Comparison

United Through Reading vs Patch Vault

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

United Through Reading

Connect military families through shared reading experiences, regardless of distance. Record yourself reading storybooks aloud to children, even during deployments or long workdays. Access a library of ebooks and save or upload your video recordings securely.

Highlights
  • Video recording of storybooks
  • Festive frames and user tools
  • Ebook library access
  • Offline recording and Wi-Fi upload
  • On-demand video viewing
  • Free book request after recording
Features
Read full description

The United Through Reading App keeps military families reading together, no matter the distance. Stay connected at storytime by video recording yourself reading a storybook aloud to the special kids in your life even when military duty, deployment, training, drill weekends, or long work days keep you away. The UTR App is free, secure, and available to active duty service members, veterans, and their families who register through Troop ID from ID.me. Since 1989, United Through Reading has provided service members with the opportunity to share the gift of reading together even when separated by military duty at more than 200 recording locations around the world. With the United Through Reading App, you can: ● Includes built in viewer, festive frames, and enhanced user tools. ● NOW WITH EBOOKS! Choose from our library of ebooks and record video storytime right now! ● Record, save, and upload your video recordings by registering with Troop ID from ID.me. ● Record your video offline and upload when on wifi. The NEW United Through Reading APP allows YOUR FAMILY: - To watch the video on demand online or download for offline viewing. - To request a FREE copy of the book read by the service member after recording via the email notification or on our website (https://bit.ly/UTRbooks) thanks to Dollar General Literacy Foundation.

About

Patch Vault

Organize and catalog your patch and challenge coin collections with detailed records, photos, and tracking. Easily search, filter, and view item origins on a map. Gain insights into your collection's trends and history.

Highlights
  • Catalog patches and challenge coins
  • Add multiple photos
  • Track detailed item information
  • Search and filter collection
  • View origins on interactive map
  • Review collection stats and trends
  • Sync privately with iCloud
Features
Read full description

Keep your patches, challenge coins, and badges organized, photographed, and easy to find. Patch Vault brings your collection's details together on iPhone and iPad. Record the department, station, location, acquisition date, purchase price, tags, notes, and photos for every item, whether it came from a trade, station visit, event, or gift. - Catalog patches, challenge coins, and badges in one collection. - Search names, departments, locations, tags, and notes. - Combine tag, type, format, and favorite filters to find the items you want. - Explore where your items came from on an interactive map. - Sort by title, department, date, price, or recently added. - Earn achievements for collection size, geography, photos, and more. Track progress and share milestones. - Share individual items, collection summaries, and achievements as image cards. - Add photos from other apps using the share sheet. - Keep collection totals and achievement progress close with Home Screen widgets. - Use Siri and Shortcuts for collection stats or a random patch, and find items in Spotlight. - Sync your collection across your devices with iCloud. - Export backups with photos, restore your collection, or export a CSV spreadsheet. - Personalize your app icon and tint. Made for collectors of fire, police, EMS, dispatch, search and rescue, military, government, and other patches, coins, and badges. Start free with up to 25 items and one photo per item. Vault Unlock is an optional, one-time in-app purchase that adds unlimited items, unlimited photos per item, and collection charts.

Screenshots

United Through Reading4 screens
Patch Vault4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Patch Vault at 100% against United Through Reading's 29%. Patch Vault also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.8) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months). United Through Reading's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On price 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Patch Vault sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. United Through Reading asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Patch Vault holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: United Through Reading has 20 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of United Through Reading's written reviews are positive against 100% of Patch Vault's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

United Through Reading ships an update every 5 months, Patch Vault fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
United Through Reading versus Patch Vault: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUnited Through ReadingPatch Vault
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (20 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings20 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB59 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperUnited Through ReadingRobotic Snail Software LLC

Customer experience

United Through Reading

All ratings20 ratings
Positive65.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive28.6%
Neutral14.3%
Negative57.1%

Patch Vault

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

United Through Reading

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Patch Vault

One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$4.99
  • Large Tip$9.99
Show 1 more
  • Premium$14.99

Questions

Is United Through Reading free?
United Through Reading is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Patch Vault free?
Patch Vault is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, United Through Reading or Patch Vault?
Patch Vault is rated higher. United Through Reading averages 3.8 out of 5 from 20 ratings, while Patch Vault averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do United Through Reading or Patch Vault have ads?
Patch Vault shows ads; United Through Reading does not.
Which is updated more often, United Through Reading or Patch Vault?
United Through Reading ships an update every 5 months, and Patch Vault fortnightly. Most recently, United Through Reading was updated on November 2, 2026 and Patch Vault on November 5, 2026.

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