# Patch vs The City Guide

The clearest difference is ads: The City Guide at none against Patch's shown. Patch's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months) and chart position (#138 vs unranked). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Patch ships an update every 2 months, The City Guide every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Patch | The City Guide |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (26K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/patch-everything-local/id430049632/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **26K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 58.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 7 months |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | — |
| Best chart rank | **#138** | — |
| Size | 66 MB | 35 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Patch Media](https://appshunter.io/developer/1088403234) | [Newtomedia Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1711375780) |

## What reviewers say

### Patch

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/patch-everything-local/id430049632)

**Currently charting:** #138 Top Free · News (US App Store)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🗞️ 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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔌 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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 City Guide

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-city-guide/id6742885977)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Patch free?

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

### Is The City Guide free?

The City Guide is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Patch or The City Guide have ads?

Patch shows ads; The City Guide does not.

### Which is updated more often, Patch or The City Guide?

Patch ships an update every 2 months, and The City Guide every 7 months. Most recently, Patch was updated on October 1, 2026 and The City Guide on September 30, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*