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

AL.com vs PSA

AL.com 4.5★ · Free to download 40
Winner PSA
PSA 4.8★ · Free to download 75

PSA is the better choice for card enthusiasts due to its high user satisfaction with card scanning and valuation features, while AL.com struggles with app stability, intrusive ads, and a restrictive paywall.

Full reviews: AL.com · PSA

PSA, a card grading and valuation app, boasts high user satisfaction for its scanning and pricing features, despite some complaints about grading service issues. AL.com, a news app, faces significant criticism for frequent crashes, intrusive ads, and a pervasive paywall that limits access to content.

Head to head

Features edge: PSAR8R15R17R20
AL.com AL.com users appreciate the app for local and state news, weather, and sports coverage, with some highlighting specific writers and unbiased reporting R8R17R20. However, many users are frustrated by the inability to access comments, share articles, or find specific news like COVID-19 updates easily R15.
PSA PSA users praise the app's ability to scan cards, determine their value, and facilitate selling R71. Some users, however, report issues with the app's card identification, lack of pricing data for certain cards, and limited selling options .
Ease of Use edge: PSAR2R3R6R10
AL.com Many AL.com users find the app difficult to use due to frequent freezing, slow loading, and navigation issues R3R10R13R24. Intrusive ads that cover content and make reading difficult are also a major complaint R2R6R14R55.
PSA PSA users generally find the app easy to use for scanning and managing their card collections R71. However, some report the app can be clunky, confusing, or have issues with specific functions like marking cards as sold or resetting passwords .
Reliability tieR1R3R13R24
AL.com AL.com is frequently criticized for being buggy, crashing often, freezing constantly, and having painfully slow loading and navigation R1R3R13R24. Users also report issues with outdated news and articles not updating .
PSA PSA users report mixed reliability. While many find the app works well , there are significant complaints about the core service, including lost or damaged cards, incorrect grading, and delays in receiving packages R61R64R76. App-specific reliability issues include features not loading and scanning problems .
Price/Value edge: PSAR1R4R7R16
AL.com AL.com users are highly critical of the app's paywall, which locks most articles behind a subscription, with some calling it overpriced R1R4R7R16. Users feel the content quality does not justify the cost, with one mentioning a $99.99/year price .
PSA PSA users acknowledge that the grading service itself is expensive, but many find value in the app for cataloging and valuing cards . However, some users feel the grading prices are too high and question the overall value given issues with service quality .
Support tieR1R3R4R7
AL.com There are no direct mentions of AL.com's customer support in the provided reviews. Users express frustration with app issues and paywalls, implying a lack of resolution for these problems R1R3R4R7.
PSA PSA users have significant complaints about the company's service, including lost or damaged cards, issues with grading consistency, and a perceived lack of recourse for disputes R61R64R76. This suggests dissatisfaction with their support or dispute resolution processes.
Pick AL.com if

Pick AL.com if you are specifically looking for Alabama-focused news, weather, and sports content and are willing to tolerate frequent app issues, intrusive ads, and a paywall for most articles R8R17R20.

Pick PSA if

Pick PSA if you are a collector of sports or other trading cards and want an app to help you scan, catalog, value, and potentially sell your cards, and you are aware of the high cost and potential risks associated with their grading service R71.

Evidence note: Many reviews for AL.com are negative, focusing on technical issues and the paywall, which aligns with its lower lifetime rating compared to PSA. PSA's reviews are more mixed, with strong praise for the app's functionality but significant criticism for the company's core grading service, which impacts the overall user perception.

Frequently asked

Does AL.com require a subscription?
Yes, AL.com requires a subscription to read most articles, with many users reporting that nearly every story is behind a paywall R1R4R7R22. The annual cost is mentioned as $99.99 by one user .
Can PSA help me grade my cards?
The PSA app helps users understand the value of their graded cards and provides a guide on how to send cards in for grading, though the grading service itself is expensive R71. However, some users express dissatisfaction with the actual grading process, citing issues like inconsistent grades, damaged cards, and lost orders R61R64R76.
Are there issues with ads in the AL.com app?
Yes, many AL.com users report significant issues with ads, stating that they frequently intrude into articles, cover content, and make reading difficult R2R6R14R55.

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. [R8] AL.com 5/5 · US A Fresh Breeze Across Alabama: It is exciting if not exhilarating to run across anything “Alabama” that is intelligent as well as non-extremist and of which I’m not embarrassed to refer to with friends and acquaintances outside our state and region. Great insightful site!
  2. [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.
  3. [R17] AL.com 5/5 · US Great app!: Very informatively, reliable and unbiased news.
  4. [R20] AL.com 5/5 · US Good news source: I see this as a whole state news source. Dave
  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. [R3] AL.com 3/5 · US App Issues: App freezes up constantly. Scrolling stories is difficult due to freezing up issues.
  7. [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.
  8. [R10] AL.com 1/5 · US Al.com app terrible: Used to work ok on my iPad, now unusable.
  9. [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.
  10. [R13] AL.com 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.
  11. [R24] AL.com 3/5 · US On and off: Page drops frequently
  12. [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.
  13. [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.
  14. [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
  15. [R22] AL.com 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.
  16. [R61] PSA 1/5 · US Stole my card: Took many pics of videos of the cards before sending and get completely different cards sent back. Assuming they kept mine and gave me more beat up ones to make a profit. Absolute crooks
  17. [R64] PSA 1/5 · US Horrible service: Damaged a card, lost another card and blamed it on the carrier even know my other cards were in the submission. Vintage card grading is completely rigged. I have PSA 8’s that should be 9’s or 10’s. Market manipulation.
  18. [R71] PSA 5/5 · US Help me: It a cool app and help me see how much my soccer card and football card are worth and enjoy and easy to use
  19. [R76] PSA 1/5 · US Big fall off: Grading takes for ever and they lose orders
  20. [R14] AL.com 4/5 · US Please move ads: The end of almost every single article is covered by an ad with no way to make the end visible. Love the site but I would actually like to finish an article one day.
  21. [R55] AL.com 2/5 · US News is great…app could use some work: News articles provided are great and timely. App could use some work…freezes up regularly after only a few minutes of use, assuming due to large number of ads. Not disputing the need for ads for a free app, just that the performance of the app could be improved.

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