WBEZ vs Lake Forest Now
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
Read full descriptionHide full description
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.
Lake Forest Now
Access local government services and points of interest for Lake Forest, Illinois. Stay informed about community news and updates.
- Access to local services
- Information on areas of interest
- Community news updates
- Related area information
Read full descriptionHide full description
The app provides easy access to Lake Forest IL services and related areas of interest.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Lake Forest Now at none against WBEZ's shown. Lake Forest Now also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). WBEZ's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (651 vs 12). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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.
Lake Forest Now holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: WBEZ has 651 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two.
WBEZ ships an update every 3 weeks, Lake Forest Now every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | WBEZ | Lake Forest Now |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (651 ratings) | 5.0 (12 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 71.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 651 — better | 12 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Chicago Public Media, Inc. | The City of Lake Forest |
Customer experience
WBEZ
Lake Forest Now
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
Lake Forest Now
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
WBEZ
No in-app purchases
Lake Forest Now
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is WBEZ free?
Is Lake Forest Now free?
Which has better reviews, WBEZ or Lake Forest Now?
Do WBEZ or Lake Forest Now have ads?
Which is updated more often, WBEZ or Lake Forest Now?
Other comparisons
