# School Gateway vs SIMS Parent

The clearest difference is rating: School Gateway at 2.5 against SIMS Parent's 2.2. School Gateway also leads on review sentiment (16% vs 2%). SIMS Parent's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

School Gateway holds the better App Store score, 2.5 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SIMS Parent has 19 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 16% of School Gateway's written reviews are positive against 2% of SIMS Parent's.

School Gateway ships an update every 6 weeks, SIMS Parent fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | School Gateway | SIMS Parent |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[2.5 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/school-gateway/id596039615/reviews)** | [2.2 (19 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sims-parent/id1106452691/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **19** |
| Positive reviews | **15.7% of reviews** | 2.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | **Free** |
| Size | 14 MB | 39 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | **11.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [ISUZ Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/596039618) | [Education Software Solutions Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1568267003) |

## What reviewers say

### School Gateway

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/school-gateway/id596039615)

This app streamlines communication and management of your child's school life. It allows parents to receive messages, make payments for school items, manage dinner money, book clubs, and view academic reports and attendance. All your children's school information is consolidated in one place.

**Highlights:** Receive school messages, Make school payments, Manage dinner money, Book school clubs, View reports and timetable, Monitor attendance, Update contact details

**In-app purchases:** none


### SIMS Parent

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sims-parent/id1106452691)

This app allows parents to actively engage with their children's education by providing access to homework, calendars, timetables, and assessment results. Parents can also track progress, view behavior reports, and communicate with schools via secure messaging. It consolidates information for children attending different schools, enhancing safeguarding and parental involvement.

**Highlights:** View homework and assignments, Access student calendars and timetables, Track assessment results and reports, Monitor attendance and behavior, Secure messaging with schools, Manage multiple children across schools, Update safeguarding information

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Useful for tracking attendance
- 👍 Useful for checking timetables
- 👍 Useful for viewing achievement logs
- 👍 Useful for viewing behaviour logs
- 👍 Useful for keeping on top of homework

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Constantly crashes
- 🐛 Frequently logs out
- 🐛 Unreliable and unusable
- 🐛 Difficult to log in
- 🐛 Password reset issues

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes frequently
- App logs users out unexpectedly
- Login details are not recognized
- Password reset functionality is broken
- App is very slow to load

**Requested features**

- Fix login issues
- Improve app stability
- Update app regularly
- Better password reset functionality
- Improve communication features


## Frequently asked questions

### Is School Gateway free?

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

### Is SIMS Parent free?

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

### Which has better reviews, School Gateway or SIMS Parent?

School Gateway is rated higher. School Gateway averages 2.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while SIMS Parent averages 2.2 from 19 ratings.

### Do School Gateway or SIMS Parent have ads?

Neither School Gateway nor SIMS Parent shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, School Gateway or SIMS Parent?

School Gateway ships an update every 6 weeks, and SIMS Parent fortnightly. Most recently, School Gateway was updated on September 24, 2026 and SIMS Parent on September 23, 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.*