Comparison

KSUMobile vs Budget Challenge

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

Head to head
About

KSUMobile

This app serves as an official companion for Kent State University, offering essential services for students, faculty, and staff. It provides access to academic information, campus navigation, account management, and important university news and updates.

Highlights
  • View grades and class schedules
  • Campus news and events
  • Interactive campus maps
  • Live bus tracking
  • Account management (ID, bursar, meal plan, FLASHcash)
  • Access pay stubs and leave balances
Features
Read full description

KSUMobile – The Official App of Kent State University Stay connected and in control with KSUMobile, your all-in-one companion for life at Kent State. Whether you're a student, faculty, or staff member, KSUMobile puts essential university services right at your fingertips. For Students: • View grades and class schedules • Get the latest news, events, and announcements from around campus • Navigate easily with maps for Kent Campus and Regional Campuses • Commute smarter with live bus tracking • Manage your account with access to your Kent State ID, bursar balance, meal plan, and FLASHcash—including your ten most recent FLASHcash transactions • Customize the app to show the information and services most relevant to you For Faculty & Staff: • Access pay stubs • Track leave balances • Stay informed with campus updates and news KSUMobile is continuously updated with new features to enhance your Kent State experience. Download now and check back often to see what’s new!

About

Budget Challenge

This free companion app allows existing users of a paid program to view invoices and pay bills on the go. It is designed for students with active accounts for the main program.

Highlights
  • View invoices
  • Pay bills on the go
  • Companion to paid program
  • Student account access
Features
Read full description

This app is a free companion app that only works with Budget Challenge (a paid program). This app will allow existing Budget Challenge users with student accounts to view invoices and pay bills on the go.

Screenshots

KSUMobile4 screens
Budget Challenge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: KSUMobile at 3.1 against Budget Challenge's 2.2. Budget Challenge's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 4 months). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

KSUMobile holds the better App Store score, 3.1 against 2.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17 and 12 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 25% of KSUMobile's written reviews are positive against 32% of Budget Challenge's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

KSUMobile ships an update every 4 months, Budget Challenge every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
KSUMobile versus Budget Challenge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKSUMobileBudget Challenge
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (17 ratings) — better2.2 (12 ratings)
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews32.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings17 — better12
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB77 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperKent State UniversityProperLiving, LLC

Customer experience

KSUMobile

All ratings17 ratings
Positive52.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative47.1%
Written reviews64 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative62.5%

Budget Challenge

All ratings8 ratings
Positive37.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive32.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative64.0%

Bugs and requests

KSUMobile

Reported bugs

30 issues
  • No back button, requires closing and reopening app
  • Impossible to navigate back to the app from website
  • App leads to webpages instead of functioning as an app
  • App won't open
  • App crashes immediately after opening
Show 25 more
  • App crashes every time it's launched
  • App crashes when trying to access maps
  • Student details show as 'null' after iOS 11 update
  • Daily schedule disappeared
  • App shuts down when accessing 'Me @ KSU'
  • App crashes often
  • App won't stay up on iPhone 5c
  • Cannot sign in
  • App won't open after new version download
  • App crashes before it opens
  • App keeps crashing and won't open
  • App crashes 5 seconds after opening
  • App won't open on iPhone 5
  • App won't stay open for more than 2-3 seconds
  • App opens and then crashes after 2 seconds
  • App doesn't stay open on iPhone 5s
  • App will not stay open on 4th Generation iPod Touch
  • App crashes frequently
  • App crashes almost regularly
  • App has become much slower and laggy after update
  • Schedule in athletics section is not present
  • Map is not functional
  • App is not optimized for iPhone 5
  • UI elements not optimized for retina display
  • Certain buttons don't follow Apple's Human Interface Guidelines

Requested features

17 requests
  • Add resale back button
  • Allow launching website content within the app
  • Revert to previous version
  • Improve bus tracking accuracy
  • Report time and temperature in user's preferred units
Show 12 more
  • Add landscape mode
  • Add 'keep me logged in' feature
  • Make app compatible with newer iPhones
  • Add directory information for campus services
  • Add a calendar of events
  • Add vegetarian options to dining
  • Add Black Squirrel Radio
  • Add KSU email with push notifications
  • Make an actual iPad app
  • Include regional campuses
  • Access daily Kent Stater
  • Access Blackboard Vista and Flashline

Budget Challenge

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

KSUMobile

No in-app purchases

None

Budget Challenge

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is KSUMobile free?
KSUMobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Budget Challenge free?
Budget Challenge is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, KSUMobile or Budget Challenge?
KSUMobile is rated higher. KSUMobile averages 3.1 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while Budget Challenge averages 2.2 from 12 ratings.
Do KSUMobile or Budget Challenge have ads?
Neither KSUMobile nor Budget Challenge shows ads.
Which is updated more often, KSUMobile or Budget Challenge?
KSUMobile ships an update every 4 months, and Budget Challenge every 6 weeks. Most recently, KSUMobile was updated on November 1, 2026 and Budget Challenge on November 1, 2026.

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