DAC App vs StudyMate
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
DAC App
This free application simplifies the recording of student audio responses for specific AP exams. It streamlines the process for both students and proctors, and automatically uploads audio files for school staff. Designed for use on school-issued iPads.
- Record audio responses for AP exams
- Simplify recording process
- Intuitive interface for students
- Streamline post-exam tasks
- Direct upload of audio files
- Designed for school-owned iPads
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The Digital Audio Capture (DAC) app is a free app developed by College Board and ETS to use for recording students’ audio responses for the AP Music Theory Exam and AP French, German, Italian, and Spanish Language and Culture Exams. This app has been developed to simplify the recording process for students and proctors, utilizing current technology that is intuitive to most students. It streamlines post-exam tasks for school staff by directly uploading student audio files after recording. School staff will follow the instructions in the 2025-26 AP Exam Instructions book to administer an exam using the DAC app. NOTE: The DAC app is limited for use on school-owned and -controlled iPad tablets (iOS 15.0 and above). Schools must update to the 2026 version of the DAC app; previous versions of the app will not work in 2026.
StudyMate
This app syncs with your institution's licensed learning management system to provide access to your "My StudyMate" projects and instructor-provided activities. Study offline using various interactive learning tools like flashcards and quizzes.
- Syncs with LMS
- Offline study activities
- Fact Cards
- Flash Cards
- Fill in the Blank
- Matching
- Quizzes
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StudyMate is the companion app for “StudyMate Campus” (the enterprise version of StudyMate licensed by schools and universities). This app does NOT work with the free version of StudyMate.com. The setup is simple: login to StudyMate Campus with a web browser, locate the mobile code, and enter it into this app. The StudyMate app will then sync with your Learning Management System (like Canvas, Blackboard or Schoology). During the sync, it will locate your personal “My StudyMate” projects, as well as StudyMate activities provided in your online courses by instructors. The data is updated each time the app is started, or anytime you click the sync button. The StudyMate app lets you study offline using ten of the same activities available in the web version of StudyMate Campus, including: - Fact Cards - Fact Cards+ - Flash Cards - Fill in the Blank - Pick a Letter - Matching - Glossary - Quiz - Challenge - Show All Download it for FREE! There are NO advertisements and NO in-app purchases. This app is provided as part of your institution’s license of StudyMate Campus, which is why we don’t charge you twice. Just remember that the StudyMate app won’t be of any use if your university or school doesn’t license StudyMate Campus.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: StudyMate at 83% against DAC App's 20%. StudyMate also leads on rating (4.3 vs 1.8) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 12 months). On price, ratings volume, 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.
StudyMate holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 1.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 16 and 20 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 20% of DAC App's written reviews are positive against 83% of StudyMate's.
DAC App ships an update every 12 months, StudyMate every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | DAC App | StudyMate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.8 (16 ratings) | 4.3 (20 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 20.0% of reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 16 | 20 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 12 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.5 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Educational Testing Service | Respondus Inc. |
Customer experience
DAC App
StudyMate
In-app purchases
DAC App
No in-app purchases
StudyMate
No in-app purchases
