# The Intelligencer vs phillyburbs

The clearest difference is rating: The Intelligencer at 5.0 against phillyburbs's 4.1. The Intelligencer also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). phillyburbs's advantage is ratings volume (227 vs 1) and update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. phillyburbs sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. The Intelligencer asks for nothing beyond the download.

The Intelligencer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: phillyburbs has 227 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of The Intelligencer's written reviews are positive against 16% of phillyburbs's.

The Intelligencer ships an update every 4 months, phillyburbs monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | The Intelligencer | phillyburbs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-intelligencer/id541147350/reviews)** | [4.1 (227 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phillyburbs/id1395398575/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **227** |
| Positive reviews | **28.6% of reviews** | 16.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Subscription |
| Size | 37 MB | 185 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Ogden Newspapers, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/490515349) | [USA TODAY Co., Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/404843797) |

## What reviewers say

### The Intelligencer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-intelligencer/id541147350)

Access local news, sports, and community information from The Wheeling Intelligencer and News-Register. Stay updated with breaking news alerts, search full articles, and find local garage sales.

**Highlights:** Breaking News Alerts, Local News Coverage, Local Sports Updates, Full Article Search, Community Event Information, Local Garage Sale Listings

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### phillyburbs

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phillyburbs/id1395398575)

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

**Highlights:** In-depth local journalism, Breaking news and alerts, Sports coverage, Customizable notifications, Offline reading, eNewspaper access

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Digital Rate | $9.99 | per month |
| Monthly Digital Subscription | $14.99 | per month |
| phillyburbs - monthly | $16.99 | per month |
| phillyburbs - monthly | $69.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Enjoy reading paper daily on iPad
- 👍 Local news is good
- 👍 Access latest edition early
- 👍 Updates throughout the day keep aware

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App does not open
- 🐛 App changes default newspaper
- 🐛 Cannot change default newspaper back
- 🐛 Does not include The Daily Intelligencer
- 🐛 Haven't been able to view e-edition

**Reported bugs**

- App does not open
- App changes default newspaper to Courier Times
- Unable to change default newspaper back
- The Daily Intelligencer not listed
- Unable to view e-edition

**Requested features**

- Allow changing default newspaper
- Include The Daily Intelligencer
- Improve classified ad functionality
- Bring back scroll feature
- Allow e-paper to fill screen width


## Frequently asked questions

### Is The Intelligencer free?

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

### Is phillyburbs free?

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

### Which has better reviews, The Intelligencer or phillyburbs?

The Intelligencer is rated higher. The Intelligencer averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while phillyburbs averages 4.1 from 227 ratings.

### Do The Intelligencer or phillyburbs have ads?

phillyburbs shows ads; The Intelligencer does not.

### Which is updated more often, The Intelligencer or phillyburbs?

The Intelligencer ships an update every 4 months, and phillyburbs monthly. Most recently, The Intelligencer was updated on November 1, 2026 and phillyburbs on November 2, 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.*