Guidebook vs Cal Poly Orientation
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Guidebook
This application serves as a comprehensive guide for events, conferences, and campuses. Users can build personalized schedules, access detailed information about speakers and sponsors, and navigate venues with interactive maps. It also facilitates attendee engagement through messaging and a social feed.
- Personalized schedule and to-do lists
- Speaker and sponsor information
- Venue and local area maps
- In-app search functionality
- Attendee messaging and engagement
- Interactive social feed
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Guidebook is your guide to events, conferences, campuses, and more. Download the app to: [+] Build your personal schedule and to-do lists. [+] Easily access speaker, sponsor, exhibitor information, and more. [+] View maps of the venue and local area. [+] Simply search for information within the app. [+] Connect and engage with other attendees through private messages. [+] Share photos, likes, and comments on the interactive social feed.
Cal Poly Orientation
This app provides resources and support for new students and their families to ensure a smooth transition to university life. It serves as a central hub for information and assistance.
- New student resources
- Family support
- Transition assistance
- University information hub
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Cal Poly Orientation is hosted by New Student and Transition Programs which serves as a home and resource to all new students and their supporters and to ensure their successful transition to Cal Poly.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Guidebook at 53% against Cal Poly Orientation's 0%. Guidebook also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.5) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.
Guidebook holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Guidebook has 3.7K ratings behind it against 21, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of Guidebook's written reviews are positive against 0% of Cal Poly Orientation's.
Guidebook ships an update every 2 weeks, Cal Poly Orientation every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and August 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Guidebook | Cal Poly Orientation |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (3.7K ratings) — better | 3.5 (21 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 52.9% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3.7K — better | 21 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 57 MB | 54 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Guidebook Inc | Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo |
Customer experience
Guidebook
Cal Poly Orientation
Bugs and requests
Guidebook
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes when trying to view event details
- Inability to add custom events to schedule
- Incorrect location pinpointing on maps
- Notification issues and unwanted alerts
Requested features
5 requests- Dark mode option
- Ability to sync schedule across devices
- More customization options for user profile
- Better event filtering and search capabilities
- Integration with calendar apps
Cal Poly Orientation
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Guidebook
No in-app purchases
Cal Poly Orientation
No in-app purchases
