Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

AL.com vs Locals.com

AL.com 4.5★ · Free to download 40
Winner Locals.com
Locals.com 4.7★ · Free to download 60

Locals.com is the better choice for those seeking creator content and community, despite its technical issues, while AL.com struggles with widespread app instability and paywall frustrations.

Full reviews: AL.com · Locals.com

AL.com, a local news app, is plagued by frequent crashes, freezing, and a restrictive paywall that locks most articles. Locals.com, a creator content platform, offers diverse content and free speech, but users report significant issues with video playback, buffering, and app stability.

Head to head

Features & Content edge: Locals.comR1R4R7R15
AL.com AL.com provides local and state news, weather, and sports, with some users appreciating its informative and unbiased reporting . However, many users are frustrated by a pervasive paywall that locks most articles, making the app unusable without a subscription R1R4R7R16. Some also complain about outdated news, lack of comment sections, and a perceived left-leaning bias in political coverage R15.
Locals.com Locals.com is praised for providing a platform for creators to share uncensored content and foster communities, particularly for those seeking alternative news and discussions . Users appreciate the ability to directly support creators . However, some find the interface confusing, struggle to find specific channels, and dislike the 'coin' subscription system .
Ease of Use & Interface tieR2R6R9R12
AL.com Many AL.com users report the app is not user-friendly, with issues like ads covering content, difficult scrolling, and a confusing layout R2R6. Some users also noted an incorrect app title R9R12.
Locals.com Locals.com users find the platform generally easy to use for accessing content . However, some recent updates have negatively impacted the interface, such as smaller font in comments and reduced text borders . Users also wish for better sorting options and clearer access to features .
Reliability & Performance tieR1R2R3R10
AL.com AL.com is widely criticized for being buggy, crashing frequently, freezing up, and having painfully slow loading and navigation R1R3R10. Updates are often seen as making the app worse R2.
Locals.com Locals.com users report significant reliability issues, including constant audio and video delays, buffering, videos stopping and restarting from the beginning, and the app freezing or crashing R61R63R64. Many describe the app as 'broken' or 'horrible' due to these performance problems .
Price/Value tieR1R4R7R16
AL.com AL.com is free to download, but users widely criticize its paywall, which locks most articles behind a subscription, perceived as overpriced R1R4R7R16. Many users state they will not pay for the content R40.
Locals.com Locals.com is free to download, but users pay for creator memberships. While many find the content worth the money , some are frustrated by the 'coin' system for subscriptions and the inability to subscribe for a single month . The persistent technical issues also lead some to question the value for money R79R97.
Support tie
AL.com Reviews do not provide specific feedback on AL.com's customer support.
Locals.com Reviews do not provide specific feedback on Locals.com's customer support.
Pick AL.com if

you are primarily interested in Alabama-specific news, weather, and sports, and are willing to pay for a subscription to access most articles .

Pick Locals.com if

you want to follow specific content creators, engage in community discussions, and value a platform with fewer content restrictions, even if it means dealing with frequent technical glitches and buffering .

Evidence note: Both apps have significant negative feedback regarding app performance and stability. AL.com's negative reviews are heavily skewed by its paywall implementation, which many users find frustrating for a news app that was previously free. Locals.com's negative reviews are almost entirely focused on technical issues with video playback and loading, despite its higher lifetime rating.

Frequently asked

Is AL.com free to use?
AL.com is free to download, but most articles are behind a paywall, requiring a subscription to read R1R4R7R40.
Why does Locals.com have so many technical issues?
Locals.com users frequently report issues such as constant audio and video delays, buffering, videos stopping and restarting, and the app freezing or crashing, which suggests underlying problems with the app's stability and video player R61R63R64R70.
Can I watch live streams on Locals.com?
Yes, Locals.com supports live streaming, but users report significant problems with live streams freezing, glitching, or not loading at all R79R91R97.

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] AL.com 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. [R4] AL.com 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.
  3. [R7] AL.com 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.
  4. [R15] AL.com 3/5 · US They need to pin live updates feed: I wish they would pin the live updates for the Covid-19 pandemic to the top of newsfeed for easy access. It is not easy to find.
  5. [R2] AL.com 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
  6. [R6] AL.com 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.
  7. [R9] AL.com 3/5 · US OSU basketball: Why is the title of the app OSU Basketball?
  8. [R12] AL.com 3/5 · US Al: Why does the app say OSU basketball
  9. [R3] AL.com 3/5 · US App Issues: App freezes up constantly. Scrolling stories is difficult due to freezing up issues.
  10. [R10] AL.com 1/5 · US Al.com app terrible: Used to work ok on my iPad, now unusable.
  11. [R16] AL.com 1/5 · US Used to be a good app: They want $5 bucks a month now for old news. No thank you
  12. [R40] AL.com 1/5 · US Don’t bother!: Unless you want to pay $99.99/year which is more than I pay for “The Athletic” then don’t bother. Every single story seems like you’re required to pay for it now, guess the ads and popups don’t generate enough. Just deleted the app after about 15 years!!!
  13. [R61] Locals.com 2/5 · US Constant audio and video delays: Hard to enjoy any podcast when it’s constantly disrupted by a litmus of technical issues. Do better. I don’t mind spending the money. I just wanna get through a podcast without the constant delays and resets.
  14. [R63] Locals.com 3/5 · US Last update has negative impact on app: The last update has essentially broken the app for me. If there is any interruption in video playback, like receiving a phone call, the video starts from the beginning. But not just that, subsequently tries to resume where you were last playing the video causes it to start playing from the beginning again after a couple of minutes. It is miserable.
  15. [R64] Locals.com 1/5 · US Never loads: I can’t never even use the app because it never loads!
  16. [R70] Locals.com 2/5 · US Videos stop mid play.: Videos will play like normal and then will randomly stop and restart from the being. I’ve updated the app. I reinstalled and it’s still the same issue. I’m glad I only joined 1 Chanel group.
  17. [R79] Locals.com 1/5 · US Horrible live streaming: What’s the point of paying if content creators can’t successfully live stream?!?!?
  18. [R91] Locals.com 2/5 · US C: Whenever I click on someone channel who is going live, it keeps glitching and won’t let me open up the stream and then it keeps freezing, and I can’t watch anything
  19. [R97] Locals.com 1/5 · US So sick of the spinning!!!: I pay for this membership and previously I couldn’t watch anything live since the last couple updates because it would just spin relentlessly so I was forced to watch the recordings. Now both the recordings and the live view are spinning. Why can’t you people get this fixed? I used to be the Director of IT quality. You shouldn’t be releasing something like this that’s

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