Open The Books vs Gov Forms
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Open The Books
Explore detailed U.S. government spending data, including contracts, grants, and salaries for federal, state, and local employees. Hyper-localize searches by GPS, zip code, or name to find specific financial information.
- Search U.S. government checkbook data
- View federal employee salaries and bonuses
- Access state checkbook spending
- Find local government public salaries
- Hyper-localize searches by GPS or zip code
- Search by vendor or employee name
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Search the United States Government checkbook since the year 2000: contracts, grants, loans, direct payments, and farm subsidies. The app also contains seven year salary histories and bonuses for 2.2 million disclosed federal employees, state checkbooks in at least 16 states, and public salaries from 36,000 local units of government across America. Hyper-localize all federal spending by using your current GPS location, setting a custom location by zip code, or search by a vendor name or employee's last name. See state checkbook spending: 1. choose a target state on the ‘state checkbook fly wheel’ of the app; 2. if you live ‘out-of-state,’ then change your location by keying any ZIP code within the target state. See salaries from 36,000 units of local government across America by your current location (as determined by GPS) or keying in a ZIP code. American Transparency is a 501(c)3 non-partisan, non-profit organization. Visit our website at www.openthebooks.com. The need for transparency has never been greater. Americans have never been more willing. Now is the time to stand up and be heroes.
Gov Forms
Access and understand U.S. government forms for taxes, immigration, employment, and more. Get step-by-step filing assistance, save important documents, and set deadline reminders to simplify your paperwork.
- Access popular federal forms
- Step-by-step filing assistance
- Save forms and set reminders
- Document storage for completed forms
- Covers taxes, immigration, healthcare, and employment
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Simplify your U.S. government form filing with Gov Forms! Whether you're managing your taxes, applying for immigration, or filing for unemployment benefits, our app is your one-stop solution for accessing and understanding important U.S. government forms. Key Features: Access Popular Forms: Instantly find and download top forms like IRS Form 1040, W-2, I-9, and more. Filing Assistance: Get step-by-step guides and FAQs to help you fill out forms accurately. Save: Save forms and set reminders so you never miss a deadline. Reminders and Notifications: Set reminders for filing deadlines, especially for recurring forms like taxes or business reports. Document Storage: Upload and securely store completed forms within the app for future reference. Secure and Easy to Use: Your data is safe with us. Enjoy a smooth, user-friendly experience. Categories Covered: Taxes (Form 1040, W-2, 1099) Immigration (Forms I-9, I-130, I-485) Healthcare (Medicare, Medicaid, Form 1095-A) Employment (Unemployment, Workers’ Compensation) Education (FAFSA, Student Loan Forms) ... and many more! Download Gov Forms today and take the stress out of handling U.S. government paperwork!
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Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Gov Forms at 5.0 against Open The Books's 2.5. Gov Forms also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 6 months). Open The Books's advantage is ratings volume (86 vs 1). 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.
Gov Forms holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Open The Books has 86 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Open The Books ships an update every 6 months, Gov Forms every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Open The Books | Gov Forms |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.5 (86 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 28.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 86 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.2 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 67 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | American Transparency | Ovidiu Lup |
Customer experience
Open The Books
Gov Forms
In-app purchases
Open The Books
No in-app purchases
Gov Forms
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Open The Books free?
Is Gov Forms free?
Which has better reviews, Open The Books or Gov Forms?
Do Open The Books or Gov Forms have ads?
Which is updated more often, Open The Books or Gov Forms?
Other comparisons
