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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
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Is it worth paying for

AL.com

30
Value score / 100 Worth paying? No Skip it

AL.com is not worth paying for due to widespread complaints about paywalls, technical issues, and biased content, despite some users finding it a good source for Alabama news.

Free to download seen up to $200.00 4.5★ lifetime (15,258) since 2011

AL.com faces significant criticism for its aggressive paywall that locks most articles, frequent app crashes, and pervasive ads that cover content R1R3R5R28. While some users appreciate it as a source for Alabama news and sports, many find the content biased and the app's performance severely lacking, making the high subscription cost unjustified R12R13R20.

Free vs paid

The free version of the AL.com app provides some news articles, but many users report that most stories are locked behind a paywall R1R3R8R9. Users frequently encounter ads that cover content and interrupt reading, even in the free experience R26R28. The paid version, which some reviews indicate costs around $99.99 per year, is intended to unlock all articles . However, reviews suggest that even with a subscription, the app's technical issues like crashing and slow loading persist, and content quality and bias remain concerns R1R5R13R20.

Value complaints

  • Most articles are behind an 'outrageously overpriced paywall' or require a subscription, with some users stating it costs $99.99/year.R1R3R8R9
  • The app tries to 'bait you into subscribing' by only showing a small part of an article.R2
  • Users are unwilling to pay for the service.R6R10
  • The quality of articles is not good enough to justify paying for them.R13

Where it delivers

  • Some users find AL.com to be a good source for Alabama news, including state, local, and sports news.R55R58R62R66
  • The app is considered easy to access and up to date by some users.R73R102R123R157
  • Specific writers are praised for their excellent work.R110
Worth paying if

It is not worth paying for AL.com given the numerous complaints about paywalls, app stability, and content quality, even at the highest price points mentioned R1R5R13.

Skip / stay free if

You should skip paying for AL.com if you expect a stable, ad-free experience, unbiased reporting, or access to most articles without a subscription, as current reviews indicate these are not consistently provided R1R3R12R20.

Evidence note: The evidence is heavily skewed towards negative experiences, particularly regarding paywalls, app performance, and content bias. While positive reviews exist, they often praise the general availability of news rather than the app's functionality or value proposition.

