Varsity Central vs Next8Count
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Varsity Central
This app connects users with the latest news, information, and career opportunities from Varsity Brands. Stay updated on company initiatives, philanthropic efforts, and important announcements through digital communications and push notifications.
- Latest news and information
- Career opportunities
- Philanthropic partner updates
- Digital communications
- Push notifications
Read full descriptionHide full description
At Varsity Brands, our mission is to elevate the student experience by combining the power of sport, spirit, and achievement through our three interconnected businesses: BSN SPORTS, Varsity Spirit, and Herff Jones. Together, we foster individual, school, and community pride by offering customizable products and programs to a wide range of educational institutions, including elementary and middle schools, high schools, and colleges and universities. Additionally, we extend our services to club, select, professional, and collegiate sports teams, ensuring that our impact is felt at every level of athletic engagement. Varsity Central provides a modern, digital communications experience connecting our team members, prospective employees, partners, and other interested parties to the latest Varsity Brands news and information. With push notifications, you can stay in the know on important updates. Varsity Central users can also: • Stay up to date with the latest news, information, and resources • Learn more about career opportunities and our commitment to fostering a vibrant and inclusive culture • Support our commitment to our philanthropic partner, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Next8Count
Discover dance events nationwide, from competitions and workshops to shows and auditions. Find events by location, dance style, or type, and save your favorites. Organizers can also submit and manage their own events.
- Discover dance events nationwide
- Filter by dance style and event type
- Search events by name, city, or month
- Interactive map of nearby events
- Save favorite events
- Get event notifications
- Submit and manage organizer events
Read full descriptionHide full description
Next8Count is the nationwide platform for discovering dance events. Whether you compete, train, or just love to watch, Next8Count puts every convention, competition, workshop, show, battle, audition, and intensive in one place. What you can do: •Discover — Browse a featured carousel, trending events, and what's coming up near you, with filters by dance style and event type. •Search — Find events by name, city, dance style, type, or month. •Map — Explore an interactive map with a pin for every event so you can see what's happening around you. •Save — Bookmark the events you care about for quick access later. •Get notified — Stay up to date on the events and organizers you follow. •For organizers — Submit your own events and manage them from an organizer dashboard, helping the dance community find you. Next8Count is built for dancers, studios, and event organizers across the country — your home base for everything happening in the dance world.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Varsity Central at none against Next8Count's 3. Next8Count's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and monetization model 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. Next8Count sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Varsity Central asks for nothing beyond the download.
Varsity Central ships an update fortnightly, Next8Count every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Varsity Central | Next8Count |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (5 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 86 MB | 62 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Varsity Brands, LLC | Justin Diaz |
Customer experience
Varsity Central
Next8Count
In-app purchases
Varsity Central
No in-app purchases
Next8Count
- Basic Boost$4.99
- Deluxe Featured$9.99
- Premium Featured$14.99









