Comparison

Irish Echo vs The Orcadian

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Irish Echo

Access weekly editions of a newspaper on your iPad and iPhone. Offers various subscription options for continued access, with auto-renewing plans that can be managed through account settings. Stay informed with the latest news.

Highlights
  • Weekly newspaper editions
  • Subscription options
  • Auto-renewing plans
  • Manage subscriptions
  • iPad and iPhone compatible
Features
Read full description

Keep up-to-date with the Irish Echo, now available each week on iPad and iPhone. The Irish Echo provides availability to all editions of the paper by incorporating subscriptions through the purchase of a 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and a yearly subscription to the paper. The monthly and yearly subscriptions are auto-renewing subscriptions. Prices for the subscriptions are $0.99 for 1 week, $6.99 for 1 month, $12.99 for 3 months, $25.99 for 6 months and $49.99 for a year. Payment for this subscription will be charged to your iTunes account upon purchase. The subscription will auto-renew within 24 hours of the current subscription expiring. Auto-renewing subscriptions can be managed via Account Settings allowing them to be turned off. No cancellations of the current subscription are allowed during the active subscription period. For any further information see: Privacy policy: http://www.pagesuite.com/privacy-policy/ Terms of use: www.pagesuite.com/terms-of-service/

About

The Orcadian

Access your favorite local newspaper delivered digitally every Wednesday. Enjoy local stories, debates, and features with an interactive touch screen experience. Download editions for offline reading and navigate easily through pages.

Highlights
  • Digital newspaper delivery
  • Local news and features
  • Interactive touch screen experience
  • Zoom function for clear reading
  • Offline reading of downloaded pages
  • Page navigation and selection
Features
Read full description

Subscribe to The Orcadian now and get your favourite newspaper delivered to your device every Wednesday at 12 noon. Single edition £1.99, 3 months for £24.05, and 1 year for £91.00. The Orcadian brings you the very best local stories, public debates, news and features on your device, published in exceptional clarity, with an incredible touch screen experience allowing you to zoom in and through the paper. Now with added Newsstand functionality ….if you’re running iOS5 and above you will automatically have all your new editions pushed directly to your device through Newsstand. Flip your device to read the newspaper as a double- page spread or full-screen single page, tap the page selector to choose a specific page to fast navigate to. The Orcadian App also features a zoom function to enable clearer reading of selected articles. You can also download and save individual pages to enjoy offline and when you are on the go. All subscriptions are auto-renewing. The prices for the subscriptions are 1-week subscription (single edition) £2.19, 3 months for £28.49, 6 months for £52.00 and 1 year for £101.99. Payments for this subscription will be charged to your iTunes account upon purchase. The subscription will auto-renew within 24 hours of the current subscription expiring. Auto-renewing subscriptions can be managed via Account Settings allowing them to be turned off. No cancellations of the current subscription are allowed during the active subscription period. For any further information see http//subscriber.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/file/Website_Privacy_statement.doc EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Irish Echo4 screens
The Orcadian4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Irish Echo at 100% against The Orcadian's 50%. Irish Echo also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Irish Echo sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days and The Orcadian sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Irish Echo ships an update every 30 months, The Orcadian every 22 months. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Irish Echo versus The Orcadian: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIrish EchoThe Orcadian
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 30 monthsEvery 22 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size134 MB137 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBelfast Media GroupThe Orcadian Ltd

Customer experience

Irish Echo

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

The Orcadian

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Irish Echo

Subscriptions5
  • Irish Echo - 7 Days$0.997 Days
  • Irish Echo - 1 Month$4.991 Month
  • Irish Echo - 3 Month$12.993 Months
Show 2 more
  • Irish Echo - 6 Month$25.996 Months
  • Irish Echo - 1 Year$44.991 Year
17 purchases

The Orcadian

Subscriptions4
  • 1 Week Subscription$1.997 Days
  • 3 Month Subscriptions$29.003 Months
  • 6 Month Subscriptions$49.006 Months
Show 1 more
  • 1 Year Subscriptions$99.001 Year
One-time13
  • The Orcadian, Issue 132$1.99
  • The Orcadian, Issue 133$1.99
  • The Orcadian, Issue 134$1.99
Show 10 more
  • The Orcadian, Issue 135$1.99
  • The Orcadian, Issue 136$1.99
  • The Orcadian, Issue 137$1.99
  • 28/11/2024$2.00
  • 26/12/2024$2.00
  • 02/01/2025$2.00
  • 12/12/2024$2.00
  • 05/12/2024$2.00
  • 09/01/2025$2.00
  • 19/12/2024$2.00

Questions

Is Irish Echo free?
Irish Echo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is The Orcadian free?
The Orcadian is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Irish Echo or The Orcadian have ads?
Neither Irish Echo nor The Orcadian shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Irish Echo or The Orcadian?
Irish Echo ships an update every 30 months, and The Orcadian every 22 months. Most recently, Irish Echo was updated on October 29, 2026 and The Orcadian on October 29, 2026.

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