Patch vs The
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Patch
Stay informed about your local community with real-time news, events, and weather updates. Discover schools, homes for sale, jobs, and announcements in a single, easy-to-scroll feed. Receive breaking news alerts and share stories with friends.
- Local news and events for 1,200+ towns
- Breaking news push notifications
- Local weather forecasts and alerts
- Find local jobs and announcements
- One-scroll feed for town happenings
- Bookmark articles for later reading
- Support for following multiple towns
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If you're looking for "everything local," Patch is the app for you. Local schools? Check. Breaking news? Check. Homes for sale? We've got those, too. You'll always be in touch with your town with the Patch app. Check out these features: • News and events for 1,200+ Patch Towns, with more towns added every month. • Push notifications as important news breaks — you’ll be the first to get the scoop. • Swipe left or right to view articles faster. • Local weather forecasts and alerts — you'll never be caught without an umbrella or snow boots again. • Find local events, jobs and announcements in your area. • Get everything that is happening in your town in a one-scroll feed! • Share stories to your Facebook friends or email/SMS to a friend! • Patch also has fun iMessage animal stickers to share your emotions with your friends! • Love an article? You can bookmark it to your phone to come back and read it later. • Want to follow multiple towns? No problem, swipe left or right to navigate between your favorite Patch towns. Our new Patch app delivers a beautiful browsing and reading experience for iOS users. Our pages load lightning fast. You'll never be kept waiting to see what's behind that headline. The sleek design provides an in-depth storytelling experience fueled by concise writing and rich imagery. TELL US WHAT YOU THINK: We're eager to hear your feedback and suggestions. How can we make the app even better? What features would you like to see? We aim to be the best news app in the country, and your ideas are crucial. Please email us at Feedback@patch.com Images used under license from Shutterstock.com
The
Access the latest Print and Online editions of a local newspaper directly on your mobile device. Stay informed with current news and articles from your community.
- Digital newspaper editions
- Online edition access
- Mobile access
- Latest news updates
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Get the latest Print and Online edition of The SandPaper on your Phone or Tablet.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Patch at 4.7 against The's 4.0. Patch also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 29 months) and ratings volume (27K vs 2). The's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Patch holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Patch has 27K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Patch ships an update every 2 months, The every 29 months. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Patch | The |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (27K ratings) — better | 4.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 59.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 27K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 29 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #162 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 66 MB | 53 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Patch Media | Our Hometown, Inc |
Customer experience
Patch
The
Bugs and requests
Patch
Reported bugs
4 issues- Articles failing to load or open properly
- Notification issues, including duplicate or missing alerts
- Inconsistent app behavior after updates
- Difficulty clearing unread article indicators
Requested features
5 requests- Allow users to select specific news categories of interest
- Improve notification system to be more reliable and customizable
- Restore reader comment functionality
- Enhance location-based targeting and content curation
- Offer more affordable or free access options
The
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Patch
No in-app purchases
The
No in-app purchases
