# Compass School Manager vs SharkSmart

The clearest difference is rating: Compass School Manager at 4.7 against SharkSmart's 4.3. Compass School Manager also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and review sentiment (35% vs 27%). SharkSmart's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs monthly). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

Compass School Manager holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 151 and 282 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 35% of Compass School Manager's written reviews are positive against 27% of SharkSmart's.

Compass School Manager ships an update monthly, SharkSmart weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Compass School Manager | SharkSmart |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (151 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/compass-school-manager/id778415974/reviews)** | [4.3 (282 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sharksmart/id915621811/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 151 | **282** |
| Positive reviews | **35.4% of reviews** | 27.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 73 MB | 49 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.1** | 18.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Compass Operations Pty Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/778415977) | [NSW Department of Primary Industries](https://appshunter.io/developer/476014891) |

## What reviewers say

### Compass School Manager

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/compass-school-manager/id778415974)

Access school news, events, and assignments. Stay informed about your child's academic progress and school activities. Designed for seamless communication between school and home.

**Highlights:** School news updates, Event calendars, Assignment tracking, Parent-teacher communication, Student progress monitoring

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to navigate
- 👍 Convenient for school management
- 🚀 Helpful for students and parents
- 🚀 Reliable and efficient
- 👍 Great app for school information

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔑 Login issues and session expiration
- 🤔 Confusing and cluttered UI
- 🤖 Compatibility issues on Mac devices
- 🙄 Constant need to update the app

**Reported bugs**

- Unable to log in or search for school
- Notifications not working as expected
- Learning tasks page layout issues
- Landscape mode not functioning properly
- Inconsistent behavior across devices

**Requested features**

- Add dark mode option
- Improve navigation and organization
- Allow students to remove submissions
- Show class rosters within each class
- Provide more customization options


### SharkSmart

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sharksmart/id915621811)

Stay informed about shark activity in NSW before you swim. Get real-time alerts on tagged shark detections and drone sightings. Understand shark behavior and assess your personal risk for a safer beach experience.

**Highlights:** Real-time shark alerts, Drone and tagged shark detections, Interactive risk assessment, Shark and marine animal identification, Beach mitigation gear locations, Smartwatch compatibility

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 📍 Real-time shark detection and tracking
- 🎯 Valuable safety information for ocean users
- 📊 Comprehensive shark tagging data
- 🏖️ Helpful for swimmers and surfers
- 👍 Good app concept and design

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing
- 📬 Excessive notifications from distant locations
- ⚙️ Notification settings not persisting
- 🐢 Slow loading times
- 🚫 Unable to add/save favorite beaches

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on startup or when opening alerts
- Favorite beaches not saving or reverting to all beaches
- Search function not listing available beaches
- Map hanging when opening away from beaches
- Notifications not respecting location radius settings

**Requested features**

- Ability to name individual tracked sharks
- Shark size and weight information at tagging
- Historical shark movement patterns and migration data
- Deep links from notifications to specific beaches
- Time-series reporting for shark activity


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Compass School Manager free?

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

### Is SharkSmart free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Compass School Manager or SharkSmart?

Compass School Manager is rated higher. Compass School Manager averages 4.7 out of 5 from 151 ratings, while SharkSmart averages 4.3 from 282 ratings.

### Do Compass School Manager or SharkSmart have ads?

Neither Compass School Manager nor SharkSmart shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Compass School Manager or SharkSmart?

Compass School Manager ships an update monthly, and SharkSmart weekly. Most recently, Compass School Manager was updated on October 22, 2026 and SharkSmart on October 21, 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.*