Comparison

Choicelunch vs Mister Softee NorCal

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

Head to head
About

Choicelunch

Easily order healthy, kid-approved school lunches directly from your iPhone. Browse menus, customize orders, manage your account, and view nutritional information to save time and ensure your child eats well.

Highlights
  • Order lunches from school calendar
  • View and manage existing orders
  • Cancel or change upcoming lunches
  • Add/remove lunch add-ons
  • View entrée details and nutritional facts
  • Manage account balance and student profiles
  • Set favorite entrées for quick ordering
Features
Read full description

Order healthy school lunch right from your iPhone! Choicelunch has been redefining "school lunch" by making food kids love and parents are proud of. We believe wholesome food and kid appeal are not opposing forces, and offer a kid-friendly menu that's fresh prepared from the best ingredients. By pre-ordering what you want, when you want it from our expansive menu, parents can accommodate their child's food needs and preferences while saving hours a week in the kitchen. And now you can do it all from your iPhone! With the Choicelunch app you can browse the Choicelunch menu, order lunches, view lunches already on order, cancel lunches in advance, and view all entrée information, including nutritional facts and allergen, and entrée descriptions and pictures. Key Features: -Order lunches from the school calendar -View the lunches you've already ordered -Cancel or change upcoming lunches -Add/remove lunch add-ons -Receive Push Notifications for Order Reminders (optional) or other important lunch updates -View/manage/reload your Choicelunch Account Balance -Sign-up for a new account -Manage account and students -Add/update/delete credit card details -See size-specific photos and descriptions of entrées -Menu is filtered by allergens for each student -Set "Favorite" entrées for quick ordering -Browse entrée nutritional information Choicelunch provides healthy, wholesome school lunches to over 300 schools in California. If you have students at a school serving Choicelunch, be sure to create a registered account on www.choicelunch.com before using the iPhone app. For more information on Choicelunch or assistance in setting up your registered user account, visit www.choicelunch.com or contact support@choicelunch.com.

About

Mister Softee NorCal

Locate Mister Softee trucks in the Bay Area with a live map. Save your favorite spots and receive alerts when a truck is nearby. Share information about gatherings to potentially attract a truck.

Highlights
  • Live truck map
  • Save favorite locations
  • Proximity alerts
  • Crowd tip reporting
  • Private event labeling
Features
Read full description

Find your Mister Softee truck in the Bay Area. See where our trucks are on a live map, save the places that matter to you, and get a heads-up when a truck is close by. LIVE MAP Trucks appear on the map while they're out, updated continuously through the afternoon and evening. Every pin shows how recently it was seen, so you always know what you're looking at. YOUR PLACES Save home, work, a park, or anywhere else you'd want to catch us. Type an address - no need to be standing there. A HEADS-UP WHEN WE'RE CLOSE Turn on alerts and we'll let you know when a truck is getting near one of your saved places. Quiet hours are built in, and we deliberately keep alerts rare: no spam, no repeats, no buzzing all afternoon. CROWD TIPS Big group at the park? Let us know about a gathering happening right now. If we're close, we will try to make it there. WHEN A TRUCK IS AT A PRIVATE EVENT Trucks booked for private events still show on the map, clearly labeled, so you know they're not available to flag down. Mister Softee NorCal serves the San Francisco Bay Area.

Screenshots

Choicelunch4 screens
Mister Softee NorCal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Choicelunch at 4.6 against Mister Softee NorCal's 3.8. Choicelunch also leads on review sentiment (52% vs 14%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). Mister Softee NorCal's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, ratings volume, 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

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

Choicelunch holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 266 and 126 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Choicelunch's written reviews are positive against 14% of Mister Softee NorCal's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Choicelunch ships an update fortnightly, Mister Softee NorCal every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Choicelunch versus Mister Softee NorCal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChoicelunchMister Softee NorCal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (266 ratings) — better3.8 (126 ratings)
Positive reviews51.8% of reviews — better14.0% of reviews
Number of ratings266 — better126
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLunchIsServedMister Softee NorCal, Inc.

Customer experience

Choicelunch

All ratings259 ratings
Positive93.1%
Neutral1.2%
Negative5.8%
Written reviews112 reviews
Positive51.8%
Neutral3.6%
Negative44.6%

Mister Softee NorCal

All ratings112 ratings
Positive64.3%
Neutral4.5%
Negative31.3%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive14.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative78.0%

User reviews

Choicelunch

From 266 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Convenient and fast
  • 💡 Allows kids to order their own lunches
  • 🚀 Efficient ordering process
  • 👍 User-friendly interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes and bugs
  • 🐛 Glitches and issues with ordering
  • 🐛 Unreliable lunch delivery
  • 💰 Expensive pricing
  • 🐛 Compatibility issues with newer devices

Mister Softee NorCal

From 126 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 New app much better
  • 👍 Excellent tracking (rare)
  • 👍 Brilliant strategy (humorous)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inaccurate truck location
  • 🐛 Music plays loudly
  • 🐛 Cannot silence music
  • 🐛 App drains battery
  • 🐛 Location tracking always on

Bugs and requests

Choicelunch

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes on launch
  • Order screen not loading
  • Account balance not displaying correctly
  • Inability to complete orders
  • Syncing issues between app and website

Requested features

5 requests
  • More healthy and balanced meal options
  • Ability to view order history and details
  • Improved calendar functionality
  • Better integration with school systems
  • Refund or credit options for missed lunches

Mister Softee NorCal

Reported bugs

21 issues
  • Truck location inaccurate
  • Music cannot be silenced
  • Location tracking runs when app closed
  • App asks for motion cues
  • App doesn't show exact location
Show 16 more
  • App shows pins with no address
  • App constantly asks for location access
  • App doesn't update
  • Notifications for trucks far away
  • App shows trucks across the country
  • App stopped showing truck locations
  • App tries to demand background refresh permission
  • App says background refresh is off when it's on
  • Map is non-functional, no zoom
  • App doesn't detect truck even when close
  • App shows truck in same spot for hours
  • App shows wrong states
  • Music plays even on do not disturb
  • App doesn't work at all
  • App doesn't list hours
  • App doesn't list exact address

Requested features

10 requests
  • Update truck locations regularly
  • Set a radius for notifications
  • Show approximate time of arrival
  • Option to view future scheduled locations
  • Show accepted payment methods
Show 5 more
  • Indicate current wait times
  • Request truck to come to location
  • Develop tracker for NY area
  • Allow users to request truck to come home
  • Notify when truck within 5 miles

In-app purchases

None

Choicelunch

No in-app purchases

None

Mister Softee NorCal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Choicelunch free?
Choicelunch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mister Softee NorCal free?
Mister Softee NorCal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Choicelunch or Mister Softee NorCal?
Choicelunch is rated higher. Choicelunch averages 4.6 out of 5 from 266 ratings, while Mister Softee NorCal averages 3.8 from 126 ratings.
Do Choicelunch or Mister Softee NorCal have ads?
Choicelunch shows ads; Mister Softee NorCal does not.
Which is updated more often, Choicelunch or Mister Softee NorCal?
Choicelunch ships an update fortnightly, and Mister Softee NorCal every 2 months. Most recently, Choicelunch was updated on November 10, 2026 and Mister Softee NorCal on November 11, 2026.

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