Comparison

StartSOLE vs SmartPass Mobile

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

Head to head
About

StartSOLE

This app facilitates inquiry-based learning in classrooms by providing a framework for collaborative research and presentation. It offers thousands of questions aligned to state standards, lesson planning tools, and a community for educators to connect and share resources.

Highlights
  • Thousands of big questions aligned to state standards
  • Integrated lesson plans
  • Facilitation and reflection tools
  • Global educator community
  • Continuing education units
  • Printable resources
Features
Read full description

The StartSOLE app gives you everything you need to bring inquiry based learning into your classroom. In the app you will find thousands of questions aligned to state standards, integrated lesson plans, tools for facilitating and reflecting in your class, and the opportunity to connect with a global community of educators. What's SOLE? A SOLE takes place in three parts: asking a big question, collaborating to research in groups, and then each group presenting their findings. By design SOLE requires only one internet enabled device per group and takes about 45 minutes to an hour, perfectly suited to be completed in a single class period. SOLEs focus on the process of learning and prepares learners for the future by infusing 21st century skills like critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. This concept was pioneered by Dr. Sugata Mitra, winner of the 2013 TED prize for his ‘Hole in the Wall’ Experiment. StartSOLE is designed to make this concept easy for teachers to implement anywhere, anytime. What does this app do? • Big Questions - Thousands of big questions aligned to state standards are available for your next SOLE, or you can submit your own big question to share with the community. • Lesson Planning - Create a Charlotte Danielson-aligned lesson plan in minutes, delivered to your inbox • Facilitation Tool - An easy timer and guided observation tool allows you to record key moments during your SOLE as they happen • Guided Reflection - A brief guided reflection designed to improve your practice and provide support if needed • Certification - Receive free continuing education units from Cleveland State University for your work with SOLE • Tutorials - Guides & tips from other teachers, along with an introduction to the research frameworks behind SOLE. • News feed - view SOLE sessions from around the world and connect with other SOLE educators • Resources - Dozens of printable resources from other teachers available to use with your students: rubrics, worksheets, posters and more!

About

SmartPass Mobile

This app allows educators and school staff to manage digital hall passes in real-time. It enables the creation, approval, and tracking of student passes, with features like Hall Monitor and Kiosk Mode for efficient school management.

Highlights
  • Create and schedule digital hall passes
  • Approve or deny pass requests
  • Real-time student tracking with photos
  • Kiosk Mode for device-limited rooms
  • Access staff ID cards
  • Manage school account settings
Features
Read full description

Educators use SmartPass to easily create, manage, and oversee digital hall passes in real-time. Protect your students and school assets with features like encounter prevention and room capacity limits, all without compromising student privacy and security. Teachers & Admins can: - Streamline hall passes with one-touch creation, approval, denial, or queuing - Prevent unsafe and disruptive incidents through encounter prevention and room restrictions - Deploy custom digital student ID cards, reducing costs, saving time, and improving record-keeping - Access analytics for live, pre-scheduled, and pattern-based insights into student movement to improve safety and security - Customize use to account for each student’s unique needs and accommodations Smarter movement. Better outcomes.

Screenshots

StartSOLE4 screens
SmartPass Mobile4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: StartSOLE at 100% against SmartPass Mobile's 27%. StartSOLE also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.9) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). SmartPass Mobile's advantage is ratings volume (1.5K vs 6). On price, update cadence, 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

StartSOLE holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SmartPass Mobile has 1.5K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of StartSOLE's written reviews are positive against 27% of SmartPass Mobile's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
StartSOLE versus SmartPass Mobile: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStartSOLESmartPass Mobile
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (6 ratings) — better2.9 (1.5K ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better26.7% of reviews
Number of ratings61.5K — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB46 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLudiVita OGSmartPass, Inc

Customer experience

StartSOLE

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

SmartPass Mobile

All ratings1,457 ratings
Positive48.8%
Neutral2.8%
Negative48.4%
Written reviews202 reviews
Positive26.7%
Neutral2.5%
Negative70.8%

Bugs and requests

StartSOLE

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

SmartPass Mobile

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Frequent crashes and glitches
  • Unreliable pass tracking
  • Syncing issues between devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • More flexible time limits
  • Customizable settings for each school
  • Better integration with school systems
  • Ability to provide feedback/explanations for time limit overruns

In-app purchases

None

StartSOLE

No in-app purchases

None

SmartPass Mobile

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is StartSOLE free?
StartSOLE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SmartPass Mobile free?
SmartPass Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, StartSOLE or SmartPass Mobile?
StartSOLE is rated higher. StartSOLE averages 5.0 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while SmartPass Mobile averages 2.9 from 1.5K ratings.
Do StartSOLE or SmartPass Mobile have ads?
Neither StartSOLE nor SmartPass Mobile shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StartSOLE or SmartPass Mobile?
StartSOLE ships an update fortnightly, and SmartPass Mobile fortnightly. Most recently, StartSOLE was updated on September 30, 2026 and SmartPass Mobile on October 13, 2026.

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