Comparison

Points Scan vs Gradelink Student/Parent App

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Points Scan

Quickly determine the Accelerated Reader™ points and reading level for any book by scanning its barcode or searching by title/author. Save your favorite books for easy access.

Highlights
  • Scan book barcodes
  • Instant AR™ point value
  • Instant AR™ level
  • Title search
  • Author search
  • Save to Favorites list
Features
Read full description

Want to know how many Accelerated Reader™ points a book is worth? Points Scan lets you scan a book’s barcode with your smart phone and instantly link to AR™ information. Straight Path Apps brings you the easiest, most convenient way to learn a book ‘s AR™ point value and level when you’re on the go. Simply scan the book’s ISBN (barcode) using your device's camera as a scanner and one screen later; you’ll see the book’s AR™ level, point value and quiz number. If your book doesn't have a barcode, no problem! Points Scan includes both a title and author search, as well. If you find a book you want to remember, you can also save it in a Favorites list. Renaissance Learning™ developed Accelerated Reader ™ and is no way associated with Straight Path Apps.

About

Gradelink Student/Parent App

Stay connected with your child's academic progress. This app allows parents and students to easily view grades, assignments, attendance, and school news. Receive alerts for grade changes and manage multiple student accounts.

Highlights
  • View class and assignment grades
  • Track attendance and discipline entries
  • Monitor upcoming homework and assignments
  • Access school news and announcements
  • Set grade and attendance alerts
  • Switch between multiple student accounts
  • View report cards and billing statements
Features
Read full description

NOTE: To use this app your school must be a Gradelink subscriber. The Gradelink® Mobile app helps keep students and their parents totally involved in their academic performance. Easily view class and assignment grades, attendance, upcoming homework and more. • View your school's news page. • Quickly access your class schedule, including locations. • View current grades and assignments for all classes, including teacher comments. • Quick view of upcoming assignments, plus graphs of performance by assignment type category. • Easily retrieve your latest report card. • View current and historical attendance. • View discipline entries. • Access billing statements and see current charges. • Set and update grade alerts for all of your classes, including overall grade as well as individual assignment performance, high or low. (e.g. Tell me when my grade drops to a C) • Set and update attendance alerts. • Parents, quickly switch between your kids' accounts at the same school. ..and more. Certain features only available if enabled by your school. For information or assistance logging in, please contact your school office.

Screenshots

Points Scan4 screens
Gradelink Student/Parent App4 screens

Verdict

The call

Points Scan and Gradelink Student/Parent App both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 82% of Gradelink Student/Parent App's written reviews are positive against 32% of Points Scan's. Gradelink Student/Parent App also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (18K vs 2.9K). Points Scan's advantage is iOS requirement (12.1 vs 15). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Points Scan against 4.9 for Gradelink Student/Parent App. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Gradelink Student/Parent App has 18K ratings behind it against 2.9K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 32% of Points Scan's written reviews are positive against 82% of Gradelink Student/Parent App's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Points Scan ships an update every 5 months, Gradelink Student/Parent App every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Points Scan versus Gradelink Student/Parent App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPoints ScanGradelink Student/Parent App
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2.9K ratings)4.9 (18K ratings) — better
Positive reviews31.6% of reviews82.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.9K18K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.1 — better15
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStraight Path AppsGradelink Corporation

Customer experience

Points Scan

All ratings2,740 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.9%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews57 reviews
Positive31.6%
Neutral15.8%
Negative52.6%

Gradelink Student/Parent App

All ratings17,683 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral1.3%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews248 reviews
Positive82.3%
Neutral4.4%
Negative13.3%

User reviews

Points Scan

From 2.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Convenient scanning feature
  • 💡 Helpful for AR goals
  • 🙌 Teacher-approved

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🔍 Unable to find many books
  • 🤔 Inconsistent search results
  • 🤯 Buggy barcode scanning

Gradelink Student/Parent App

From 18K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 💡 Helpful for monitoring student progress
  • 🚀 Convenient way to check grades
  • 🔒 Secure access to student information

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional login issues and app crashes
  • 🔍 Limited functionality compared to website
  • 💻 Needs better mobile optimization

Bugs and requests

Points Scan

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Scanning issues with books starting with 0
  • Incorrect character display in search results
  • Sudden inability to search by name or author
  • Compatibility problems with older devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Include word count information
  • Add ability to mark books as completed
  • Improve search functionality
  • Expand book database coverage

Gradelink Student/Parent App

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login credentials not persisting after updates
  • GPA information disappearing after recent update
  • Inability to access certain features on iPhone X

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add calendar view to app
  • Improve multi-student switching experience
  • Integrate payment options for fees and lunch
  • Develop a dedicated teacher app

In-app purchases

None

Points Scan

No in-app purchases

None

Gradelink Student/Parent App

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Points Scan free?
Points Scan is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Gradelink Student/Parent App free?
Gradelink Student/Parent App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Points Scan or Gradelink Student/Parent App?
Gradelink Student/Parent App is rated higher. Points Scan averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.9K ratings, while Gradelink Student/Parent App averages 4.9 from 18K ratings.
Do Points Scan or Gradelink Student/Parent App have ads?
Neither Points Scan nor Gradelink Student/Parent App shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Points Scan or Gradelink Student/Parent App?
Points Scan ships an update every 5 months, and Gradelink Student/Parent App every 2 months. Most recently, Points Scan was updated on October 23, 2026 and Gradelink Student/Parent App on October 24, 2026.

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