EdFed vs BrightStar Mobile
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
EdFed
Manage your finances on the go with this mobile banking app. View account balances, transaction history, and check images. Schedule bill payments and deposit checks remotely. Locate nearby ATMs easily.
- Account management
- Check image viewing
- Transaction history
- Bill payment scheduling
- Remote check deposit
- ATM locator
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Make your life easier with Educational Federal Credit Union’s FREE Mobile Banking Application for iOS. - Manage your accounts -View your check images - View your Transaction History - Schedule new Bill Payments - Deposit Checks from Anywhere - Locate nearest surcharge free ATM's.
BrightStar Mobile
Manage your finances on the go with this mobile banking app. Check balances, transfer funds, view transactions, and communicate securely with your credit union anytime, anywhere. It offers convenient access to your accounts and branch information.
- Check balances 24/7
- View pending transactions
- Funds transfers
- Transaction history
- Secure messaging
- Branch hours and location
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BrightStar Credit Union Mobile Banking allows you to check balances, transfer funds, view transactions and check messages from anywhere, anytime. It’s fast, free and available to all of our online banking users. With this app you can do the following: - Check balances 24/7 - View pending transactions - Create, approve, cancel or view funds transfers - View transaction history - Send and receive secure messages - Access branch hours and location information
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: BrightStar Mobile at 81% against EdFed's 28%. BrightStar Mobile also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.0) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). EdFed's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). On price, ads, 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.
BrightStar Mobile holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BrightStar Mobile has 2.2K ratings behind it against 127, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of EdFed's written reviews are positive against 81% of BrightStar Mobile's.
EdFed ships an update monthly, BrightStar Mobile every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | EdFed | BrightStar Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (127 ratings) | 4.5 (2.2K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 28.0% of reviews | 81.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 127 | 2.2K — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 120 MB | 69 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Educational Federal Credit Union | BrightStar Credit Union |
Customer experience
EdFed
BrightStar Mobile
User reviews
EdFed
From 127 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🚀 Fast performance (sometimes)
- 💡 Convenient for basic banking
- ✅ Works great on iPhone
- ✅ Old app was functional
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent bugs and glitches
- 🐛 App crashes often
- 🐛 Login issues (locked out, wrong password)
- 🐛 Mobile deposit not working
- 🐛 Slow loading times
BrightStar Mobile
From 2.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to navigate
- 👍 User-friendly
- 👍 Convenient
- 👍 Smooth to use
- 👍 Reliable
Room to improve
- 🐛 Balance accuracy issues
- 🐛 Slow mobile deposit process
- 🐛 Buggy login/sign-in
- 🐛 Outdated design
- 🐛 Covers up menu in portrait mode
Bugs and requests
EdFed
Reported bugs
45 issues- App locks and denies access after login attempts
- Cannot scan checks for mobile deposit
- Zelle feature not accessible as advertised
- Account registration fails
- Mobile deposit screen is blank or white
Show 40 moreShow fewer
- Face ID function removed, manual login causes lockout
- App rarely functions after name change, blank screens for balances
- Constantly needs reinstallation to work
- Account tab information not visible upon login
- App freezes and glitches
- Transfer completion reported, but funds not transferred
- App gets stuck in settings menu on iPad
- Cannot log out on iPad version, requires force close
- App won't open, closes immediately on launch
- Barely opens, cannot check balance
- App looks cheap and outdated
- App is rudimentary and full of bugs
- App is slow and buggy
- App crashes upon opening on iOS 13
- App reverts to icon on iPad Pro with iOS 13.1.1
- App crashes and says password is wrong
- Password issues even after changing it
- Cannot make simple transfers (savings to checking)
- App shuts down upon login attempt
- Incorrect account balances displayed
- App crashes when selecting an account after login
- App freezes or gets stuck on loading screen
- Cannot review transactions beyond a week
- Account holds listed as both pending and processed
- Charges deducted but not listed
- Username entered, but password field does not appear
- App lags after completing a transfer
- Remote deposit feature disabled
- App times out during login or mid-session logouts
- Cannot see credit card full transaction history or due date
- Language settings under 'Change Password'
- Account holds not seen in the account they are for
- App is slow, unable to open, and crashes
- App force quits on opening
- App crashes with iPad 13.1.1
- App reverts to icon on iPad Pro with iOS 13.1
- App kicks/times out frequently
- Cannot see debit card purchases
- App crashes or times out of login
- App glitches cause ruin
Requested features
12 requests- Zelle integration
- Improved mobile deposit functionality
- Bill pay improvements
- Full transaction history access
- FaceID/TouchID/Biometric login
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Apple Pay/Card compatibility
- Dark mode
- Visible password option
- Option to disable auto-save account number
- iPad app
- Remote deposit feature enablement
- Update for iPhone X
BrightStar Mobile
Reported bugs
3 issues- Balance not accurately reflected in transactions
- Chat icon covers up menu in portrait mode
- Billpay not working on iPad
Requested features
5 requests- Add Zelle money transfer option
- Implement credit management tools
- Provide daily balance and transaction alerts
- Allow card replacement/reordering through app
- Improve mobile deposit process
In-app purchases
EdFed
No in-app purchases
BrightStar Mobile
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is EdFed free?
Is BrightStar Mobile free?
Which has better reviews, EdFed or BrightStar Mobile?
Do EdFed or BrightStar Mobile have ads?
Which is updated more often, EdFed or BrightStar Mobile?
Other comparisons
