# UCSC Dining vs UCSC Menu

The clearest difference is review sentiment: UCSC Menu at 100% against UCSC Dining's 67%. UCSC Menu also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). UCSC Dining's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.2) and ratings volume (306 vs 17). 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.

UCSC Dining holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: UCSC Dining has 306 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of UCSC Dining's written reviews are positive against 100% of UCSC Menu's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UCSC Dining ships an update every 6 days, UCSC Menu fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | UCSC Dining | UCSC Menu |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (306 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ucsc-dining-menu/id1479214104/reviews)** | [4.2 (17 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ucsc-menu/id1670523487/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **306** | 17 |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 days** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Ad-supported |
| Size | 8 MB | 45 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Chai Jie](https://appshunter.io/developer/1479214103) | [Christian Knab](https://appshunter.io/developer/1670523489) |

## What reviewers say

### UCSC Dining

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ucsc-dining-menu/id1479214104)

Access detailed menus for all five UCSC dining halls, covering breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night options. Search for specific foods, view nutrition facts, ingredients, and allergens, and even preview upcoming menus.

**Highlights:** Dining hall menus, Nutrition facts, Ingredient information, Allergen details, Future menu previews, Food search across halls

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Very good app for dining hall info
- 👍 Amazing app
- 👍 Clutch app
- 👍 Great app, easy to use
- 👍 Amazing, no need to check menu in person

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Hours are hard coded and inaccurate
- 🐛 App lied about waffles
- 🐛 Ad banner is annoying

**Reported bugs**

- Inaccurate opening hours
- Incorrect menu information (e.g., waffles)

**Requested features**

- Add Owl's Nest cafe
- Allow viewing nutritional value for cafe items
- Option to search by food and see dining hall serving it
- Update hours for dining halls
- Update status for dining halls (e.g., open/closed for renovations)


### UCSC Menu

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ucsc-menu/id1670523487)

This app provides UC Santa Cruz students with organized dining hall menus, including nutrition information and future date options. It also features an hours tab, a points calculator, and integration with GETMobile for easy dining hall access.

**Highlights:** Dining hall menu summaries, Detailed college menus, Nutrition information, Future date menus, Dining hall hours, Slug points calculator, GETMobile integration

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is UCSC Dining free?

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

### Is UCSC Menu free?

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

### Which has better reviews, UCSC Dining or UCSC Menu?

UCSC Dining is rated higher. UCSC Dining averages 4.6 out of 5 from 306 ratings, while UCSC Menu averages 4.2 from 17 ratings.

### Do UCSC Dining or UCSC Menu have ads?

Both UCSC Dining and UCSC Menu show ads.

### Which is updated more often, UCSC Dining or UCSC Menu?

UCSC Dining ships an update every 6 days, and UCSC Menu fortnightly. Most recently, UCSC Dining was updated on October 17, 2026 and UCSC Menu on September 24, 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.*