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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

The Philadelphia Inquirer vs SEPTA

The Philadelphia Inquirer 4.6★ · Free to download 65
Winner The Philadelphia Inquirer
SEPTA 4.4★ · Free to download 40

For users seeking reliable news content and a generally functional reading experience, The Philadelphia Inquirer app has a slight edge, despite its technical flaws, while the SEPTA app struggles significantly with core functionality and accuracy.

Full reviews: The Philadelphia Inquirer · SEPTA

The Philadelphia Inquirer app provides local news content, though it's plagued by intrusive ads, memory issues, and recent UI downgrades. The SEPTA app, while aiming to provide real-time transit information, is widely criticized for inaccurate data, login problems, and poor usability, making it unreliable for many commuters.

Head to head

Features edge: The Philadelphia InquirerR5R11R18R23
The Philadelphia Inquirer The Philadelphia Inquirer app offers local news, sports coverage, and a 'full newspaper' view, with some users appreciating the dark mode and App Store subscription option R11R23. However, users note missing features like 'listen to article' R5, TV listings , and the ability to share articles R18.
SEPTA The SEPTA app aims to provide real-time updates, trip planning, and the ability to add funds to a Key Card R65. Users praise features like 'favorite routes' and improved trip planning in recent updates R65. However, critical features like real-time tracking, accurate arrival times, and the 'next to arrive' option are frequently reported as missing or unreliable R63R78.
Ease of Use edge: The Philadelphia InquirerR7R14R17R23
The Philadelphia Inquirer The Inquirer app is generally considered easy to navigate and use for reading articles R23. However, recent updates have removed landscape mode, making it difficult to read on iPads and leading to frustration R14R17R37R40. Users also report issues with articles not opening or loading slowly R7.
SEPTA The SEPTA app is widely criticized for being not user-friendly, having a cluttered UI, and making it difficult to find necessary information like train arrival times . Many users prefer the old version's simplicity R78.
Reliability edge: The Philadelphia InquirerR2R6R7R9
The Philadelphia Inquirer The Inquirer app has improved for some users R2, but many report it being buggy, unresponsive, crashing frequently, and articles not loading R7. A significant issue is the app consuming excessive memory, forcing users to delete and reinstall it R6R9.
SEPTA The SEPTA app is consistently described as unreliable and glitchy, with inaccurate real-time data, buses not showing up, and cancellations not being updated R63R76R82. Users also report constant login issues, including password resets, and the app crashing R64R76.
Price/Value edge: The Philadelphia InquirerR1R4R10R28
The Philadelphia Inquirer The Philadelphia Inquirer app is free to download, but a subscription is required for full access. Subscribers complain about still seeing intrusive ads R1R4R42, and some experience issues accessing content despite paying R10. There are also complaints about subscription cancellation difficulties R28. Some users appreciate the 'day pass' concept .
SEPTA The SEPTA app is free to download and use. However, users report issues with adding funds to their SEPTA Key card through the app, which is a critical function for paying for transit R65R97R99R101. Some users are frustrated by the requirement to use a Key Card and create an account instead of just buying a ticket .
Support edge: The Philadelphia InquirerR3R5R14R64
The Philadelphia Inquirer Users of The Philadelphia Inquirer app report that support often ignores issues, particularly regarding ads and app performance R3. There's a desire for better responsiveness to bugs and feature requests R5R14.
SEPTA The SEPTA app has significant issues with login and account creation, with users unable to reset passwords or create accounts, suggesting a lack of effective support or resolution for these critical problems R64R76. Safety features like reporting tips are also reported as ineffective .
Pick The Philadelphia Inquirer if

You want a dedicated app for local news, especially for Philadelphia sports coverage, and are willing to tolerate ads and occasional technical glitches R23.

Pick SEPTA if

You are a daily SEPTA commuter who needs basic schedule information and can work around the app's significant reliability and login issues, perhaps by cross-referencing with other transit apps .

Evidence note: Both apps are free to download, but The Philadelphia Inquirer requires a subscription for full access, which influences some negative reviews related to ads and access issues for paying users. SEPTA's reviews are overwhelmingly negative, highlighting fundamental issues with its core functionality.

