# Journal vs Macomb Daily

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Journal at none against Macomb Daily's 2. Journal also leads on review sentiment (40% vs 16%). Macomb Daily's advantage is ratings volume (174 vs 10). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Macomb Daily sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month. Journal asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Journal against 4.6 for Macomb Daily. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Macomb Daily has 174 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 40% of Journal's written reviews are positive against 16% of Macomb Daily's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Journal | Macomb Daily |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (10 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/journal-advocate/id509598546/reviews) | **[4.6 (174 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/macomb-daily/id520209090/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 10 | **174** |
| Positive reviews | **40.0% of reviews** | 15.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Monthly |
| Monetization | **Ad-supported** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 188 MB | 189 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Prairie Mountain Publishing](https://appshunter.io/developer/405275095) | [Journal Register Company](https://appshunter.io/developer/503293224) |

## What reviewers say

### Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/journal-advocate/id509598546)

Access personalized news, save articles for later, and customize push notifications. Enjoy a digital replica of the daily newspaper and offline reading. Swipe through articles easily and follow topics of interest.

**Highlights:** Personalized news recommendations, Save articles for later reading, Customizable push notifications, Digital newspaper replica (E-News), Offline reading mode, Swipe for next article, Follow/unfollow topics

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### Macomb Daily

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/macomb-daily/id520209090)

Access personalized news, save articles for later, and customize push notifications. Enjoy offline reading, a digital replica of the newspaper, and a variety of games. Swipe through articles easily with the new navigation.

**Highlights:** Personalized news recommendations, Save articles for later reading, Customizable push notifications, Digital newspaper replica (E-News), Offline reading capabilities, In-app games (Sudoku, Solitaire, etc.), Swipe navigation between articles

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Macomb Daily Monthly Sub | $11.99 | per month |
| Macomb Daily Annual Sub | $139.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple interface
- 👍 Good local news coverage (historical)
- 👍 Good for staying updated on local news (historical)
- 👍 Nice layout (historical)
- 👍 Good local news for Detroit (historical)

**What reviewers complain about**

- 😞 Subscription required for local news
- 😞 Login errors
- 😞 Obituaries missing
- 😞 Ads are intrusive
- 😞 Outdated news content

**Reported bugs**

- Login errors
- Obituaries missing
- Articles not loading or crashing
- Links to 'continue reading' lead back to the beginning
- App crashes in the middle of reading

**Requested features**

- Dark mode option
- Widget integration on iPhone
- Search archived articles
- Access to archived content
- Area for meetings in Macomb


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Journal free?

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

### Is Macomb Daily free?

Macomb Daily is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Journal or Macomb Daily?

Macomb Daily is rated higher. Journal averages 4.5 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Macomb Daily averages 4.6 from 174 ratings.

### Do Journal or Macomb Daily have ads?

Both Journal and Macomb Daily show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Journal or Macomb Daily?

Journal ships an update monthly, and Macomb Daily monthly. Most recently, Journal was updated on November 1, 2026 and Macomb Daily on November 6, 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.*