Canvas Parent vs MyOLS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Canvas Parent
This app allows parents to monitor their child's academic performance, communicate with educators, and receive timely updates on assignments and grades. It facilitates collaboration between families and schools to support student success.
- Message teachers directly
- View grades and assignments
- Receive real-time notifications
- See teacher feedback
- Calendar view for tasks and events
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Stay connected. Encourage success. Canvas Parent helps parents and guardians track student progress, support learning, and communicate with teachers in real time. What you can do • Communicate: Message teachers directly to ask questions or follow up on school updates or particular grade & page • Check progress: View grades, assignments, due dates, and homework across all courses • Get alerts: Receive real-time notifications for missing work, low scores, or new announcements • Encourage: See teacher feedback, celebrate milestones, and help your student stay organized • Plan ahead: Use the calendar view to track upcoming tasks, events, and class updates Canvas Parent is more than a grade monitor—it’s a progress tracker that helps families and schools work together.
MyOLS
Access your school's learning management system to view class schedules and grades. Parents can also receive notifications when their students are picked up from school.
- View classes and grades
- Access MyOLS system
- Receive student pickup notifications
- Parent-teacher messaging
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The MyOLS mobile application allows students and parents to log into the MyOLS system created by Optimus Learning School to view classes and grades. The application also allows parents to receive messages when their students have been picked up from school.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: MyOLS at 100% against Canvas Parent's 9%. MyOLS also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.4) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). Canvas Parent's advantage is ratings volume (112K vs 9). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
MyOLS holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Canvas Parent has 112K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 9% of Canvas Parent's written reviews are positive against 100% of MyOLS's.
Canvas Parent ships an update monthly, MyOLS every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Canvas Parent | MyOLS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (112K ratings) | 4.6 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 9.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 112K — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 174 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Instructure Inc. | Optimus Language School |
Customer experience
Canvas Parent
MyOLS
Bugs and requests
Canvas Parent
Reported bugs
4 issues- Frequent log-out issues
- Inability to access account or find school
- Delayed or inaccurate display of assignment statuses and grades
- Calendar view and other key features not functioning as expected
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to view submitted assignments and teacher feedback
- Better organization and sorting of assignments by due date
- Improved communication and coordination between parents, students, and teachers
- More consistent and intuitive user experience across the platform
MyOLS
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Canvas Parent
No in-app purchases
MyOLS
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Canvas Parent free?
Is MyOLS free?
Which has better reviews, Canvas Parent or MyOLS?
Do Canvas Parent or MyOLS have ads?
Which is updated more often, Canvas Parent or MyOLS?
Other comparisons
