Comparison

School Planner | DormWay vs Cinch

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

School Planner | DormWay

This app consolidates assignments and deadlines from various sources like syllabi and learning platforms into a single, accurate view. It offers an AI assistant to answer course-specific questions and works across thousands of universities without requiring IT approval.

Highlights
  • Consolidates assignments from syllabi and learning platforms
  • Connects to Canvas and Moodle for auto-syncing
  • AI assistant for course-specific questions
  • Works at over 6,000 universities
  • Data privacy focused with read-only access
  • Free to use with no premium tiers
Features
Read full description

Ever realize at 11pm something might be due tomorrow, but you're not sure? So you check Canvas, dig through your email, and open a 47-page syllabus just to find out. That's why we built DormWay while at University of Michigan. DormWay pulls your syllabi, Canvas assignments, and calendar into one place and shows you exactly what's due and when. Do Now. Up Next. Due Soon. Always current. WHAT DORMWAY DOES • Syllabus breakdown in minutes: assignments, deadlines, exam dates, grading weights, late policy. No reading 47 pages. • Canvas auto-sync: every assignment from every class, no manual entry, no checking "just in case." • Ask Ace anything about your courses: "When's my ECON 301 final?" "What do I need on the final to get a B?" Answers come from your actual syllabi, not the internet. • See the whole semester: conflicts, crunch weeks, and back-to-back deadlines show up before they become a crisis. WHY STUDENTS TRUST DORMWAY • Works at your school. No IT approval or university partnership needed. Canvas, Moodle, and Brightspace D2L supported. • Your data stays yours. We never sell it and never share it with your university. Read-only access to your LMS. Delete everything anytime. • Built by a student. Riley (23, University of Michigan) built DormWay because he kept missing things buried in syllabi. He still uses it every day. HOW IT WORKS 1. Add your syllabi in the app, or email them to syllabus@dormway.app 2. Connect Canvas, Moodle, or Brightspace in one tap 3. Open DormWay and see what's next No setup to maintain. It updates itself. Stop wondering what's due. Download DormWay.

About

Cinch

Automate your academic life by syncing assignments from your learning management system to your Google Calendar. It intelligently schedules dedicated study time around your existing commitments and automatically reschedules missed blocks.

Highlights
  • Syncs assignments from LMS to Google Calendar
  • Creates automatic study blocks
  • Reschedules missed study sessions
  • Works around existing calendar events
  • Allows manual adjustment of study blocks
  • Imports assignments not on LMS
Features
Read full description

Cinch pulls your assignments and syllabi from Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard, Brightspace (D2L), or Google Classroom and posts them to your Google Calendar in about five minutes. Then it builds a study schedule: a block of time for each assignment, placed around the classes and events already on your calendar. If you miss a study block, Cinch moves it. A block you skipped on Sunday shows up again on Tuesday. You don't have to replan anything. WHAT CINCH DOES • Imports assignments and due dates from your school's LMS • Posts each assignment as a [DUE] event on Google Calendar • Adds [STUDY] blocks with time set aside for each assignment • Works around the classes, work shifts, and events already on your calendar • Reschedules any study block you miss, automatically, overnight WHAT YOU CONTROL • Review every imported assignment so you can confirm nothing was missed • Add any assignments that aren't on your LMS or syllabi • Move, shorten, or delete any study block. They're normal Google Calendar events. Cinch adjusts the rest of your schedule around your changes. YOUR DATA • Cinch reads your existing Google Calendar events only to show your schedule in the app and to find open time for study blocks • Cinch never changes or deletes calendar events it didn't create • Cinch never sells, rents, or shares your data • Delete your account and all your data is permanently deleted • Full policy: https://www.cinchplanner.com/privacy-policy WORKS WITH Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard, Brightspace (D2L), Google Classroom, and Google Calendar. Cinch is for college and university students in the US and Canada. A Google Calendar account is required. Cinch is a subscription with a free trial. Billing is handled by Apple. Cancel any time in the app (Settings → Manage Subscription) or in your App Store subscriptions. Questions? support@cinchplanner.com Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

School Planner | DormWay4 screens
Cinch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Cinch at 5.0 against School Planner | DormWay's 3.4. Cinch also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). School Planner | DormWay's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (5 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Cinch sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. School Planner | DormWay asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cinch holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: School Planner | DormWay has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
School Planner | DormWay versus Cinch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSchool Planner | DormWayCinch
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (5 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size79 MB75 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDormWay LLCCinch Planner LLC

Customer experience

School Planner | DormWay

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral6.7%
Negative26.7%

Cinch

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

School Planner | DormWay

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Cinch

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Annual Premium Subscription7 Days trial$24.991 Year

Questions

Is School Planner | DormWay free?
School Planner | DormWay is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cinch free?
Cinch is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, School Planner | DormWay or Cinch?
Cinch is rated higher. School Planner | DormWay averages 3.4 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Cinch averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do School Planner | DormWay or Cinch have ads?
Neither School Planner | DormWay nor Cinch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, School Planner | DormWay or Cinch?
School Planner | DormWay ships an update every 5 days, and Cinch every 5 days. Most recently, School Planner | DormWay was updated on October 14, 2026 and Cinch on October 4, 2026.

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