McMaster vs Van Meter
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
McMaster
Access a vast catalog of industrial and maintenance supplies from your mobile device. Browse and order over 800,000 products for your plant and facility needs.
- Extensive product catalog
- Order from mobile
- Plant and facility supplies
- Over 800,000 products
Read full descriptionHide full description
McMaster-Carr is the complete source for everything in your plant. Order over 700,000 products from the palm of your hand. Terms and Conditions: https://www.mcmaster.com/#terms
Van Meter
Manage your account, browse a vast product catalog with real-time pricing and availability, and access your order history. Create and share product lists for efficient team collaboration and reordering.
- Mobile account dashboard
- Online product catalog
- Real-time inventory
- Order history access
- Customizable product lists
- Team collaboration on lists
Read full descriptionHide full description
Get the most from your Van Meter account with mobile access to your account dashboard. Place orders from our entire catalog with real-time pricing and availability. Save time by accessing your order history and product lists available 24/7. • Online Product Catalog: Access our entire product selection online – 25,000 of which are in-stock and available for next day delivery. • Real-time Inventory: Visibility into our inventory allows you to optimize your supply chain by eliminating out-of-stock situations or excessive inventory. • Past Order Details: View, search or filter order history, including both online and offline orders, to look up past order details or quickly place a re-order. • Product Lists: Keep track of commonly purchased products by creating and managing product lists in your account dashboard. Share lists with your entire team and collaborate with the products specific for your needs.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Van Meter at 5.0 against McMaster's 4.3. McMaster's advantage is ratings volume (220 vs 2). 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.
Van Meter holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: McMaster has 220 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | McMaster | Van Meter |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (220 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 68.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 220 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 66 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | McMaster-Carr Supply Company | Van Meter Inc |
Customer experience
McMaster
Van Meter
Bugs and requests
McMaster
Reported bugs
25 issues- Payment method stays loading indefinitely
- Only header loads
- App is broken
- Navigation tools are in awkward locations and don't work half the time
- Screen shifts slightly
Show 20 moreShow fewer
- Occasionally freezes and doesn't respond to touch
- App is a little buggy
- Latest update won't load
- No estimate of shipping costs before completion of purchase
- App hijacks clicked URLs
- App will not open
- Shows 'No internet connection' when using the app
- Checkout screen has bugs
- Asks to enter ship to address even if shown
- Cannot enter credit card information
- Placing an order is a real pain
- Kept asking for the same things to be entered over and over
- Cart is terrible, no clear way to view items
- Shipping methods don't have predetermined options
- Forward parts request doesn't work
- Cannot save a copy on phone
- App doesn't show saved orders from website
- Missing order history and tracking
- Cannot print item page
- App doesn't show saved orders
Requested features
11 requests- Re-optimize app for phone use
- Add Apple Pay as a payment option
- Add a toolbar or ribbon for easier navigation
- Make navigation buttons at the top left like other apps
- Add a "is this page helpful?" link
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Add links for CAD files like on the website
- Add general search functionality
- Add ability to print
- Add order history and tracking
- Add PDF drawing download
- Add access to saved orders
Van Meter
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
McMaster
No in-app purchases
Van Meter
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is McMaster free?
Is Van Meter free?
Which has better reviews, McMaster or Van Meter?
Do McMaster or Van Meter have ads?
Which is updated more often, McMaster or Van Meter?
Other comparisons
