Skyward Mobile Access vs First Bell
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Skyward Mobile Access
Access student grades, attendance, discipline, payroll, and time off information on the go. This app connects directly to your school's Skyward system for instant updates.
- Student grades
- Attendance tracking
- Discipline records
- Payroll information
- Time off requests
- Automatic district location
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Skyward Mobile Access provides intuitive access for students, parents, and school staff that currently use Skyward’s Family Access, Student Access, or Employee Access. Skyward Mobile Access will automatically locate your district and take you instantly to your vital information such as grades, attendance, discipline, payroll, time off, and more! Please contact appsupport@skyward.com with questions, comments or concerns about the app. Note: Your school district must activate Skyward Mobile Access Automatic Setup in order for this application to locate your school district and connect to it.
First Bell
This app helps high school students manage their daily class schedules with personalized views and live timers. Input your classes once to instantly organize your day and always know what's next.
- Personalized class schedules
- Live timers for current block
- View today's full schedule
- Input class names and room numbers
- Organized daily view
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FIRST BELL Lake Washington School District’s new high school bell schedule includes different start times, rotating blocks, and varying lunch schedules. First Bell keeps everything simple with a personalized schedule and live timers. Just enter your classes once, and your day is instantly organized. ** FEATURES * Edit: Input your class names, room numbers, and lunch. * Today's Schedule: View your full day’s schedule, synced to day of the week with live timers. * Current Schedule: A simple view of what class is happening now and what’s next. HOW IT WORKS Set up your classes in the app, and First Bell takes care of the rest. Your current block updates in real time, so you always know exactly where you’re supposed to be. WHY FIRST BELL No more paper schedules or scrolling through reminders. First Bell is built for high school students, by a high school student, to make staying on schedule effortless. Disclaimer This free app is provided 'as is' with no warranties, express or implied. The developer assumes no liability, implicit or explicit, for any issues arising from app usage. **This app is built for regular bell schedule days only.**
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: First Bell at 4.8 against Skyward Mobile Access's 1.8. First Bell also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 13%). Skyward Mobile Access's advantage is ratings volume (3.8K vs 15) and chart position (#57 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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.
First Bell holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Skyward Mobile Access has 3.8K ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 13% of Skyward Mobile Access's written reviews are positive against 50% of First Bell's.
Skyward Mobile Access ships an update fortnightly, First Bell every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Skyward Mobile Access | First Bell |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.8 (3.8K ratings) | 4.8 (15 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 13.5% of reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3.8K — better | 15 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #57 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 44 MB | 0 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Skyward Inc | Subramanian Ramaswamy |
Customer experience
Skyward Mobile Access
First Bell
Bugs and requests
Skyward Mobile Access
Reported bugs
4 issues- Login issues and accounts getting locked out
- Inability to access grades and school information
- Blank screens and app freezes
- Notification icon not clearing even after reading messages
Requested features
4 requests- GPA calculator
- More detailed grade and assignment information
- Improved notification system
- Streamlined navigation and user experience
First Bell
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Skyward Mobile Access
No in-app purchases
First Bell
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Skyward Mobile Access free?
Is First Bell free?
Which has better reviews, Skyward Mobile Access or First Bell?
Do Skyward Mobile Access or First Bell have ads?
Which is updated more often, Skyward Mobile Access or First Bell?
Other comparisons
