# Daily Freeman vs Shawangunk Journal

The clearest difference is ads: Shawangunk Journal at none against Daily Freeman's shown. Shawangunk Journal also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Daily Freeman's advantage is ratings volume (524 vs 2) and chart position (#193 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Daily Freeman sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month and Shawangunk Journal sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Shawangunk Journal holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Daily Freeman has 524 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Daily Freeman ships an update monthly, Shawangunk Journal every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Daily Freeman | Shawangunk Journal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (524 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/daily-freeman/id520227762/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shawangunk-journal/id1591140379/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **524** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 26.9% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Monthly** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#193** | — |
| Size | 187 MB | 20 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Journal Register Company](https://appshunter.io/developer/503293224) | [Zelacom Electronic Publishing, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1438658596) |

## What reviewers say

### Daily Freeman

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/daily-freeman/id520227762)

**Currently charting:** #193 Top Grossing · News (US App Store)

Access personalized news, save articles for later, and receive custom push notifications. Enjoy a streamlined reading experience with offline access and a digital replica of the daily newspaper.

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

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

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

**What reviewers like**

- 📰 Strong local news coverage and focus
- 👍 Easy to navigate interface (earlier versions)
- 🚀 Fast loading speeds (version 2.0)
- 📱 Convenient mobile access to local news
- 🌤️ Good weather information

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
- 📵 Constant forced updates required
- 🔐 Login and authentication issues (Auth0 problems)
- 📰 Duplicate/repeated articles on same page
- ⏰ Outdated news content not updating properly

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on startup and during use
- Articles fail to load despite showing headlines
- Login failures with Auth0 authentication
- Subscription restoration not working
- News content not updating for days

**Requested features**

- Push notifications for breaking news alerts
- Daily updated obituaries with search functionality
- Letter-to-editor submission feature
- Comment section below articles
- Replica edition access from app


### Shawangunk Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shawangunk-journal/id1591140379)

This publication provides local news and independent views for several towns in Ulster County, serving as the official paper of record. It aims to revive local media presence with weekly updates.

**Highlights:** Local news coverage, Independent views, Official paper of record, Weekly publication, Serves multiple towns

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Credit 4.99 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Credit 9.99 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Credit 24.99 | $24.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Daily Freeman free?

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

### Is Shawangunk Journal free?

Shawangunk Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Daily Freeman or Shawangunk Journal?

Shawangunk Journal is rated higher. Daily Freeman averages 4.6 out of 5 from 524 ratings, while Shawangunk Journal averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Daily Freeman or Shawangunk Journal have ads?

Daily Freeman shows ads; Shawangunk Journal does not.

### Which is updated more often, Daily Freeman or Shawangunk Journal?

Daily Freeman ships an update monthly, and Shawangunk Journal every 6 weeks. Most recently, Daily Freeman was updated on November 1, 2026 and Shawangunk Journal on November 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.*