Frequently asked

Does The Philadelphia Inquirer app have a lot of ads?
Yes, many users, including subscribers, report frequent and intrusive full-screen and inline ads, some of which are difficult to close or accidentally open R1R3R4R42.
Can I use the SEPTA app to track buses and trains in real-time?
While the SEPTA app aims to provide real-time tracking, many users report that the information is inaccurate, intermittent, or not truly real-time, often showing scheduled times instead of actual delays or bus locations R63R76R78R82.
Is The Philadelphia Inquirer app compatible with iPads and landscape mode?
Recent updates have removed landscape mode functionality, forcing iPad users to read in portrait mode, which many find inconvenient and a deal-breaker R14R17R37R40.
Can I add funds to my SEPTA Key card using the SEPTA app?
Many users report significant and persistent issues with the 'add funds to Key Card' function within the app, often stating it doesn't work, requires frequent password resets, or has UI glitches R65R97R99R101.

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. [R5] The Philadelphia Inquirer 4/5 · US Love the Inquirer, but…: When will the “listen to article” feature be added to the app? Seems like a total miss. Why would I use the app if the convenience is on the website? As for the listen article feature on the website, for long articles, the page eventually refreshes, stopping the reader feature. And there’s no way to pick up where it left off. I hope you solve that glitch too. Keep up the
  2. [R11] The Philadelphia Inquirer 5/5 · US Great Way to Stay Informed: And it’s a non-profit, not owned by billionaires! All the news that fits, they print … unlike one larger national paper from New York.
  3. [R18] The Philadelphia Inquirer 3/5 · US App works fine but why no gift articles?: It’s a nice app. Easy to use and to navigate. Please consider adding a gift article button. It would be nice if I could share some of these stories with others.
  4. [R23] The Philadelphia Inquirer 5/5 · US Excellent, in terms of content and ease of navigation.: I read the Inquirer and (mainly) the Daily News for Philadelphia sports news. It’s all there, everything from game results to stats to analysis and opinion. When the Phillies or Eagles make a roster change, that’s where I find out about it. Their three primary sports columnists each have their own style and are always enlightening. There are
  5. [R7] The Philadelphia Inquirer 2/5 · US Some articles don’t open: In the newspaper view, some articles do not open at all, or are very slow to open, with only a spinning circle appearing. Those same articles open fine on the website so it seems like an app problem.
  6. [R14] The Philadelphia Inquirer 5/5 · US Recent update doesn’t allow landscape: I always loved this app but the recent app update no longer allows reading in landscape. This is very annoying when reading on an iPad as you have to turn the iPad around and stand it upright. This doesn’t work well with most iPad cases. Please allow both landscape and portrait.
  7. [R17] The Philadelphia Inquirer 4/5 · US Portrait mode only update?: I love reading the inquirer everyday on my iPad. But today, I noticed the app icon had changed from black to white. And now I can only use the app in portrait mode. It is much more difficult to read this way, and the stand on my case can’t hold it open that way. I didn’t mind that the price went up to almost $30/month, but that is a lot of money for a product that is
  8. [R2] The Philadelphia Inquirer 4/5 · US 👍: App has improved a lot!
  9. [R6] The Philadelphia Inquirer 3/5 · US 16 GBs?!: I love the app for news and viewing the paper but something needs to be fixed with the cache/storage. I don’t download papers and yet the app is still occupying 16 GBs of memory at present and it grows each time I use it. I end up having to constantly delete, redownload, and log back-in in order to use the app and my iPad in general. This has only been an issue in the last 3 months. Real
  10. [R9] The Philadelphia Inquirer 3/5 · US Memory Hog: Love the app and paper but it currently is using 9gb of memory on my phone. Why? I am going to have to delete the app.
  11. [R1] The Philadelphia Inquirer 1/5 · US Subscription with Ads?: I’m paying monthly for a subscription yet still get obnoxious full screen ads that take over the screen and article I’m reading. Really unfortunate. I won’t be renewing my subscription.
