Patch vs Asbury Park Press
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
Asbury Park Press
Access local news, in-depth journalism, and powerful photography. Stay informed with breaking news, sports scores, and weather alerts. Customize your reading experience with features like offline reading and adjustable text size.
- In-depth local journalism
- Breaking news and alerts
- Sports coverage
- Customizable reading experience
- Offline reading
- eNewspaper access
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From critically acclaimed storytelling to powerful photography to engaging videos — the Asbury Park Press app delivers the local news that matters most to your community. APP FEATURES: • Access all of our in-depth journalism, including things to do around town, sports coverage from high school to the pros, and much more. • Enjoy a streamlined, fast-loading experience that makes it easy to view the stories, photos, and videos that matter to you. • Get breaking news, sports scores, and weather alerts with real-time notifications tailored to your interests. • Customize your experience by saving your favorite stories, adjusting text size, using night mode, or reading offline. • eNewspaper: Just like our print edition but accessible on your mobile devices. And access to USA TODAY and 200+ local eNewspapers. MORE INFORMATION: • Privacy Policy: https://cm.app.com/privacy/ • Terms of Service: https://cm.app.com/terms/ • Help Center: https://help.app.com • Subscriptions are charged to your account at confirmation of purchase and automatically renew each month or year, unless turned off in your account settings 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 can manage your subscriptions and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription, where applicable. See "Subscription Support" in the app's Settings for more details and customer service contact information.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Patch at none against Asbury Park Press's 5. Patch also leads on review sentiment (59% vs 35%) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). Asbury Park Press's advantage is update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads, chart position 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. Asbury Park Press sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Patch asks for nothing beyond the download.
Patch holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Patch has 27K ratings behind it against 2.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of Patch's written reviews are positive against 35% of Asbury Park Press's.
Patch ships an update every 2 months, Asbury Park Press every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Patch | Asbury Park Press |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (27K ratings) — better | 4.4 (2.4K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 59.2% of reviews — better | 34.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 27K — better | 2.4K |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #176 | #88 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 66 MB | 189 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Patch Media | USA TODAY Co., Inc. |
Customer experience
Patch
Asbury Park Press
User reviews
Patch
From 27K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🗞️ Informative local news
- 📰 Comprehensive coverage of community events
- 🔍 Useful for staying up-to-date on local happenings
- 🗓️ Timely and relevant information
- 💻 Convenient online/mobile access to local news
Room to improve
- 🔌 App stability and performance issues
- 🔍 Limited ability to customize content and notifications
- 📢 Concerns about removal of reader comments
- 🗺️ Lack of location-specific focus in some areas
- 💲 Paid subscription model for full access
Asbury Park Press
From 2.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📰 Enjoy reading local news everyday
- 📚 Comprehensive coverage of front page, obits, and sports
- ⏰ Convenient to read on the go
- 🏠 Helps stay connected with hometown news
- 🤓 Informative and educational content
Room to improve
- 🤯 Difficult to navigate and use
- 🔍 Poor zooming and sizing functionality
- 🐛 Frequent freezing and crashing issues
- 💰 Expensive subscription cost
- 📢 Intrusive ads and pop-ups
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
Asbury Park Press
Reported bugs
5 issues- Inconsistent content updates
- Unreliable app performance
- Subscription issues and lack of support
- Compatibility problems with newer devices
- Broken search and navigation features
Requested features
5 requests- Bring back the old, user-friendly app
- Improve page layout and readability
- Add ability to print crossword puzzles
- Simplify login and account management
- Provide offline reading mode
In-app purchases
Patch
No in-app purchases
Asbury Park Press
- Monthly Digital Rate1 Month trial2 variants$19.991 Month
- Annual Digital Subscription1 Year trial$19.991 Year
- Asbury Park Press Digital Subscription1 Month trial$24.991 Month
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- Asbury Park Press Annual Digital Subscription1 Year trial$69.991 Year
Questions
Is Patch free?
Is Asbury Park Press free?
Which has better reviews, Patch or Asbury Park Press?
Do Patch or Asbury Park Press have ads?
Which is updated more often, Patch or Asbury Park Press?
Which is more popular, Patch or Asbury Park Press?
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