Frequently asked

Is the AL.com app free to use?
The AL.com app is free to download, but many users report that most articles are locked behind a paywall, requiring a subscription to read R1R3R8R9.
Does the AL.com app have many ads?
Yes, many users report that ads frequently intrude into articles, cover content, and make reading difficult, even with a 'close' button that doesn't always work for all users R26R28R38R40.
Are there frequent technical issues with the AL.com app?
Yes, numerous reviews indicate that the AL.com app is buggy, crashes frequently, freezes constantly, loads slowly, and has navigation issues, making it difficult to use R1R4R5R7.
Is the news content on AL.com biased?
Many users complain that the news content on AL.com has a strong left-leaning or liberal bias, with some describing it as 'propaganda' or 'social justice propaganda' rather than unbiased reporting R7R12R15R20.
Why does the app sometimes show 'OSU Basketball' as its name?
Several users have reported that the app's name on their device unexpectedly changed to 'OSU Basketball,' leading to confusion and concerns about potential hacking or developer issues R32R33R34R35.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] 1/5 · US Buggy and paywalled: This app has been buggy for a very long time. It crashes a lot. Most of the articles are behind an outrageously overpriced paywall.
  2. [R3] 1/5 · US Every other story locked: I deleted the app because every other story you click it’s locked and says sign up to Al.com to read story. I have enough of my information sold to spammers without you having my email address to send more. I have 3 other news apps where you can read every story they show.
  3. [R8] 1/5 · US 5 start to 1 star: As others have stated the older versions were nice, but now most of the articles on the app are behind a pay wall. I understand it costs money to create the app but I can just go to a web browser and read the articles.
  4. [R9] 1/5 · US My go to app at one time: This was the app I always went to until recently. Now just about every article I tap on to read tells me I have to subscribe to read it. Have become very disappointed with it.
  5. [R2] 1/5 · US Not worth it!: AL.com tries to bait you into subscribing by giving just a little bit of an article without giving up your personal information and agreeing to pay. This is not an honest way of doing business.
  6. [R6] 1/5 · US Used to be a good app: They want $5 bucks a month now for old news. No thank you
  7. [R10] 2/5 · US Starting to charge: I’m not gonna pay to use this service
  8. [R13] 1/5 · US Bleh!: I used to read articles every day. Now it won’t load any articles unless I sign up for a subscription. The articles aren’t written well enough to justify paying for them. Boo!
  9. [R55] 5/5 · US My go to!: Love AL.com my favorite state media source
  10. [R58] 5/5 · US Great app!: Very informatively, reliable and unbiased news.
  11. [R62] 5/5 · US Good news source: I see this as a whole state news source. Dave
  12. [R66] 5/5 · US News.: I love the content and the sport’s stories
  13. [R73] 5/5 · US Go To: Al.com is my go-to for State and local news, weather and sports. Easy to access and up to date.
  14. [R102] 5/5 · US AL.com: Can catch up quickly on local news no matter where I am using either my phone. Great Ap!
  15. [R123] 5/5 · US Excellent News Site: Articles are up to date, written well and keeps me informed about my home state.
  16. [R157] 5/5 · US Always ahead of other when happens you get it out: Big Lewlakeside Dr
  17. [R110] 4/5 · US Needs improvement: Several excellent writers Archibald, Johnson and Whitmire. App takes excessive amount of time to load and even longer to update. When scrolling an article the slightest sideways movement causes the article to return to the beginning. Frustrating to use the AL.com app.Some of the writers don’t appear to proofread their article before posting and it shows. The result is sometimes
  18. [R26] 5/5 · US Great overall, but ...: Old issue resurfaced. Today is June 5, 2022. With the most recent update, about two weeks ago, ads are again intruding into articles, making reading them difficult. Rarely, one can get through an article uninterrupted , which is wonderful. With the latest update, there is a Close button, which, at least now, usually works, next to the popup ad, but that button evades VoiceOver
  19. [R28] 3/5 · US Ads cover content: The issue for me is that the ads often cover the content of the articles I’m trying to read.... extremely bothersome.
  20. [R38] 1/5 · US Horrible Ap: You either can’t get in an article or most of it is covered with ads. If you think their newspapers are bad you haven’t seen anything until you try this ap!
  21. [R40] 1/5 · US Yuck: Not a fan of the new redesign. It’s hard to find the news stories for all the ads wedged in between them. Also, no option to force update news stories.
  22. [R4] 1/5 · US Al.com app terrible: Used to work ok on my iPad, now unusable.
  23. [R5] 1/5 · US This app will crash your phone: If you want an app that will lock up your phone this is the ideal one. Loading and navigation is painfully slow. A horrible effort.
  24. [R7] 1/5 · US Wow... Not a good wow...: Why take something that was working great (finally!) and ruin it. I thought the idea of progress was to make things easier and more user friendly? Seems like the developers have it backwards with this app. The reporting is much more left leaning than before…. Why is it difficult to be unbiased?
  25. [R12] 1/5 · US Pay to read biased editorials/ and fake news ?: I ll just watch it on TV 😂
  26. [R15] 1/5 · US Goodbye, Deleted al.com: I’d rather think for myself
  27. [R20] 1/5 · US Al.com: It is a shame Al.com has become such a far left propaganda machine. With the exception of a couple of writers who are true reporters Al.com writers, not reporters has become far left progressive/ propaganda antagonists. Most of their poorly written articles are nothing more than their own far left opinions. Of course I fully understand this post is my opinion.
  28. [R32] 1/5 · US OSU Basketball? Really?: Why does this app show up as OSU Basketball on my iPad?
  29. [R33] 3/5 · US OSU basketball: Why is the title of the app OSU Basketball?
  30. [R34] 1/5 · US Who is OSU Basketball???: Deleting until y’all together.
  31. [R35] 3/5 · US Al: Why does the app say OSU basketball

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store