Comparison

Virginian Pilot vs Star Press

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

Head to head
About

Virginian Pilot

Access essential news, sports, business, and entertainment coverage from Virginia's leading source. Receive breaking news alerts, save articles for later, and read content offline. Share stories easily via social media or email.

Highlights
  • Essential news coverage
  • Push notifications for breaking news
  • Save stories, photos, and videos
  • Offline reading capabilities
  • Easy social media sharing
  • Breaking news alerts
Features
Read full description

Now there's a simple, elegant and customizable way to get essential The Virginian-Pilot news, sports, business and entertainment coverage on your iPhone or iPad. FEATURES: • Stay informed with Virginia's best source of news, sports, business and entertainment • Sign up for push notifications to get the latest news from our newsroom as soon as stories break • Save must-read stories, photos and videos for when you have the time to enjoy them • Get the latest breaking news from our newsroom in your notifications • Share stories easily with Twitter, Facebook, or email • Offline reading: Download and read content offline • You can read our Privacy Policy here: http://www.tribpub.com/privacy-policy/ • You can read our Terms of Service here: http://www.tribpub.com/central-terms-of-service/ CRASHES / PROBLEMS? We've been working hard to fix any and all crashes in the app. If you're still experiencing crashes or freezes after installing this update, please contact us at customer_service@virginianpilot.cust-serv.com. A quick email to our support team helps our developers identify and resolve crashes faster.

About

Star Press

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

Highlights
  • In-depth local journalism
  • Breaking news alerts
  • Sports coverage
  • Real-time notifications
  • Customizable reading experience
  • Offline reading
  • eNewspaper access
Features
Read full description

From critically acclaimed storytelling to powerful photography to engaging videos — the Star Press 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.thestarpress.com/privacy/ • Terms of Service: https://cm.thestarpress.com/terms/ • Help Center: https://help.thestarpress.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

Virginian Pilot4 screens
Star Press4 screens

Verdict

The call

Virginian Pilot and Star Press both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 43% of Star Press's written reviews are positive against 29% of Virginian Pilot's. Star Press also leads on chart position (#157 vs unranked). Virginian Pilot's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Virginian Pilot sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Star Press 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 Virginian Pilot against 4.4 for Star Press. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.3K and 1K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 29% of Virginian Pilot's written reviews are positive against 43% of Star Press's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Virginian Pilot versus Star Press: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVirginian PilotStar Press
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (2.3K ratings)4.4 (1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.7% of reviews42.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.3K — better1K
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#157 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size190 MB185 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperPilot MediaUSA TODAY Co., Inc.

Customer experience

Virginian Pilot

All ratings2,269 ratings
Positive84.6%
Neutral5.4%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews87 reviews
Positive28.7%
Neutral5.7%
Negative65.5%

Star Press

All ratings1,014 ratings
Positive85.1%
Neutral8.0%
Negative6.9%
Written reviews63 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral7.9%
Negative49.2%

User reviews

Virginian Pilot

From 2.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🇺🇸 Excellent military coverage
  • 📰 Coastal Virginia information hub
  • 🗞 Keeps me connected to my hometown

Room to improve

  • 🤯 Overwhelming ads
  • 🔒 Subscription issues and login problems
  • 📱 Buggy and crash-prone app
  • 🧭 Poor navigation and user experience
  • 📦 Delivery and distribution problems

Star Press

From 1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to navigate
  • 🚀 Fast loading
  • 💡 Convenient to have local news
  • 👍 Good coverage of local sports

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • 💰 Too many ads
  • 🔍 Lacking in local news coverage
  • 🤔 Perceived political bias
  • 👎 Poor app functionality

Bugs and requests

Virginian Pilot

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Frequent app crashes
  • Paywall issues even for subscribers
  • Inability to access full articles

Requested features

4 requests
  • Restore landscape mode for e-edition
  • Improve search and filtering capabilities
  • Provide access to previous day's editions
  • Make puzzles and comics more accessible

Star Press

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Frequent sign-outs
  • Inability to access content with subscription
  • Slow loading and performance issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to comment on articles
  • Improved subscription management
  • More comprehensive local news coverage
  • Faster updates and real-time news

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Virginian Pilot

Subscriptions5
  • Unlimited Digital Access1 Month trial$7.991 Month
  • Unlimited Digital Access1 Month trial$19.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription1 Month trial$19.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Virginia Pilot1 Year trial$199.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription1 Year trial$199.991 Year
4 purchases

Star Press

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Digital Rate1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • Monthly Digital Rate1 Month trial$14.991 Month
  • The Star Press Digital Subscription1 Month trial$16.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • The Star Press Annual Digital Subscription1 Year trial$69.991 Year

Questions

Is Virginian Pilot free?
Virginian Pilot is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Star Press free?
Star Press is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Virginian Pilot or Star Press?
Star Press is rated higher. Virginian Pilot averages 4.4 out of 5 from 2.3K ratings, while Star Press averages 4.4 from 1K ratings.
Do Virginian Pilot or Star Press have ads?
Both Virginian Pilot and Star Press show ads.
Which is updated more often, Virginian Pilot or Star Press?
Virginian Pilot ships an update monthly, and Star Press monthly. Most recently, Virginian Pilot was updated on November 1, 2026 and Star Press on November 1, 2026.

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