UWaterloo Portal vs Campusly
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
UWaterloo Portal
Access personalized academic and campus information directly from your mobile device. This app offers a streamlined, native experience for managing class schedules, exam details, WatCard balances, and campus events.
- Class schedules and details
- Exam dates and locations
- WatCard balance and top-up
- Personalized campus calendar
- Campus navigation
- Event browsing and registration
- Appointment booking
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Fully integrated with Portal web, the app provides direct, personalized content at your fingertips. Now, the app has been fully redeveloped to provide a streamlined, native experience for iOS. Content is organized in an easy-to-use platform with clear categories, which makes navigating a breeze. Our top-rated features include: • Classes – find detailed information about your class times, locations, professors • Exams – real-time data on dates, times and locations of your exams • WatCard – current balances, transaction history and access to top up funds • Calendar – all of your personalized and campus info in one place • Navigation – get directions to various locations on campus • Events – browse, register and attend a variety of events and workshops on campus • Appointment booking – get support from a variety of services on campus
Campusly
This app helps students manage their academic life with tools for scheduling, navigation, and course feedback. It also includes social features for connecting with friends and participating in online educational discussions.
- Course schedule management
- On-campus navigation
- Course and professor ratings
- Friend connections and chat
- Study countdowns
- Online educational platform
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Studying on campus, this app is your best choice! Studying kit: ▪ Countdown days ▪ Course Schedule ▪ On-campus navigation ▪ Course rating ▪ Professor rating Online Social: ▪ Circles ▪ Friends: Add friends, chat online. Online Edu Platform
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Campusly at 67% against UWaterloo Portal's 21%. Campusly also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (13.4 vs 17.6). UWaterloo Portal's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support 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
Both are free to download. Campusly sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. UWaterloo Portal asks for nothing beyond the download.
UWaterloo Portal holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 30 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 21% of UWaterloo Portal's written reviews are positive against 67% of Campusly's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
UWaterloo Portal ships an update every 2 months, Campusly every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 2, 2026.
| Parameter | UWaterloo Portal | Campusly |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (12 ratings) — better | 4.0 (30 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 21.2% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 30 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 13.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | University of Waterloo | CAMPUS BOOK INC |
Customer experience
UWaterloo Portal
Campusly
Bugs and requests
UWaterloo Portal
Reported bugs
15 issues- App crashes a lot
- App resets every time it's closed
- Keeps signing out frequently
- Login issues (wrong account displayed)
- Cannot launch the app
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- Calendar/Schedule barely works
- Update removed calendar functionality
- Quiz seating not visible until day of quiz
- App is slow
- App is difficult to navigate
- New version is a downgrade
- App doesn't show class times reliably
- App only shows current day's schedule, not tomorrow
- App loads schedule slowly and requires refreshing
- App shows weather when not needed
Requested features
6 requests- Add a reload WatCard function
- Add a section for school events
- Add ability to search or see office hours of any prof
- Bring back old features/widgets (exam schedule, map, watcard balance, food places, free rooms, bus schedule)
- Support iPhone X full screen
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- Add dark mode option
Campusly
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
UWaterloo Portal
No in-app purchases
Campusly
- 1 Credit$0.99
- 5 Credits$3.99
Questions
Is UWaterloo Portal free?
Is Campusly free?
Which has better reviews, UWaterloo Portal or Campusly?
Do UWaterloo Portal or Campusly have ads?
Which is updated more often, UWaterloo Portal or Campusly?
Other comparisons
