San Mateo County Libraries vs Olyns
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
San Mateo County Libraries
Access library services from your mobile device. Manage your account, search the catalog, place holds, and use your digital library card. Discover events and access a wide range of digital resources like eBooks and eAudiobooks.
- Account management
- Catalog search
- Place holds
- Digital library card
- Event discovery
- Digital collection access
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The San Mateo County Libraries app is your connection to the library's services from your mobile device. Check your account, pay fines, renew items, search the catalog, place holds and use your digital library card. Find upcoming events, read our blogs, get directions to the nearest San Mateo County Libraries branch, and get easy access to our digital collection like eBooks/eAudiobooks, eVideos, eMusic and eMagazines.
Olyns
This app facilitates recycling by connecting users to a network of bottle boxes. Users can find nearby recycling locations, deposit beverage containers, and earn cash rewards redeemable via PayPal. It aims to make recycling convenient and rewarding while contributing to environmental sustainability.
- Find nearby recycling locations
- Deposit beverage containers
- Earn cash rewards
- Save Olyns card to phone wallet
- Touchless check-in via phone
- Cash out via PayPal
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Olyns is Rethinking Recycling. Our growing network of bottle boxes makes it easy and fun to recycle beverage containers for cash. Here’s how it works: 1. Download the Olyns App. 2. Create an account and save an Olyns card to your phone's Wallet. 3. Find the nearest Olyns Cube on our map. 4. Hold your phone below the Recycle Ring on the Olyns Cube for touchless check in. 5. Deposit your empty CRV containers into the Olyns Cube. 6. Earn cash for every eligible container. 7. Cash Out your balance anytime through PayPal. 8. Celebrate - you just did your part to help the planet
Screenshots
Verdict
San Mateo County Libraries and Olyns both sit at 3.3 stars, but that hides the real split: 47% of San Mateo County Libraries's written reviews are positive against 21% of Olyns's. Olyns's advantage is ratings volume (464 vs 8) and iOS requirement (12.4 vs 15.6). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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.
Olyns holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Olyns has 464 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 47% of San Mateo County Libraries's written reviews are positive against 21% of Olyns's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
San Mateo County Libraries ships an update every 2 months, Olyns every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | San Mateo County Libraries | Olyns |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (8 ratings) | 3.5 (464 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 47.1% of reviews — better | 20.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 | 464 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Peninsula Library System | Olyns Inc |
Customer experience
San Mateo County Libraries
Olyns
Bugs and requests
San Mateo County Libraries
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Olyns
Reported bugs
3 issues- Login/account verification issues
- Inconsistent container recognition
- Machines freezing/malfunctioning
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to favorite/track specific machine locations
- Real-time machine status updates
- Increase glass bottle capacity
- Expand operating hours
In-app purchases
San Mateo County Libraries
No in-app purchases
Olyns
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is San Mateo County Libraries free?
Is Olyns free?
Which has better reviews, San Mateo County Libraries or Olyns?
Do San Mateo County Libraries or Olyns have ads?
Which is updated more often, San Mateo County Libraries or Olyns?
Other comparisons
