The Desert Sun
Breaking News + eNewspaper
How much does The Desert Sun cost?
Prices are current as of 4 Oct 2026.
4 subscriptions from $16.99
In the United States, The Desert Sun has 4 subscriptions priced $16.99 – 69.99.
| Subscription | Period | Price |
|---|---|---|
| The Desert Sun Digital Subscription | Monthly | $16.99 |
| Monthly Digital Rate | Monthly | $19.99 |
| Monthly Digital Subscription | Monthly | $19.99 |
| The Desert Sun Annual Digital Subscription | Annual | $69.99 |
10+ alternatives to The Desert Sun
| The Desert Sun |   LA Times |   The Oregonian News |   The San Diego Union-Tribune |   California Post |   NBC Palm Springs |   KESQ Palm Springs News |   OCRegister |   St. Paul Pioneer Press |   LAist |   The Press-Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating / 5 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.6 |
| Reviews | 1.9K | 20K | 4K | 2.2K | 1.8K | 1.8K | 1.6K | 1.2K | 783 | 721 | 241 |
| Released | 2012 | 2010 | 2013 | 2016 | 2026 | 2012 | 2010 | 2010 | 2013 | 2008 | 2017 |
| Monthly price | $19.99 | $5.99 | $24.99 | $5.99 | — | — | — | $14.99 | — | — | — |
| Annual price | $69.99 | — | — | $199.99 | — | — | — | $174.99 | — | — | — |
The going rate for each plan in United States, in its own currency, shaded from the cheapest price on the row to the dearest.
The Desert Sun reviews
4.4 out of 5, based on 1,858 reviews.
What people like
- Great local news for the desert area
- Sports section is better than big papers
- Good weather forecasts help plan your day
What they complain about
- Pop up ads are really annoying
- App crashes or jumps around a lot
- Hard to read with large text settings
- Customer support is useless and unhelpful
Great paper
Helps me stay in touch with what’s happening in the valley
Terrible
I have now paid twice for a subscription and cannot get further than the paywall. $120 down the drain!! I do not recommend this service.
Desert news
Love the local information and everything about the desert area.
So bad
This app and there costumer services are worthless
Enewspaper
Can’t get full newspaper today. Only special sections available on-line
Online News
I love reading my Desert Sun Newspaper online. It’s convenient and up to date. All my local news at my fingertips on my iPad. Knowing my weather forecast in my city helps me plan my days. Keep up the good work Desert Sun. I’m a happy subscriber.
Navigation very poor
I want to report a missed delivery, or view my vacation hold and there is no option. “My Account” navigation or help does not exist
Somewhat improved
Not sure why the ads have to be included, but perhaps advertisers think they drive business.
Not new and improved
This new version of the app is not good or improved! The supposed function to highlight and print an article does not function as the print icon does not appear. The screen is not stable as it flutters and skips around. Why are there ad pop ups when I am already a fully paid subscriber for bot the print and e-newspaper?
Digital viewing
Getting better but still quite finicky. Would like to be able to share an article with others
Great paper!
I really like The Desert Sun newspaper! I got the paper edition for a couple of years when I lived in Indio. I have read the online version since I moved 7 years ago. The sports section is better than the printed papers here or USA Today.
Puzzles
Links on the puzzles are regularly broken always forcing you to watch ads and never taking you back to the puzzle. Get your act together,
Unbiased
Thank you for printing news that would otherwise would be censored in the Imperial Valley. The Imperial Valley Press never publishes information regarding how the powerful rich farmers influence our local government and businesses. These farmers often claim that the unemployment rate here would be much higher were it not for the jobs they have created and for the privilege of allowing laborers in picking their produce. In truth for many years these farmers have methodically and systematically prevented outside businesses from investing here as these, “outside interest”, will buy farmland and create better employment opportunities than the cheap labor they have been exploiting. For many years these farmers have wasted water from the Colorado River without accountability.
Breaking News?
I’m going to cancel my subscription because I only have breaking news and weather for my notifications. You would be shocked to see what the Desert Sun deems to be urgently breaking news.
Long time reader.
I think the app was better before.
Ads annoying
The app is balky.
“Subscription loop-de-loop”
Can’t subscribe, unsubscribe, read the articles, or change my settings. Nice job, TDS
The Desert Sun
The very best way to stay up to date and in the know until I can return for the winter season.
