# Van vs Balko School

The clearest difference is rating: Balko School at 3.4 against Van's 3.0. Balko School also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 35 months) and ratings volume (7 vs 2). 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.

Balko School holds the better App Store score, 3.4 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 7 respectively.

Van ships an update every 35 months, Balko School every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Van | Balko School |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/van-far/id1517827050/reviews) | **[3.4 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/balko-school/id6447320575/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **7** |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 35 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 110 MB | 134 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Van-Far R-1 Schools](https://appshunter.io/developer/1517827049) | [Balko School](https://appshunter.io/developer/1680969718) |

## What reviewers say

### Van

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/van-far/id1517827050)

Stay informed about school events, customize notifications for your student's organizations, and access weekly cafeteria menus. Get district updates and easily find staff contact information.

**Highlights:** Event calendar with sharing, Customizable notifications, Weekly cafeteria menus, District live feed updates, Staff and department directory

**In-app purchases:** none


### Balko School

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/balko-school/id6447320575)

Stay informed about school events, customize notifications for your student's organization, and access weekly cafeteria menus. Get district updates in the live feed and easily find staff and department contacts.

**Highlights:** Event calendar with sharing, Customizable notifications, Weekly cafeteria menus, Live district updates feed, Staff and department directory

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Van free?

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

### Is Balko School free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Van or Balko School?

Balko School is rated higher. Van averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Balko School averages 3.4 from 7 ratings.

### Do Van or Balko School have ads?

Neither Van nor Balko School shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Van or Balko School?

Van ships an update every 35 months, and Balko School every 2 months. Most recently, Van was updated on October 10, 2026 and Balko School on October 13, 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.*