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

USA TODAY vs NewsBreak

USA TODAY 4.5★ · Free + IAP 60
Winner NewsBreak
NewsBreak 4.8★ · Free to download 75

NewsBreak offers a wider array of local and global news with a highly rated free experience, while USA TODAY struggles with ad-free subscription issues and app functionality.

Full reviews: USA TODAY · NewsBreak

NewsBreak provides a highly-rated free news experience with a focus on local and global coverage, despite some concerns about AI content and bias. USA TODAY, while offering in-depth journalism, faces significant issues with its paid ad-free subscriptions not working, frequent ads, and app stability problems.

Head to head

Content & Coverage edge: NewsBreakR2R5R8R11
USA TODAY USA TODAY offers broad national and international news coverage, with users appreciating its deep analysis and fair, compact reporting R2R5R8R11. Some users enjoy the state-by-state headlines and the ability to voice-activate articles R5. However, there are complaints about political bias, particularly a perceived left-leaning slant R12. The sports section is a point of contention, with some finding it disappointing and difficult to navigate, and too prominent for non-sports fans R9.
NewsBreak NewsBreak is praised for its informative local and global news, with many users appreciating its ability to keep them updated on events around them . It's described as offering short, digestible articles and a wide range of stories . However, a significant number of reviews criticize the content for being filled with AI-generated articles and videos, misleading headlines, and a strong political bias, often perceived as far-right or liberal depending on the user R61R64R66. Some also note that news can be delayed .
Ads & Monetization tieR3R6R10R12
USA TODAY USA TODAY faces severe criticism regarding its ad experience, especially for paying subscribers. Many users who pay for an 'ad-free' subscription report still encountering numerous pop-up ads, full-page ads, and ads masquerading as content R3R6R10. Some describe the ads as making articles hard to follow and the app annoying to use R10. There are also complaints about scam advertisements appearing within the app R12.
NewsBreak NewsBreak users frequently complain about an overwhelming number of advertisements, including pop-ups and forced ads before opening the app R63R73R91. Some ads are described as fake or scam-like R101. The app's monetization strategy is criticized for pushing users towards a 'Premium' plan to block ads R101.
App Performance & Usability tieR4R9R11R14
USA TODAY USA TODAY's app has significant performance and usability issues. Users report text overflowing, articles not loading, blank pages, and touch screen unresponsiveness after updates R4R18R19. Videos often fail to play, while ads play promptly R24. Some users find the app difficult to open, requiring multiple attempts . Recent updates are cited as having ruined the app for some R14. Navigation is generally considered easy, but specific sections like sports are criticized for inefficiency R9R11.
NewsBreak NewsBreak's usability is impacted by frequent ads and notifications R73R91. Some users report basic features, like GIFs, no longer working . The crime map feature, heavily promoted, is often found to be inaccurate or non-existent in areas . The app is also criticized for being slow to report news and for its community features being a 'cesspool of intolerance' R97.
Subscription & Account Management edge: NewsBreakR3R6R7R10
USA TODAY USA TODAY users frequently experience problems with their paid subscriptions. Issues include being locked out of subscriber-only content, difficulty restoring purchases, and the app not recognizing active subscriptions R3R7. Many paying users report still seeing ads despite having an 'ad-free' subscription R3R6R10. There are also complaints about being charged full price instead of promotional rates and difficulty canceling subscriptions .
NewsBreak NewsBreak is free to download, but some users mention a 'Premium' plan to block ads R101. There are complaints about local news requiring payment . One user reported paying $59 a year and getting nothing, wishing for a refund .
Pick USA TODAY if

you prioritize traditional, in-depth national and international news coverage from a known journalistic source, are willing to tolerate significant app issues and potential ad-free subscription problems, and appreciate features like voice-activated articles R8R11.

Pick NewsBreak if

you want a free app for quick, digestible local and global news updates, are comfortable with user-generated content and potential AI-generated articles, and can overlook frequent ads and strong political biases .

Evidence note: NewsBreak has a much larger volume of reviews, which might skew the perception of common issues. The free-vs-paid asymmetry is significant here, as USA TODAY's negative reviews are heavily concentrated on paid subscription issues, while NewsBreak's are more about the free experience's content and ad load. NewsBreak's higher lifetime rating may reflect a broader satisfaction among its free user base, despite the specific complaints.

Frequently asked

Does USA TODAY offer an ad-free experience?
USA TODAY offers a paid ad-free subscription, but many users report that they still experience numerous pop-up and full-page ads even after subscribing R3R10R28R31.
Is NewsBreak's content reliable?
NewsBreak's content reliability is a concern for many users, with complaints about misleading headlines, old or irrelevant stories, and a significant amount of AI-generated content and videos R61R64R66R97.
Are there many ads on NewsBreak?
Yes, NewsBreak users frequently report an excessive number of ads, including pop-ups and forced ads that appear before opening the app, which significantly detract from the user experience R63R73R91R101.
What are common technical issues with the USA TODAY app?
Common technical issues with the USA TODAY app include text overflowing, articles failing to load, blank pages, unresponsive touch screens, and videos not playing while ads still do R4R18R19R24.

