# CampusGroups vs The Pirate Experience

The clearest difference is review sentiment: The Pirate Experience at 100% against CampusGroups's 13%. The Pirate Experience also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4). CampusGroups's advantage is ratings volume (5.3K vs 5) and chart position (#134 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

The Pirate Experience holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CampusGroups has 5.3K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 13% of CampusGroups's written reviews are positive against 100% of The Pirate Experience's.

CampusGroups ships an update every 3 weeks, The Pirate Experience monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and August 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | CampusGroups | The Pirate Experience |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.4 (5.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/campusgroups/id566688504/reviews) | **[4.8 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-pirate-experience/id6466445321/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **5.3K** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | 12.5% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | **#134** | — |
| Size | 61 MB | 70 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Novalsys, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/566688507) | [East Carolina University](https://appshunter.io/developer/445017705) |

## What reviewers say

### CampusGroups

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/campusgroups/id566688504)

**Currently charting:** #134 Top Free · Education (US App Store)

This app fosters private campus communities for student organizations, departments, and teams. It provides tools for communication, event management, membership tracking, and payments, enhancing student engagement and group leadership.

**Highlights:** Upcoming events, Event registrations, Campus & group feeds, Directory & profiles, Chat, Attendance tracking, Dedicated event app

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 📆 Helpful for campus events
- 🔗 Integrates with school accounts

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐢 Slow loading times
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🤔 Confusing and unintuitive UI
- 🔄 Constant need to re-login
- 🚫 Missing critical features

**Reported bugs**

- Unable to register for events
- Events not showing up correctly
- App freezing or crashing on launch
- Login issues and invalid email errors

**Requested features**

- Add calendar view for events
- Improve event registration flow
- Enhance search and filtering options
- Provide better notification management


### The Pirate Experience

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-pirate-experience/id6466445321)

Discover student organizations, campus events, and service opportunities at East Carolina University. Log in with your Pirate ID to enhance your campus life and make the most of your university experience.

**Highlights:** Student organization discovery, Campus event listings, Service opportunity finder, Official campus platform, ECU student, faculty, staff access

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is CampusGroups free?

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

### Is The Pirate Experience free?

The Pirate Experience is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, CampusGroups or The Pirate Experience?

The Pirate Experience is rated higher. CampusGroups averages 4.4 out of 5 from 5.3K ratings, while The Pirate Experience averages 4.8 from 5 ratings.

### Do CampusGroups or The Pirate Experience have ads?

Neither CampusGroups nor The Pirate Experience shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, CampusGroups or The Pirate Experience?

CampusGroups ships an update every 3 weeks, and The Pirate Experience monthly. Most recently, CampusGroups was updated on September 23, 2026 and The Pirate Experience on August 26, 2026.

---

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