What is the best local news app for iPhone?

Nextdoor: Neighborhood Network, S tier, ranked #1 of 40, rated 4.7 by 2,163,666 people.

Which local news apps are free?

40 of 40 are free to download: Nextdoor: Neighborhood Network (S), Local News & Weather: Haystack (S), Spectrum News: Local Stories (S), Opera News: Breaking & Local (S) and more. 2 of them sell in-app purchases. 17 report no in-app purchases.

Which local news app has the best App Store rating?

Opera News: Breaking & Local at 4.8 from 28,620 ratings.

AppTierList › All lists › Local News

Best Local News Apps for iPhone (2026)

40 apps ranked S through F · Updated 2026-10-19 · Ranked by AppTierList, computed, never sold · JSON

Part of News Reading.

Nextdoor: Neighborhood Network is the top-ranked of 40 local news apps on iPhone, at S tier with 4.7/5 from 2,163,666 ratings.

1
Nextdoor: Neighborhood NetworkS
Free · ★ 4.7 · 2,163,666 ratings · score 97
2
Local News & Weather: HaystackS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 20,676 ratings · score 93
3
Spectrum News: Local StoriesS
Free · ★ 4.7 · 51,758 ratings · score 93
4
Opera News: Breaking & LocalS
Free · ★ 4.8 · 28,620 ratings · score 91
5
FOX LOCAL: Live News & WeatherS
Free · ★ 4.7 · 18,293 ratings · score 91

What belongs in this list

Read news about my own city, region or community.

Not here: National news alone; Weather alerts alone; Local business listings alone; Local TV station streams alone; Local shopping deals alone

How we pick

For this list we ask the App Store the same searches a person would, in several countries, and keep every app it returns. A model reads each app's listing and rejects the ones that only mention the use case. Every app that stays is scored out of 100 from four parts, each 0 to 100 and averaged with no weights: its App Store rating, how many people rated it, where the App Store itself ranks it for this list's searches, and how recently its current version shipped. An app showing Apple's Editors' Choice badge gets a fifth part of 100, which can only lift its score. Tiers follow fixed score bands: S from 90, A from 80, B from 70, C from 60, D from 50, F below. The list's leader is S if it scores 80 or more. On a list of 20 or more ranked apps, a tier from S to D takes in new apps only up to a quarter of the top 40: an app pushed out of a full tier falls to the next tier with room, and F takes the rest. An app already in a tier keeps its place while the tier is at most 2 apps over a quarter; past that, only the apps over that margin go down, lowest score first. Equal scores share a tier, and no app has a better tier than an app ranked above it. An app keeps its tier until its score passes the band edge by more than 1 point, or a full tier or the order above moves it. Only the top 40 of a list get a tier. Read the full method →

