Comparison

The Star vs Courier

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

Head to head
About

The Star

Access New Jersey's largest newspaper on your mobile device. Enjoy award-winning local news, sports, entertainment, and more with an enhanced reading experience. Subscribers get full access.

Highlights
  • Award-winning local news
  • Daily features and sports updates
  • Entertainment highlights
  • Bonus magazines and supplements
  • Interactive puzzles and games
  • Easy article sharing
Features
Read full description

Welcome to The Star-Ledger's new Online Newspaper app! Dive into New Jersey’s largest newspaper anytime, anywhere. Keep up with award-winning local news, daily features, sports updates, entertainment highlights, special sections, and more—all at your fingertips! Enjoy online-only perks with an enhanced reading experience, including bonus magazines, supplements, interactive puzzles and games, and easy article sharing with friends and family. Star-Ledger subscribers receive full access to each edition without any extra cost. Just log in with your existing email and password to explore everything we offer! Terms of Use: https://www.advancelocal.com/advancelocalUserAgreement/user-agreement.html Privacy Policy: https://www.advancelocal.com/advancelocalUserAgreement/privacy-policy.html

About

Courier

Access local news, in-depth journalism, and engaging multimedia content. Stay informed with breaking news, sports scores, and weather alerts. Enjoy a customizable reading experience with offline access and a digital replica of the print edition.

Highlights
  • In-depth local journalism
  • Breaking news and alerts
  • Sports coverage
  • Streamlined reading experience
  • Offline reading
  • eNewspaper replica
  • Customizable text size and night mode
Features
Read full description

From critically acclaimed storytelling to powerful photography to engaging videos — the Courier Post app delivers the local news that matters most to your community. APP FEATURES: • Access all of our in-depth journalism, including things to do around town, sports coverage from high school to the pros, and much more. • Enjoy a streamlined, fast-loading experience that makes it easy to view the stories, photos, and videos that matter to you. • Get breaking news, sports scores, and weather alerts with real-time notifications tailored to your interests. • Customize your experience by saving your favorite stories, adjusting text size, using night mode, or reading offline. • eNewspaper: Just like our print edition but accessible on your mobile devices. And access to USA TODAY and 200+ local eNewspapers. MORE INFORMATION: • Privacy Policy: https://cm.courierpostonline.com/privacy/ • Terms of Service: https://cm.courierpostonline.com/terms/ • Help Center: https://help.courierpostonline.com • Subscriptions are charged to your account at confirmation of purchase and automatically renew each month or year, unless turned off in your account settings at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage your subscriptions and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription, where applicable. See "Subscription Support" in the app's Settings for more details and customer service contact information.

Screenshots

The Star4 screens
Courier4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: The Star at none against Courier's shown. The Star also leads on chart position (#196 vs unranked) and ratings volume (2.8K vs 618). Courier's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 5 months). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. The Star sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $24.99 per month and Courier sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for The Star against 4.4 for Courier. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.8K and 618 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 49% of The Star's written reviews are positive against 44% of Courier's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Star ships an update every 5 months, Courier monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
The Star versus Courier: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe StarCourier
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (2.8K ratings) — better4.4 (618 ratings)
Positive reviews48.6% of reviews — better43.8% of reviews
Number of ratings2.8K — better618
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#196 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB189 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperThe Star-Ledger LLCUSA TODAY Co., Inc.

Customer experience

The Star

All ratings2,772 ratings
Positive85.5%
Neutral5.5%
Negative9.0%
Written reviews109 reviews
Positive48.6%
Neutral8.3%
Negative43.1%

Courier

All ratings618 ratings
Positive85.3%
Neutral6.5%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews80 reviews
Positive43.8%
Neutral5.0%
Negative51.2%

User reviews

The Star

From 2.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to read digital format
  • 👍 Convenient access to news
  • 💡 Ability to email/share articles
  • 🚀 Responsive app performance

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitches and bugs in new app version
  • 👎 Difficult to navigate and read on mobile
  • 👎 Removal of useful features like printing
  • 👎 Inconsistent service and access issues

Courier

From 618 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Provides good local news
  • 🚀 Easy to read from anywhere
  • 🚀 Accurate news

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Constantly crashes or freezes
  • 🐛 Navigation issues
  • 🐛 Ads and prompts disrupt reading
  • 🔒 Subscription issues and overcharging
  • 🔋 App performance issues

Bugs and requests

The Star

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes and freezes
  • Unable to download or access certain issues
  • Login and account issues
  • Formatting problems on mobile devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Bring back ability to print puzzles and articles
  • Improve app usability and navigation
  • Provide more local news coverage
  • Offer a more affordable digital-only subscription

Courier

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes or freezes frequently
  • Login and password issues
  • Compatibility problems with older devices
  • Inconsistent content delivery

Requested features

4 requests
  • Bring back crossword puzzles
  • Improve screen layout and full-screen mode
  • Streamline navigation between newspapers
  • Provide better customer service and account management

In-app purchases

1 purchases

The Star

Subscriptions1
  • Auto-Renewing subscription to The Star-Ledger$24.991 Month
4 purchases

Courier

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Digital Rate1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • Monthly Digital Subscription1 Month trial$24.991 Month
  • Courier-Post Digital Subscription1 Month trial$24.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Courier-Post Annual Digital Subscription1 Year trial$69.991 Year

Questions

Is The Star free?
The Star is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Courier free?
Courier is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Star or Courier?
The Star is rated higher. The Star averages 4.4 out of 5 from 2.8K ratings, while Courier averages 4.4 from 618 ratings.
Do The Star or Courier have ads?
Courier shows ads; The Star does not.
Which is updated more often, The Star or Courier?
The Star ships an update every 5 months, and Courier monthly. Most recently, The Star was updated on October 29, 2026 and Courier on November 1, 2026.

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