UCSC Menu vs Palmetto
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
UCSC Menu
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.
- Dining hall menu summaries
- Detailed college menus
- Nutrition information
- Future date menus
- Dining hall hours
- Slug points calculator
- GETMobile integration
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Organized dining hall menu app for UC Santa Cruz students. Includes a summary page for each college's main food, a detailed menu for each individual college with nutrition information, ability to see menus for future dates, an hours info tab, and a remaining slug points calculator. Also, we integrated GETMobile to easily swipe into the dining hall. Keep the app on the App Store by supporting us at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/christiantknab Contact us at ucscmenuapp@gmail.com for feedback, bug fixes, and new features. Please include relevant screenshots.
Palmetto
Easily order and pay for your favorite bowls, smoothies, and superfood items. Earn rewards on every purchase made through the app. Secure payment options are available.
- Order bowls, smoothies, and superfood items
- Secure payment with Apple Pay
- Earn rewards on purchases
- View menu and favorites
- Track rewards progress
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Order bowls, smoothies, and superfood favorites with the Palmetto app. Pay securely with Apple Pay and earn rewards on every purchase.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: UCSC Menu at 100% against Palmetto's 43%. UCSC Menu also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). Palmetto's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.2) and ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Palmetto holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Palmetto has 568 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of UCSC Menu's written reviews are positive against 43% of Palmetto's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
UCSC Menu ships an update fortnightly, Palmetto every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | UCSC Menu | Palmetto |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (17 ratings) | 4.9 (568 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 42.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 17 | 568 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 45 MB | 87 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Christian Knab | Per Diem Subscriptions, Inc. |
Customer experience
UCSC Menu
Palmetto
In-app purchases
UCSC Menu
No in-app purchases
Palmetto
No in-app purchases