Sports are not urgent
News notifications I want. Not sports. Constant tennis notifications. Just stop.
Bring back PDF download
There used to be an option to download a PDF of the paper. Now you can only download a PDF of individual pages.
Desert Life Revealed
in a time when local newspapers are becoming relics, I can truly say, I am thankful that the Desert Sun News never fails to keep us abreast of all things desert. Keep up the good work.⭐️
Constant issue with log-in
Horrible issue trying to sign in to read the paper. The app constantly wants to a new password.
Problem with format change
The presentation format has changed so that I can no longer swipe pages side to side and cannot spread the text large enough for me to read with limited vision.
Don’t like it!
Somewhat clunky now and I hate the pop up ads. The newspapers have regular ads and the pop ups are really annoying It is hard to swipe and adjust the screen when enlarged.
The Desert Sun says it All
I love it because of the great focus on local CV news and happenings…restaurants, activities, community services…it has it all for the desert; you can also find general national sports and news as well and international highlights.
Desert Sun
The app is useless, I suggest not downloading seems to nothing but solicit purchases and subscriptions.
Unable to Print
Nice try, but how does one print a puzzle page from this APP?
Great App
Lots of different ways to read the publication. Sometimes I like to see the paper with the ads and other times just focus on the articles. The option to sign up for newsletters for specific cities and topics is useful as is the daily briefing.
E newspaper format is awful
Liked the original format but cannot get it back
Good content for CV
Content good but needs option to make text larger
Love the local news!
Like reading local news.
Scroll with finger drag needs work
The app is great with content and good with presentation, however the finger drag to scroll is does not work all the time. I have a 10th gen iPad with magic keyboard that works on every other app but this one. Fix it and the App would be 5 star. With upgrade to iOS 18 the app will not work when selecting stories. Error messages on loading. Terrible
Ads
No more pop up ads please
Unstable
Every time I try to turn to next page, the app changes size or format, or jumps back to page 1. Annoying and poor design!
Desert Sun
Great local paper. Should publish more to counter the plans of MAGA Republicans to overthrow the Constitution in order to save US Democracy
My paper isn’t opening at all
Why won’t the newspaper ope?
The Desert Sun price by country
A monthly subscription costs $17.60 in Canada and $21.91 in Mexico — 1.2× more for the same thing. Below is the going rate for each plan in every country that sells it — the middle price of what the app charges there, in the country's own currency with the dollar equivalent beneath it.
| Country | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | CA$24.99$17.60 | CA$93.99$66.19 |
| Indonesia | IDR 349,000$19.52 | IDR 939,000$52.51 |
| Mexico | MX$399.00$21.91 | MX$1,449.00$79.57 |
| United States | $19.99 | $69.99 |
The Desert Sun FAQ
- Is The Desert Sun free?
- Yes. The app and its basic features are free, in all 4 countries it sells in. Premium features are paid: they start from $16.99 (US), across 4 subscriptions.
- How much does The Desert Sun cost per month?
- Monthly Digital Rate is $16.99 – 19.99 (US). The annual plan works out cheaper per month: $69.99 a year.
- Does The Desert Sun have a free trial?
- No. None of its offers (US) come with a free trial.
- Where is The Desert Sun cheapest?
- A monthly subscription costs CA$24.99 (≈$17.60) in Canada and MX$399.00 (≈$21.91) in Mexico, its cheapest and dearest countries.
- What are the best alternatives to The Desert Sun?
- LA Times (4.6 from 20,048 reviews, premium from $4.99), The Oregonian News (4.3 from 3,972 reviews, premium from $24.99) and The San Diego Union-Tribune (4.5 from 2,157 reviews, premium from $5.99).
The Desert Sun download
Last updated 12 days ago.
The Desert Sun sells in 4 countries. It was released 14 years and 2 months ago, on 2 Aug 2012. It holds a 4.4 rating from 1,858 reviews.
Supports 30 languages: English, Arabic, Armenian, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian Bokmål, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Chinese, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese.
How much does The Desert Sun make?
Third-party estimates for the last 30 days, worldwide — not the store's own figures, which Apple publishes for nobody.
Revenue by plan
- Monthly 71%
- Annual 29%
Revenue by country
- United States 95%
- Canada 5%