OzarksFirst vs Houston Herald
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
OzarksFirst
Stay informed with local news, weather, and sports from the Springfield-Branson area. Access top stories, real-time updates, video reports, and interactive weather maps. Receive breaking news alerts and save articles for later.
- Top local news stories
- Real-time developing stories
- Video reports from reporters
- Detailed weather forecasts
- Interactive radar map
- Breaking news alerts
- Save stories for later
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News has never been more local than in the palm of your hand. The KOZL KOLR mobile app brings you all the top stories from our daily broadcasts, as well as stories developing in real time. News, weather, and sports from KOLR10 and Ozarksfirst.com. Your source for local news, weather forecast, sports, videos in the Springfield-Branson area and the entire Ozarks region. Covering southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas since 1953. Your source for news in the Ozarks. Please send us comments or questions. FEATURES: • Watch video of your trusted reporters on the scene, and read revealing articles on what's going on in your community. • Plan your day and week with detailed weather reports, live alerts of severe conditions, and an interactive radar map. • Optional alerts on breaking news keep you in the know. • On the go? Save stories for later to access at your convenience.
Houston Herald
Stay informed with local news, breaking updates, and community events. This app offers independent reporting on topics from sports and government to opinion and business. Personalize your feed and get alerts for your interests.
- Breaking news and live updates
- Original, independent reporting
- Personalized recommendations and alerts
- Event calendar
- Home screen widget
- Article sharing
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From breaking news and live updates to sports, crime and government, the Houston Herald app helps you understand the events shaping your community. Our original, independent reporting goes beyond daily news to bring you a range of topics that enrich your life. Easily swipe through opinion, events and explore topics like business. The app is free to download. Stay in the know. Add the Houston Herald widget to your home screen and keep the latest headlines close by. Top stories will automatically refresh, helping you stay in the know throughout your day. Personalize your experience. Follow your interests with customized recommendations, alerts for topics you care about and more. Know upcoming events. Keep an eye on the calendar to know what is going on in your area. Share. Share articles with your community. Enjoy the app. The app is free for everyone. Readers will receive three free articles per month before requiring a digital subscription to continue reading. Subscriptions start as low as $3.25 per month.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Houston Herald at none against OzarksFirst's shown. OzarksFirst's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (1.1K vs 53). On price, rating and in-app purchases 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 — 4.6 for OzarksFirst against 4.7 for Houston Herald. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: OzarksFirst has 1.1K ratings behind it against 53, so its average is the more settled of the two.
OzarksFirst ships an update every 6 weeks, Houston Herald every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | OzarksFirst | Houston Herald |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (1.1K ratings) | 4.7 (53 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 26.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K — better | 53 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 77 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Nexstar Broadcasting | Buse Media LLC |
Customer experience
OzarksFirst
Houston Herald
Bugs and requests
OzarksFirst
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes on launch after recent update
- Weather radar and live stream features not working
- Notifications not working as expected
Requested features
3 requests- History archive with past newscasts
- Improved navigation and content organization
- Reduced ad frequency and less intrusive ad placement
Houston Herald
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
OzarksFirst
No in-app purchases
Houston Herald
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is OzarksFirst free?
Is Houston Herald free?
Which has better reviews, OzarksFirst or Houston Herald?
Do OzarksFirst or Houston Herald have ads?
Which is updated more often, OzarksFirst or Houston Herald?
Other comparisons