  12. [R4] The Philadelphia Inquirer 1/5 · US Out of date articles and BIG ADs: I’m really getting fed up with this app. First, while many articles land in the app days before appearing in the published newspaper; there are many “breaking” stories that don’t show up in the app. The inline adds are getting so big you can’t scroll the page without launching the ads webpage. Finally the video ads become so intrusive it’s not worth reading th
  13. [R10] The Philadelphia Inquirer 1/5 · US Figure out you online access policies: For the 2nd time in the past 12 months I've subscribed to your online paper. And for the 2nd time I am unable to access any articles, as I'm told I've reached my limit of free access, even though I am logged in. This is incredibly frustrating. I am paying for access and can't access.
  14. [R28] The Philadelphia Inquirer 1/5 · US Predatory Subscription Practices: This paper makes it near impossible to cancel without a call or chat.
  15. [R3] The Philadelphia Inquirer 3/5 · US Half-baked app: I really want to support my local newspaper, but this app is not great, and worst of all the only advertising they manage to attract is from Nigerian princes, weight loss “secrets,” and other scams. I wish the app’s support would addresss issues instead of just ignoring them.
  16. [R64] SEPTA 2/5 · US Great when working: But they have got to fix the new password being requested constantly. God forbid you forget your monthly password - you get stuck in an endless loop between the app and website!
  17. [R42] The Philadelphia Inquirer 3/5 · US Sneaky Ads: Ads within the articles are extremely sensitive and when the reader attempts to scroll through, they accidentally open the adds. In addition, many of the adds are sized in a way that you cannot scroll past without touching them. Super distracting to be reading an article and have to jump back and forth from an ad that “accidentally” opens in a browser. Seems like they’ve done this on p
  18. [R63] SEPTA 3/5 · US Inaccurate: No notice when a ride is canceled, map tracking is intermittent, can't rely on the information presented
  19. [R76] SEPTA 1/5 · US Inaccurate and glitchy: Some nice features like the favorited routes/stops are helpful. The idea behind many of the features are great but are very glitchy to the point it isn’t worth trying. For example, the app doesn’t stay logged in and the password needs changed way too often (every few months). The login from the app doesn’t work and often have to resort to using the browser version. Addition
  20. [R78] SEPTA 3/5 · US Late Times: I don’t know who made the decision to forgo displaying how delayed any bus, train, or trolley actually is, but that was a mistake. With the old app, there were so many times when I decided to take an alternative route because I could see how ridiculously late a bus was and determine it would either be annoyingly crowded or that despite what the “real-time” said it wasn’t actually comin
  21. [R82] SEPTA 1/5 · US Truly useless, and keeps getting worse!: Times are inaccurate or buses just don’t show up. Buses often aren’t tracked but then suddenly appear past the stop you’ve been waiting for. Cancellations don’t show until the last minute or even after the bus was supposed to arrive. I’m continually surprised by how this app keeps getting worse when it’s already so terrible.
  22. [R37] The Philadelphia Inquirer 1/5 · US Latest update is a downgrade: How do I go back to last version? This one is not switchable to landscape - why?
  23. [R40] The Philadelphia Inquirer 1/5 · US Awful update: New update will not rotate on my IPad. So I can’t read it easily. Not acceptable. I hate it. Might drop my subscription.
  24. [R65] SEPTA 4/5 · US Helpful but glitchy: The “add funds to key card” function hasnt been working in some time, which is a pain, but the updates in real time are great. Love the “favorite routes” feature as well. Fix the add funds and it’s golden! (Go birds)
  25. [R97] SEPTA 1/5 · US Half the time it doesn’t work!!!: Please fix the UI for adding funds to the card. It’s really annoying that there’s no enter key and I end up entering my cvv into the balance reload as well.
  26. [R99] SEPTA 1/5 · US I swear this is a prank: It’s been like 5 years since this last did anything but every update just adds some new issue that makes It impossible to load money onto a key card. The current one is you need to reset password and then temporary passwords expire immediately and then you can’t reset again for 24 hours. Just don’t even have an app
  27. [R101] SEPTA 1/5 · US Took $90 from me: I tried to add $10 for a ride and it decided to add an extra 0 and add $100 to my account and I couldn’t fix it wth

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