# OzarksFirst vs Houston Herald

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | OzarksFirst | Houston Herald |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (1.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ozarksfirst/id641350036/reviews) | **[4.7 (53 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/houston-herald/id6744456132/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.1K** | 53 |
| Positive reviews | 26.1% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 weeks** | Every 6 months |
| Monetization | **Ad-supported** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 77 MB | 31 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.1** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Nexstar Broadcasting](https://appshunter.io/developer/457614880) | [Buse Media LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1807779216) |

## What reviewers say

### OzarksFirst

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ozarksfirst/id641350036)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Good local news coverage
- 🌟 Informative and up-to-date
- ⭐ Excellent local weather app

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find content
- 💤 Older full newscasts not available
- 🚨 Excessive and intrusive ads
- 🐌 Slow and unreliable performance
- 🔍 Small font size makes content hard to read

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on launch after recent update
- Weather radar and live stream features not working
- Notifications not working as expected

**Requested features**

- History archive with past newscasts
- Improved navigation and content organization
- Reduced ad frequency and less intrusive ad placement


### Houston Herald

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/houston-herald/id6744456132)

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.

**Highlights:** Breaking news and live updates, Original, independent reporting, Personalized recommendations and alerts, Event calendar, Home screen widget, Article sharing

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is OzarksFirst free?

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

### Is Houston Herald free?

Houston Herald is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, OzarksFirst or Houston Herald?

Houston Herald is rated higher. OzarksFirst averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while Houston Herald averages 4.7 from 53 ratings.

### Do OzarksFirst or Houston Herald have ads?

OzarksFirst shows ads; Houston Herald does not.

### Which is updated more often, OzarksFirst or Houston Herald?

OzarksFirst ships an update every 6 weeks, and Houston Herald every 6 months. Most recently, OzarksFirst was updated on November 6, 2026 and Houston Herald on November 5, 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.*