile

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: CHEK Mobile at none against The Globe and Mail's 2. CHEK Mobile also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). The Globe and Mail's advantage is review sentiment (45% vs 15%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. The Globe and Mail sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per month. CHEK Mobile asks for nothing beyond the download.

CHEK Mobile holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Globe and Mail has 3K ratings behind it against 1, 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 15% of CHEK Mobile's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

The Globe and Mail ships an update fortnightly, CHEK Mobile every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | The Globe and Mail | CHEK Mobile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-globe-and-mail/id429228415/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chek-mobile/id978502237/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | **44.9% of reviews** | 15.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#71** | — |
| Size | 100 MB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [The Globe and Mail Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/424646049) | [CHEK News](https://appshunter.io/developer/978502236) |

## What reviewers say

### The Globe and Mail

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-globe-and-mail/id429228415)

**Currently charting:** #71 Top Grossing · Magazines & Newspapers, #94 Top Grossing · News (US App Store)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription | $24.99 | per month |
| Annual Subscription | $229.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 📰 Excellent news coverage
- 🗞️ Authoritative and balanced reporting
- 🌍 Comprehensive international news
- 📊 Valuable financial and investment content
- 🧠 Insightful opinion and analysis pieces

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐌 Slow app performance and frequent crashes
- 💰 Expensive subscription fees
- 🔍 Poor search functionality
- 📱 Unintuitive and cluttered user interface
- 🔒 Difficult subscription cancellation process

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### CHEK Mobile

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chek-mobile/id978502237)

Access local news, weather forecasts, sports updates, and community events. Stream live broadcasts and on-demand video content. Receive breaking news alerts for Vancouver Island communities.

**Highlights:** Local news updates, Weather forecasts, Sports highlights, Events calendar, Live streams, Video on demand, Breaking news notifications

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Access local news
- 👍 Tune in on schedule
- 👍 Works perfectly (for some)
- 👍 Good news app (compared to others)

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App is broken/unusable
- 🐛 Ads are intrusive/scammy
- 🐛 Stories are useless/waste time
- 🐛 Live streaming issues
- 🐛 Links don't load

**Reported bugs**

- Newscast won't stream
- Pop-up tabs at the bottom
- Constant ask to turn on notifications
- Links from news stories don't load story
- App drops live broadcast

**Requested features**

- Bring back the old app
- Fix the app
- Make ads closable
- Improve story relevance
- Fix live streaming


## Frequently asked questions

### Is The Globe and Mail free?

The Globe and Mail is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is CHEK Mobile free?

CHEK Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, The Globe and Mail or CHEK Mobile?

CHEK Mobile is rated higher. The Globe and Mail averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3K ratings, while CHEK Mobile averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do The Globe and Mail or CHEK Mobile have ads?

The Globe and Mail shows ads; CHEK Mobile does not.

### Which is updated more often, The Globe and Mail or CHEK Mobile?

The Globe and Mail ships an update fortnightly, and CHEK Mobile every 3 months. Most recently, The Globe and Mail was updated on November 1, 2026 and CHEK Mobile on November 1, 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.*