Comparison

IU Mobile vs 5 Star Life

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

Head to head
About

IU Mobile

This app serves as a central hub for Indiana University students, consolidating essential information and services from various university systems. It provides a personalized experience to help students navigate their academic journey, access updates, and find support.

Highlights
  • University message center
  • Access to updates and services
  • Search for support
  • Content from Knowledge base, People, One.IU
  • Personalized student experience
Features
Read full description

IU Mobile is a digital gateway for Indiana University students. It pulls together information and services from multiple systems to helps current students navigate learning at IU from one native environment. In other words, it’s a personalized, custom experience for all IU audiences. IU Mobile lets students get messages from the university, access updates and services on the main pages, or search for support. It pulls in content from Knowledge base, People, One.IU, and places information--so students are always up-to-date.

About

5 Star Life

This app provides character and mindset lessons for children and adults, addressing challenges like managing emotions, building confidence, and critical thinking. It uses engaging video curriculum and activities to foster positive growth mindsets and transform perspectives.

Highlights
  • Character and mindset development
  • Video curriculum
  • Age-appropriate lessons (K-12+)
  • Emotional management
  • Goal setting
  • Confidence building
  • Critical thinking
Features
Read full description

Are you looking for a roadmap to connect with your kids? Are you doing your best to navigate through the negative culture, but need additional support? This app is for you. Five Star Life is changing the face of culture by changing the mindsets of kids! Our lessons cover a wide range of relevant topics specifically designed to address the challenge kids (and adults) are facing! Topics include: managing emotions, goal setting, self-awareness, self-image, building confidence, dealing with change, critical thinking, decision making, work ethic, growth mindset, anxiety, time management, conflict resolution, creating friendships and navigating social life, prejudice, equality, and much more. Join Coach Seth as he offers a different approach, helping your kids look at life through a new lens, with the goal of transforming them from the inside out. Who are we? Five Star Life is changing the face of culture by changing the mindsets of kids. At the core of each person’s success or failure is a mindset. Research shows that kids drop out of school because they do not value education and ultimately do not value themselves. Negative, or fixed, mindsets contribute to disengagement and underperformance. Ultimately, without a positive growth-mindset, kids begin to devalue their education, as well as themselves. The recent pandemic has only exacerbated the problem with high levels of depression, stress and anxiety. We attack this issue by infusing our character, leadership, and mindset development Video Curriculum that teaches kids how to develop successful mindsets, which is the beginning of their transformation. Who is this for?: FSL Video Curriculum has age appropriate lessons designed for K-12th grades but is relevant for adults too! Our Elementary videos address the same life skills as the Secondary videos but are shorter in length (3-5 minutes) with an age-appropriate format. Lesson plans with engaging processing activities accompany the curriculum for the younger grades, while video reflection notes are provided for kids in 3rd grade and above. Our curriculum team identifies the skills needed for success. These skills are taught through 28 engaging video lessons. The curriculum is aligned with numerous state and national standards in academics and school counseling; it also meets requirements for state mandates associated with youth mental health. Check Five Star Life’s 5-Step Process: #1 - WATCH IT: Each week, kids watch a short video. #2 - WRITE IT: Kids complete the video curriculum notes consisting of three to four processing questions. Research suggests 90% of what kids hear goes in one ear and out the other. When kids write and reflect upon what they hear, comprehension increases and learning is deepened. #3 - DISCUSS IT: Kids then verbally process their thoughts and ideas through small or whole-group classroom discussion. #4 - LIVE IT: Each lesson calls kids to action through a weekly “Challenge Step.” Kids document exactly how they will apply the challenge to their lives. Evidence clearly reveals that the deepest level of learning happens when you act on what you have learned. #5 - REPORT IT: Kids report back regarding challenge step completion and the impact it had on their lives. --- Terms of use (EULA): https://5starlife.appfactori.com/#/terms-and-conditions Privacy policy: https://5starlife.appfactori.com/#/privacy-policy

Screenshots

IU Mobile4 screens
5 Star Life4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: 5 Star Life at 4.5 against IU Mobile's 3.9. IU Mobile's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement 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. 5 Star Life sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. IU Mobile asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

5 Star Life holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: IU Mobile has 187 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
IU Mobile versus 5 Star Life: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIU Mobile5 Star Life
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (187 ratings)4.5 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews35.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings187 — better4
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size87 MB89 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIndiana UniversityFive Star Life, Inc

Customer experience

IU Mobile

All ratings187 ratings
Positive68.4%
Neutral8.0%
Negative23.5%
Written reviews101 reviews
Positive35.6%
Neutral7.9%
Negative56.4%

5 Star Life

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

IU Mobile

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • App crashes on startup or during use
  • Login loops - requires re-authentication constantly
  • Update required message with no available update
  • Incompatibility with newer iOS versions
  • Screen rotation issues on iPad
Show 10 more
  • Crimson Card not visible on smaller devices (iPhone SE)
  • Email loading icon stuck indefinitely
  • Randomly opens wrong emails
  • Class schedule reverts to previous semesters
  • Widget fails to update schedule
  • Duo authentication not displaying
  • App closes immediately after opening
  • Cannot access laundry, dining, or class information
  • Keyboard doesn't display properly
  • Connection failures despite strong internet

Requested features

14 requests
  • Save username and password securely
  • Biometric login (Face ID/fingerprint)
  • Grade book access
  • Reply to class messages functionality
  • Faculty-specific features for instructors
Show 9 more
  • Syllabus tab access
  • OneStart integration
  • Canvas/course assignment details
  • Laundry status checking
  • Dining hall hours display
  • Sports schedule information
  • Persistent login sessions
  • Dark mode option
  • Widget functionality for class schedules

5 Star Life

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

IU Mobile

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

5 Star Life

Subscriptions2
  • $0.99/mo Basic Plan$0.991 Month
  • $4.99/mo Premium Plan$4.991 Month

Questions

Is IU Mobile free?
IU Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is 5 Star Life free?
5 Star Life is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, IU Mobile or 5 Star Life?
5 Star Life is rated higher. IU Mobile averages 3.9 out of 5 from 187 ratings, while 5 Star Life averages 4.5 from 4 ratings.
Do IU Mobile or 5 Star Life have ads?
5 Star Life shows ads; IU Mobile does not.
Which is updated more often, IU Mobile or 5 Star Life?
IU Mobile ships an update monthly, and 5 Star Life monthly. Most recently, IU Mobile was updated on November 1, 2026 and 5 Star Life on October 13, 2026.

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