WBEZ vs Des Plaines Park District
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
WBEZ
Listen to Chicago's NPR news station live or on-demand. Access local and national news, podcasts, and investigative journalism from WBEZ and its partners. Catch up on missed shows with rewind functionality.
- Live radio streaming
- On-demand audio features
- Podcast library
- Rewind live shows
- Curated daily stories
- Investigative journalism
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The WBEZ app lets you listen to the news and voices of Chicago on your schedule, wherever you are. Listen to live radio broadcasts, on-demand audio features and podcasts with the best storytelling locally and around the nation. You’ll enjoy original WBEZ Chicago programming and shows from our partners, including NPR, BBC and more. Take your trusted news on the go. Listen to the news live wherever your day takes you. The WBEZ app delivers Chicago news, national news and international news right to your hand. You never have to miss a minute again. You can rewind at any moment and replay any live show from the last week to catch up on anything you missed. With the WBEZ app, continue to get investigative journalism, cultural reporting, news headlines and more on your timeline. Discover something new. Browse through the best audio stories and shows WBEZ Chicago has to offer. Each day, featured stories are curated just for you from our newsroom. Plus, you can find popular podcasts from WBEZ, NPR and other featured partners; including titles such as Curious City, Nerdette, Motive and Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me! There’s something for everyone with the WBEZ app. WBEZ Chicago is listener-supported and Chicago’s NPR news station, one of the largest and most respected public media stations in the country.
Des Plaines Park District
Access information about local park programs, facilities, and events. Receive important announcements and alerts through push notifications to stay connected with your community's offerings.
- View program offerings
- Access facility information
- See event listings
- Receive news and announcements
- Get push notifications for alerts
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The official app of the Des Plaines Park District provides community members the ability to view and realize the abundance of program offerings and amenities available in their hometown. Park and facility information, news, announcements, events and much more are provided. Push notifications with special announcements or alerts give the user unique access to information. Download the new DPPD app and connect to your community!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Des Plaines Park District at none against WBEZ's shown. Des Plaines Park District also leads on monetization model (free vs ad-supported). WBEZ's advantage is ratings volume (650 vs 7) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). On price, rating, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for WBEZ against 4.6 for Des Plaines Park District. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: WBEZ has 650 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two.
WBEZ ships an update every 3 weeks, Des Plaines Park District every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | WBEZ | Des Plaines Park District |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (650 ratings) — better | 4.6 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 71.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 650 — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 72 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Chicago Public Media, Inc. | Links Technology |
Customer experience
WBEZ
Des Plaines Park District
Bugs and requests
WBEZ
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashing on launch
- Streaming issues on poor internet connections
- Push notifications causing app to freeze
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between audio sources
Requested features
5 requests- Improved search and content discovery
- Sleep timer functionality
- Ability to resume playback from where left off
- CarPlay and Bluetooth speaker support
- More granular access to local news
Des Plaines Park District
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
WBEZ
No in-app purchases
Des Plaines Park District
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is WBEZ free?
Is Des Plaines Park District free?
Which has better reviews, WBEZ or Des Plaines Park District?
Do WBEZ or Des Plaines Park District have ads?
Which is updated more often, WBEZ or Des Plaines Park District?
Other comparisons
