# tucson.com vs WAKA News

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: WAKA News at none against tucson.com's 1. WAKA News also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.6). tucson.com's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (4.5K vs 9). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. tucson.com sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. WAKA News asks for nothing beyond the download.

tucson.com holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: tucson.com has 4.5K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 39% of tucson.com's written reviews are positive against 20% of WAKA News's.

tucson.com ships an update every 6 weeks, WAKA News every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | tucson.com | WAKA News |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (4.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tucsoncom/id437984630/reviews)** | [4.3 (9 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/waka-news/id797799656/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **4.5K** | 9 |
| Positive reviews | **39.1% of reviews** | 20.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 weeks** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Ad-supported** |
| Size | 10 MB | 103 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Star Publishing Company](https://appshunter.io/developer/355559219) | [Alabama News Network](https://appshunter.io/developer/797799659) |

## What reviewers say

### tucson.com

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tucsoncom/id437984630)

Access local news, sports, and multimedia content from Southern Arizona's leading newspaper. Stay informed with breaking news and alerts directly from the Arizona Daily Star.

**Highlights:** Local Tucson news, Arizona Wildcats sports coverage, Breaking news alerts, Photos and videos, Southern Arizona news

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription | $4.99 | per month |

**What reviewers like**

- 📰 Daily read
- 📤 Timely updates
- 🏙️ Good coverage of local news
- 🗞️ Best available electronic news reporting

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Content locked behind paywall
- 🔍 Difficult to find specific news items
- 🐛 Crashes frequently, especially for ads
- 📱 Clunky app, poor formatting and navigation
- 🤔 Biased, left-leaning reporting

**Reported bugs**

- Notifications for non-existent stories
- Broken internal links and references
- Outdated content, app lags behind website
- Frequent crashes and errors

**Requested features**

- Lower price for print edition
- Broader range of news topics
- Improve article search and navigation
- Optimize app for iPad and other tablets


### WAKA News

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/waka-news/id797799656)

Get instant, live updates on local news, weather, and sports from Central, West, and South Alabama. Stay informed with real-time information delivered directly to your mobile device.

**Highlights:** Live local news updates, Weather forecasts, Sports scores, Mobile access, Instant notifications

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is tucson.com free?

tucson.com is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is WAKA News free?

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

### Which has better reviews, tucson.com or WAKA News?

tucson.com is rated higher. tucson.com averages 4.6 out of 5 from 4.5K ratings, while WAKA News averages 4.3 from 9 ratings.

### Do tucson.com or WAKA News have ads?

WAKA News shows ads; tucson.com does not.

### Which is updated more often, tucson.com or WAKA News?

tucson.com ships an update every 6 weeks, and WAKA News every 3 months. Most recently, tucson.com was updated on October 17, 2026 and WAKA News on October 3, 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.*