SlugDining vs Palmetto
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SlugDining
This app provides real-time information on UC Santa Cruz campus dining options. Easily discover menus, nutritional details, and operating hours for dining halls, cafes, and markets. It also includes gym hours to help you plan your day.
- Real-time dining insights
- Discover current menus
- Detailed nutritional information
- Check operational hours
- Meal search by dietary needs
- Gym operating hours
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Explore UCSC Dining with SlugDining SlugDining simplifies your dining experience at UC Santa Cruz, offering comprehensive real-time insights into on-campus dining options. It’s designed to help you make quick, informed decisions about where and what to eat. With SlugDining, you can easily: • Discover Menus: Instantly access current menus from all campus dining locations. • Nutritional Insights: Get detailed nutritional info to eat smarter and healthier. • Operational Hours: Check open hours for dining halls, cafes, and markets. • Meal Search: Find foods that meet your dietary needs or cravings. • Gym Hours: View real-time gym operating hours to plan your workout schedule. SlugDining keeps you connected with the latest campus dining updates, helping you manage your meals efficiently and enjoyably. Whether you’re in a rush for a quick bite or planning a balanced meal, it’s all at your fingertips.
Palmetto
Easily order and pay for your favorite bowls, smoothies, and superfood items. Earn rewards on every purchase made through the app. Secure payment options are available.
- Order bowls, smoothies, and superfood items
- Secure payment with Apple Pay
- Earn rewards on purchases
- View menu and favorites
- Track rewards progress
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Order bowls, smoothies, and superfood favorites with the Palmetto app. Pay securely with Apple Pay and earn rewards on every purchase.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: SlugDining at 100% against Palmetto's 43%. SlugDining also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). Palmetto's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (568 vs 16). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Palmetto holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Palmetto has 568 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of SlugDining's written reviews are positive against 43% of Palmetto's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
SlugDining ships an update every 4 days, Palmetto every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SlugDining | Palmetto |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (16 ratings) | 4.9 (568 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 42.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 16 | 568 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 29 MB | 87 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ivan Del Rio | Per Diem Subscriptions, Inc. |
Customer experience
SlugDining
Palmetto
In-app purchases
SlugDining
No in-app purchases
Palmetto
No in-app purchases