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. [R2] USA TODAY 5/5 · US Awesome: Great Coverage
  2. [R5] USA TODAY 5/5 · US Useful and helpful news: Compact and fair coverage of today's events. Especially enjoy the state-by-state headlnes
  3. [R8] USA TODAY 5/5 · US USA Today is where it’s at: I receive updates on breaking news. The writers do deep analysis. Sometimes links are provided for further reading!
  4. [R11] USA TODAY 5/5 · US SkippyAir: Excellent coverage of news from all over the world, which includes a very expansive viewpoint as well! The format is easy to navigate, very appealing, and very informative. Definitely a first rate news company!🤓
  5. [R3] USA TODAY 3/5 · US Ad Free?: I’m so tired of having to restore my iTunes purchase of my subscription. Seriously? You can’t write the program to do that automatically? In the latest release I can’t even get the restore to actually work. Advertising everywhere. BTW, in ad free I would expect that also included removing the TIPCO advertising masquerading as sports information. Right. Get rid of this type of advertisin
  6. [R6] USA TODAY 3/5 · US Pop up ads: Pop up ads keep appearing. Should not happen with a subscription.
  7. [R10] USA TODAY 1/5 · US Paid subscription is not worth the money…: So I subscribed to USA Today service hoping for a better experience. Yes I do get to read articles marked "For Subscribers Only" but there really weren’t that many and a majority of them were not of interest to me. So there are so many ads it’s actually hard to follow the gist of the article. You read a paragraph of news and then there is a half page
  8. [R12] USA TODAY 3/5 · US Good News Source, but: Though somewhat left leaning, USA Today is a good source for news stories. Unfortunately, the app allows advertisements from known scammers offering simple cures for Alzheimer’s that doctors don’t want to tell you about. The adds attribute such amazing cures to famous physicians and TV personalities who in reality have disputed such claims. Shameful. How many people who are
  9. [R4] USA TODAY 1/5 · US Poor layout: Text overflows onto itself when reading an article preventing legibility. Known issue that publisher isn’t fixing with app.
  10. [R9] USA TODAY 3/5 · US Sports Section Dissappointing: I miss being able to select the sports league I want to follow in the sports section on the main page. Now I have to click the left side arrow through multiple leagues and individual game score to try to get to the league I want which is completely inefficient and has me looking for a new site. Please redesign.
  11. [R14] USA TODAY 4/5 · US Update ruined it: Forced me to update iPad version. Totally ruined this app with the update. Deleting.
  12. [R7] USA TODAY 2/5 · US Subscription: I’ve been a subscriber for 8 years or so. My subscription is always without ads. About once a year I get locked out saying this section is for subscribers only. The app recognizes me but asks to restore purchases. When I click the link it doesn’t work. This is only with my iPhone. I move to my iPad and everything seems fine.
  13. [R28] USA TODAY 1/5 · US No Ads!: I pay for no ads and that’s all I seem to have!!!… it with it.
  14. [R31] USA TODAY 1/5 · US Paying for ad free, but still have ads: Disappointed that I pay for an ad free experience and ads constantly pop up while trying to read an article! No wonder why people stop reading news
  15. [R61] NewsBreak 1/5 · US Terrible source for news.: The headlines are always over the top and misleading. Usually notifications are for stories that are either old or irrelevant.
  16. [R64] NewsBreak 1/5 · US Chock full of AI, Trumpsters & Basic Features No Longer Work: Title says it all. 99.99% of all videos on this app are made with AI and intended to deceive. Since their main audience is senile Trumpster seniors, near everyone on the app is inherently incapable of differentiating between whats genuine/real and whats not. Moreover, these ppl will bet their first born child in order to defend these v
  17. [R66] NewsBreak 3/5 · US Ehhh: It’s too much ai
  18. [R97] NewsBreak 1/5 · US Untrustworthy, toxic, AI trash: This app is trash. You can be anyone and post news, and 90% of it is very poorly written articles with made up nonsense. This is also where cringy AI videos go to die. FLOODED with horrible cringy AI videos and pictures. The community is a cesspool of intolerance, hate, and insulting opinions. And it doesn’t matter where you put your location for news. You’ll get no
  19. [R63] NewsBreak 3/5 · US Frustrated: Too many advertisements. I keep seeing sources i don’t want to see
  20. [R73] NewsBreak 1/5 · US Ads: Cannot watch or read anything without spectrum ad popping up several times. I’m already spectrum customer so I don’t need to be sold over & over again.
  21. [R91] NewsBreak 1/5 · US the ads are out of hand: there’s no reason for there to be a bunch of unstoppable ads and pop-ups getting in the way of critical information
  22. [R101] NewsBreak 1/5 · US The Best, but NOT in a Good way: If you enjoy Spam and Scam Ads that try to sell you wonder goods and treatment, then NewsBreak is the best app for you. But if you don’t like Spam and Scam, you are forced to pay a monthly fee for the ‘Premium’ Plan, which is the only way to block its relentless Spam & Scam Ads. NewsBreak does do a good job consolidating newsworthy articles of interest. Too bad the
  23. [R18] USA TODAY 3/5 · US Great news but occasional issues with the app: I like the content for USA TODAY. I can get all the NFL sports news. I think it offers the best lifestyle content with important news, but not just all politics or negative. A concern though is I’ve had a lot of issues with the app sometimes I can’t see anything at all. you just get a blank page That’s frustrating.
  24. [R19] USA TODAY 1/5 · US Touch screen only works for 5 out of 100: Since the last update when I touch the screen above an article I want to read it does not work When you get it fixed let me know then I might reload the app
  25. [R24] USA TODAY 3/5 · US Videos don’t work: Generally a very good website. But don’t try to watch any videos. The ads always play, but the video you want to watch almost always fails. I’ve tried on multiple iPads, iPhones, multiple iOS versions for years and keep having the same problem. The only common factor is the USA Today app.

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