# Open The Books vs Gov Forms

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Open The Books | Gov Forms |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [2.5 (86 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/open-the-books/id485809631/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gov-forms/id1534696459/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **86** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 28.4% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Every 6 weeks** |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Ad-supported |
| Size | 6 MB | 67 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.2 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [American Transparency](https://appshunter.io/developer/939816911) | [Ovidiu Lup](https://appshunter.io/developer/1338663735) |

## What reviewers say

### Open The Books

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/open-the-books/id485809631)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Gov Forms

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gov-forms/id1534696459)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Open The Books free?

Open The Books is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Gov Forms free?

Gov Forms is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Open The Books or Gov Forms?

Gov Forms is rated higher. Open The Books averages 2.5 out of 5 from 86 ratings, while Gov Forms averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Open The Books or Gov Forms have ads?

Both Open The Books and Gov Forms show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Open The Books or Gov Forms?

Open The Books ships an update every 6 months, and Gov Forms every 6 weeks. Most recently, Open The Books was updated on October 15, 2026 and Gov Forms on October 5, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*