Comparison

The Freeman vs RFA Lao

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

Head to head
About

The Freeman

Features
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Founded in 1919, The Freeman is the oldest newspaper of Cebu, the Queen City of Southern Philippines. Owned by the Gullas family of Cebu in partnership with the Philippine STAR, The Freeman chronicles news, events, and happenings in and around Cebu, a bustling city and center of commerce in the South. The Freeman prides itself on being a newspaper for Cebuanos and by Cebuanos, carrying close to a century of journalism heritage. The Freeman is a daily newspaper. The Freeman provides availability to all editions of the publication by incorporating subscriptions allowing the purchase of a 7 day, one month, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months and a yearly subscription to the paper. The 7 day, monthly and yearly subscriptions are auto-renewing subscriptions. Prices for the subscriptions are $1.99 for 7 days, $6.99 for one month, $12.99 for two months, $18.99 for three months, $29.99 for 6 months and $59.99 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 http://subscriber.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/file/Website_Privacy_statement.doc Terms: https://www.philstar.com/member-agreement Privacy Policy: https://www.philstar.com/privacy-policy

About

RFA Lao

Features
Read full description

Understand the stories shaping Asia with award-winning journalism from Radio Free Asia. RFAโ€™s free and redesigned app provides the latest news, podcasts, videos and in-depth features regardless of your location. Features: - Live radio programs and podcasts on-demand - Save articles, videos, and audio for offline use - Share stories to any social media platform - Optimized for light data use and comfortable mobile navigation The RFA app was designed with your privacy and security at its core. To learn more, please read our privacy policy (https://www.rfa.org/about/info/privacy-policy.html).

Screenshots

The Freeman4 screens
RFA Lao4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RFA Lao at none against The Freeman's 6. RFA Lao also leads on update cadence (every 4 months vs every 18 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. The Freeman sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. RFA Lao asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Freeman ships an update every 18 months, RFA Lao every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
The Freeman versus RFA Lao: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe FreemanRFA Lao
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 18 monthsEvery 4 months โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 โ€” better15.6
Further details โ€” not scored
Size147 MB0 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperPhilstar Daily Inc.Radio Free Asia (RFA)

In-app purchases

6 purchases

The Freeman

Subscriptions6
  • The Freeman - Cebu$1.997 Days
  • The Freeman - Cebu$6.991 Month
  • The Freeman - Cebu$12.992 Months
Show 3 more
  • The Freeman - Cebu$18.993 Months
  • The Freeman - Cebu$29.996 Months
  • The Freeman - Cebu$59.991 Year
None

RFA Lao

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is The Freeman free?
The Freeman is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RFA Lao free?
RFA Lao is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do The Freeman or RFA Lao have ads?
Neither The Freeman nor RFA Lao shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Freeman or RFA Lao?
The Freeman ships an update every 18 months, and RFA Lao every 4 months. Most recently, The Freeman was updated on November 6, 2026 and RFA Lao on October 25, 2026.

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