# ORB Participant vs Cognito

The clearest difference is rating: Cognito at 4.9 against ORB Participant's 3.1. Cognito also leads on review sentiment (60% vs 31%) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months). ORB Participant's advantage is ratings volume (66 vs 10). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

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

Cognito holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ORB Participant has 66 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 31% of ORB Participant's written reviews are positive against 60% of Cognito's.

ORB Participant ships an update every 4 months, Cognito every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ORB Participant | Cognito |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.1 (66 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/orb-participant/id1215719234/reviews) | **[4.9 (10 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cognito-universal-study-app/id1479567470/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **66** | 10 |
| Positive reviews | 31.1% of reviews | **60.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 5 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 43 MB | 54 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 12.1 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Foundation](https://appshunter.io/developer/1215719233) | [Kram Technologies, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1479567469) |

## What reviewers say

### ORB Participant

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/orb-participant/id1215719234)

Track your progress for The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award. Log activities, manage your sections, and submit them to your Assessor and Award Leader for completion, all from your mobile device.

**Highlights:** Manage Award progress, Set up activities, Create progress logs, Submit Award sections, Assessor and Leader approval

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use interface for logging hours
- 🚀 Convenient mobile access for on-the-go logging
- ✅ Reliable for basic activity tracking
- 📱 Simple and straightforward design
- ⭐ Helpful for Duke of Edinburgh participants

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezing
- ⚠️ Hours calculation errors and inaccuracies
- 🔌 Network error messages despite working connection
- ❌ Limited editing capabilities after submission
- 😤 Slow and laggy performance

**Reported bugs**

- Hours not accumulating correctly - logs multiple hours as single hour
- Progress bar not increasing when adding logs
- Network error messages appearing despite valid connection
- App crashes when entering journey observations
- App crashes when editing and resubmitting assessments

**Requested features**

- Ability to edit activities and submissions after approval
- Resend assessment/approval functionality
- Message/comment system between users and leaders
- View approved evidence and journey details after submission
- Edit activity names if misspelled


### Cognito

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cognito-universal-study-app/id1479567470)

Create and practice interactive study materials like flashcards and practice tests. This platform offers a fast and affordable way to prepare for exams with unlimited access to content creation and study tools.

**Highlights:** Create flashcards, Practice tests, Study guides, Notes, Outlines, Unlimited content creation

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ORB Participant free?

ORB Participant is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Cognito free?

Cognito is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, ORB Participant or Cognito?

Cognito is rated higher. ORB Participant averages 3.1 out of 5 from 66 ratings, while Cognito averages 4.9 from 10 ratings.

### Do ORB Participant or Cognito have ads?

Neither ORB Participant nor Cognito shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ORB Participant or Cognito?

ORB Participant ships an update every 4 months, and Cognito every 5 weeks. Most recently, ORB Participant was updated on October 20, 2026 and Cognito on October 7, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*