# Pal Item vs UA 440

The clearest difference is review sentiment: UA 440 at 100% against Pal Item's 35%. UA 440 also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). Pal Item's advantage is rating (4.2 vs 3.8) and ratings volume (270 vs 12). On price, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Pal Item sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. UA 440 asks for nothing beyond the download.

Pal Item holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pal Item has 270 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 35% of Pal Item's written reviews are positive against 100% of UA 440's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Pal Item ships an update monthly, UA 440 every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pal Item | UA 440 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.2 (270 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pal-item/id553320600/reviews)** | [3.8 (12 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ua-440/id6747164956/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **270** | 12 |
| Positive reviews | 35.3% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Monthly** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 185 MB | 116 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [USA TODAY Co., Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/404843797) | [United Association Of Journeyman And Sprinkler Fitters Local 417](https://appshunter.io/developer/1704819010) |

## What reviewers say

### Pal Item

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pal-item/id553320600)

Stay informed with local news, in-depth journalism, and engaging multimedia content. Receive real-time alerts for breaking news, sports, and weather. Customize your reading experience and access digital editions of newspapers.

**Highlights:** In-depth local journalism, Breaking news alerts, Sports coverage, Streamlined reading experience, Customizable settings, Offline reading, eNewspaper access

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Digital Rate | $9.99 | per month |
| Monthly Digital Rate | $14.99 | per month |
| Palladium-Item Digital Subscription | $16.99 | per month |
| Palladium-Item Annual Digital Subscription | $69.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Good local news
- 👍 User-friendly mobile app
- 👍 Nice phone app, easy to maneuver
- 👍 Better than physical paper

**What reviewers complain about**

- 😞 Pathetic local news and sports coverage
- 😞 Junk subscription service, requires phone calls to cancel
- 😞 Unreliable app, frequent crashes
- 😞 Delivery is horrible, inconsistent
- 😞 App consistently fails to open, subscription issues

**Reported bugs**

- Unable to report missing paper, redirects to sign-in
- Digital version doesn't work, keeps returning to sign-in
- App is unreliable, doesn't load or stay loaded
- App only opens from alerts, fails to open directly
- Subscription issues after opening from alerts

**Requested features**

- iPad app version needed
- Website looks like the newspaper itself


### UA 440

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ua-440/id6747164956)

Access essential union resources like pay scales, collective bargaining agreements, and benefit information. Stay informed about upcoming meetings and classes directly from your device.

**Highlights:** Pay Scale Access, Collective Bargaining Agreements, Upcoming Meetings & Classes, Benefit Information

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Wallet

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pal Item free?

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

### Is UA 440 free?

UA 440 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Pal Item or UA 440?

Pal Item is rated higher. Pal Item averages 4.2 out of 5 from 270 ratings, while UA 440 averages 3.8 from 12 ratings.

### Do Pal Item or UA 440 have ads?

Pal Item shows ads; UA 440 does not.

### Which is updated more often, Pal Item or UA 440?

Pal Item ships an update monthly, and UA 440 every 2 months. Most recently, Pal Item was updated on November 1, 2026 and UA 440 on October 24, 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.*