Open The Books vs BillBlaster
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.
BillBlaster
This app provides direct access to information about your congressional district and representatives. Easily find contact details, social media, and even call them directly to share your opinion.
- District information and map
- Representative profiles and contact details
- Direct dial to representatives
- Access to senator and local representative info
- Twitter information for representatives
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Introducing BillBlaster - Your gateway to active civic participation! Stay Informed, Stay Connected: BillBlaster is the essential app for every American who wishes to have their voice heard. With an intuitive interface, gain instant access to information about your district and ways to connect with your representatives. Key Features: District Details at a Glance: Just tap to find out which district you belong to and get a visual map representation for clarity. Know Your Representatives: From local district representatives to senior senators, have their profiles, phone numbers, websites, and Twitter information right at your fingertips. Direct Dial Feature: Want to share your opinion or get clarity on a bill? Use our direct dial feature to call your representative without searching for numbers. Don't just be a citizen; be an informed citizen. Make your voice count, with BillBlaster. Download now and step into the world of proactive citizenship.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: BillBlaster at 76% against Open The Books's 28%. BillBlaster also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.5) and ads (none vs shown). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
BillBlaster holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 88 and 159 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of Open The Books's written reviews are positive against 76% of BillBlaster's.
Open The Books ships an update every 6 months, BillBlaster weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Open The Books | BillBlaster |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.5 (88 ratings) | 4.7 (159 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 28.4% of reviews | 75.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 88 | 159 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.2 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 44 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | American Transparency | Grace Chong |
Customer experience
Open The Books
BillBlaster
Bugs and requests
Open The Books
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
BillBlaster
Reported bugs
7 issues- Does not work on iPad
- Doesn't work on iPhone 8
- App will not fully open (circle of death)
- App keeps spinning
- Nothing shows up on iPhone
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Still spinning in my rep search
- Information in the app is outdated
Requested features
5 requests- Send messages to multiple Senators/Representatives at once
- Include state senators and representatives
- Update data to include results of recent elections
- Add voting history on bills
- Include local reps
In-app purchases
Open The Books
No in-app purchases
BillBlaster
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Open The Books free?
Is BillBlaster free?
Which has better reviews, Open The Books or BillBlaster?
Do Open The Books or BillBlaster have ads?
Which is updated more often, Open The Books or BillBlaster?
Other comparisons
