# Austin American Statesman vs The Eagle BCS

The clearest difference is monetization model: The Eagle BCS at free with in-app purchases against Austin American Statesman's subscription. The Eagle BCS also leads on review sentiment (42% vs 33%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Austin American Statesman's advantage is ratings volume (5.2K vs 229) and update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Austin American Statesman sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month and The Eagle BCS sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $25.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

The Eagle BCS holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Austin American Statesman has 5.2K ratings behind it against 229, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Austin American Statesman's written reviews are positive against 42% of The Eagle BCS's.

Austin American Statesman ships an update monthly, The Eagle BCS every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Austin American Statesman | The Eagle BCS |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.2 (5.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/austin-american-statesman/id445643104/reviews) | **[4.3 (229 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-eagle-bcs/id624453752/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **5.2K** | 229 |
| Positive reviews | 33.1% of reviews | **42.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Monthly** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#81** | — |
| Size | 106 MB | 104 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Hearst Newspapers](https://appshunter.io/developer/397018366) | [BH Media Group](https://appshunter.io/developer/663389623) |

## What reviewers say

### Austin American Statesman

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/austin-american-statesman/id445643104)

**Currently charting:** #81 Top Grossing · News (US App Store)

Stay informed about Austin and Central Texas with breaking news alerts and in-depth reporting. Access a digital replica of the newspaper, enjoy puzzles, and listen to articles with text-to-audio technology.

**Highlights:** Austin news alerts, Expert reporting on local topics, High school and college sports coverage, Investigative journalism, Digital replica of the newspaper, Puzzles, Text-to-audio articles

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Statesman Monthly | $14.99 | per month |
| Statesman Live - Monthly | $19.99 | per month |
| Subscription | $19.99 | per month |
| Statesman Live - Monthly | $19.99 | per month |
| Annual Digital Subscription | $19.99 | per year |
| Subscription | $69.99 | per year |
| Statesman Live - Annual | $69.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy access to news
- 📰 Thorough sports coverage
- 👍 Good local and state news

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent login issues
- 🔍 Poor navigation and readability
- 💸 Excessive ads and pop-ups
- 🔄 Unstable and buggy app
- 📉 Declining quality of content

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes frequently
- Subscription issues and login problems
- Inability to access full e-edition
- Formatting and rendering errors

**Requested features**

- Restore previous app layout and functionality
- Improve offline reading experience
- Add option to print articles and comics
- Provide better customer support


### The Eagle BCS

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-eagle-bcs/id624453752)

Access local news, sports, and community stories with in-depth reporting. Enjoy exclusive commentary, photography, and podcasts. Subscribers can upgrade to a premium ad-free experience.

**Highlights:** Personalized news topics, Customizable alerts, Easy navigation, Exclusive commentary and photography, Podcasts, Ad-free premium option, Listen to articles

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Subscriptions | $25.99 | per month |
| Subscriptions | $38.99 | per month |
| Subscriptions | $42.99 | per month |
| Subscriptions | $50.00 | per year |
| Subscriptions | $249.99 | per year |
| Subscriptions | $314.99 | per year |
| Subscriptions | $349.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Good local news coverage
- 👍 Easy to use and navigate
- 👍 Great for Aggies
- 👍 Quick access to news
- 👍 Well-designed format

**What reviewers complain about**

- 😞 Push notifications cost money
- 😞 New format is terrible/confusing
- 😞 App is slow to boot up
- 😞 Ads are annoying/intrusive
- 😞 Sliding ads are horrible

**Reported bugs**

- Push notifications cost money
- E-edition no longer works properly
- Page to page selection is slow or doesn't work
- Puzzle pages no longer allow stylus/Apple Pencil use
- App doesn't respond or locks up

**Requested features**

- Make push notifications free
- Add a back button for obits
- Allow stylus/Apple Pencil use on puzzle pages
- Improve e-edition functionality
- Fix slow or non-working page selection


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Austin American Statesman free?

Austin American Statesman is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is The Eagle BCS free?

The Eagle BCS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Austin American Statesman or The Eagle BCS?

The Eagle BCS is rated higher. Austin American Statesman averages 4.2 out of 5 from 5.2K ratings, while The Eagle BCS averages 4.3 from 229 ratings.

### Do Austin American Statesman or The Eagle BCS have ads?

Both Austin American Statesman and The Eagle BCS show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Austin American Statesman or The Eagle BCS?

Austin American Statesman ships an update monthly, and The Eagle BCS every 2 months. Most recently, Austin American Statesman was updated on October 30, 2026 and The Eagle BCS on October 24, 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.*