Compare every app

1
Nextdoor: Neighborhood NetworkS
Free · ★ 4.7 · 2,163,666 ratings · score 97 · best in class
2
Local News & Weather: HaystackS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 20,676 ratings · score 93 · best in class
3
Spectrum News: Local StoriesS
Free · ★ 4.7 · 51,758 ratings · score 93 · best in class
4
Opera News: Breaking & LocalS
Free · ★ 4.8 · 28,620 ratings · score 91 · best in class
5
FOX LOCAL: Live News & WeatherS
Free · ★ 4.7 · 18,293 ratings · score 91 · best in class
6
CTV News: Canada, Local, WorldA
Free download · ★ 4.6 · 4,776 ratings · score 88 · excellent
7
NewsBreak: Local News & AlertsA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 1,392,339 ratings · score 87 · excellent
8
ABC 7 New YorkA
Free · ★ 4.7 · 49,084 ratings · score 87 · excellent
9
Denver News from 9NewsA
Free · ★ 4.7 · 54,495 ratings · score 85 · excellent
10
ABC7 Los AngelesA
Free · ★ 4.7 · 39,007 ratings · score 85 · excellent
11
CBS News: Live Breaking NewsA
Free download · ★ 3.7 · 19,638 ratings · score 84 · excellent
12
ABC7 Bay AreaA
Free · ★ 4.6 · 16,024 ratings · score 83 · excellent
13
Patch - Everything LocalA
Free download · ★ 4.7 · 26,461 ratings · score 82 · excellent
14
Very Local: News & WeatherA
Free download · ★ 4.6 · 7,558 ratings · score 82 · excellent
15
KSL.com News UtahA
Free · ★ 4.7 · 58,636 ratings · score 82 · excellent
16
ClickOnDetroit - WDIV Local 4A
Free · ★ 4.7 · 33,707 ratings · score 82 · excellent
17
Action News JaxA
Free download · ★ 4.7 · 8,156 ratings · score 82 · excellent
18
NEWS CENTER MaineB
Free · ★ 4.7 · 19,543 ratings · score 81 · good
19
ABC11 North CarolinaB
Free download · ★ 4.7 · 20,855 ratings · score 81 · good
20
FOX61 WTIC Connecticut NewsB
Free download · ★ 4.8 · 8,246 ratings · score 81 · good
21
13 ON YOUR SIDE News - WZZMB
Free download · ★ 4.7 · 10,360 ratings · score 80 · good
22
The Detroit News: Local NewsB
Free download · ★ 4.5 · 7,263 ratings · score 80 · good
23
KXAN - Austin News & WeatherB
Free download · ★ 4.7 · 10,813 ratings · score 80 · good
24
FOX 8 NewsB
Free download · ★ 4.5 · 3,487 ratings · score 79 · good
25
KSLA News 12 Local NewsB
Free download · ★ 4.6 · 4,072 ratings · score 79 · good
26
40/29 News - Fort SmithB
Free download · ★ 4.5 · 3,492 ratings · score 78 · good
27
WLWT News 5 - Cincinnati, OhioB
Free · ★ 4.6 · 4,890 ratings · score 78 · good
28
WSB-TV NewsB
Free · ★ 4.7 · 49,809 ratings · score 78 · good
29
FOX19 NOWB
Free · ★ 4.3 · 3,397 ratings · score 78 · good
30
Kansas City Star | Local NewsC
Free download · ★ 4.4 · 6,785 ratings · score 76 · situational
31
WIS NEWS 10C
Free download · ★ 4.5 · 5,154 ratings · score 76 · situational
32
Lexington Herald-Leader | NewsC
Free download · ★ 4.4 · 3,178 ratings · score 76 · situational
33
Action News 5C
Free download · ★ 4.5 · 4,593 ratings · score 76 · situational
34
cleveland.comC
Free download · ★ 4.5 · 11,647 ratings · score 75 · situational
35
WBNG 12 NewsC
Free download · ★ 4.4 · 4,573 ratings · score 75 · situational
36
WHIO NewsC
Free · ★ 4.6 · 21,351 ratings · score 74 · situational
37
Raleigh News & Observer | NCC
Free download · ★ 4.2 · 4,009 ratings · score 74 · situational
38
WPXI NewsC
Free · ★ 4.6 · 18,708 ratings · score 74 · situational
39
PennLiveC
Free download · ★ 4.5 · 3,569 ratings · score 73 · situational
40
KIRO 7 NewsC
Free · ★ 4.5 · 12,716 ratings · score 73 · situational

Beyond the top 40

115 more, not ranked yet

New in the last 30 days

Questions people ask

What is the best local news app for iPhone?: Nextdoor: Neighborhood Network, S tier, ranked #1 of 40, rated 4.7 by 2,163,666 people.
Which local news apps are free?: 40 of 40 are free to download: Nextdoor: Neighborhood Network (S), Local News & Weather: Haystack (S), Spectrum News: Local Stories (S), Opera News: Breaking & Local (S) and more. 2 of them sell in-app purchases. 17 report no in-app purchases.
Which local news app has the best App Store rating?: Opera News: Breaking & Local at 4.8 from 28,620 ratings.
How many local news apps reach S or A tier?: 17 of 40. Tiers follow fixed score bands: S from 90, A from 80, B from 70, C from 60, D from 50, F below. The list's leader is S if it scores 80 or more. On a list of 20 or more ranked apps, a tier from S to D takes in new apps only up to a quarter of the top 40: an app pushed out of a full tier falls to the next tier with room, and F takes the rest. An app already in a tier keeps its place while the tier is at most 2 apps over a quarter; past that, only the apps over that margin go down, lowest score first. Equal scores share a tier, and no app has a better tier than an app ranked above it. An app keeps its tier until its score passes the band edge by more than 1 point, or a full tier or the order above moves it. Only the top 40 of a list get a tier.