Comparison

My Study Life vs Derive

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

Head to head
About

My Study Life

This app helps students organize their academic life by tracking homework, managing schedules, and planning for exams. It offers tools for effective study and can sync across devices. An optional parent portal provides shared visibility for support.

Highlights
  • Smart class scheduler
  • Homework planner with reminders
  • Exam tracker and revision planning
  • Pomodoro timer
  • Weekly and daily calendar views
  • Advanced task management
  • Xtra planner for extracurriculars
Features
Read full description

Trusted by 10 million students worldwide. New school year, all in one place — build your schedule, track homework, and let Scout help you plan and stay on top of it all. MyStudyLife is the #1 student planner — trusted by over 10 million students across 187 countries to organize classes, manage homework, track grades, and prepare for exams. "Staying organized is a critical part of being a disciplined student, and the MyStudyLife app is an excellent organizer." — The New York Times "MyStudyLife offers a comprehensive palette of schedules, timetables and personalized notifications" — Forbes Whether you're starting a new semester in high school with a rotating schedule, heading off to college, or juggling lectures, labs, and deadlines at university, MyStudyLife brings your entire academic life together in one place. SCOUT: YOUR AI STUDY COACH Meet Scout, MyStudyLife's new AI Study Coach. Ask Scout to help plan your studying, track your workload, or figure out how to organize your week — plus reminders to keep you on track. SMART CLASS SCHEDULER Build your class schedule in minutes, with support for weekly & rotating schedules. View your daily and weekly calendar with color-coded classes, assignments, and exams. HOMEWORK PLANNER & TASK MANAGER Stay on top of every assignment by organizing tasks, setting deadlines, creating subtasks, and receiving timely reminders. Track recurring coursework each semester. GRADE TRACKING Log your grades and assessments as you go, so you always know where you stand and what it'll take to hit your target GPA. EXAM TRACKER & STUDY PLANNER Plan ahead for exams with study schedules and reminders. Spread your study sessions over time to reduce stress and improve preparation. FOCUS TIMER Boost productivity with the built-in Focus timer. Study in focused intervals while building healthier study habits. XTRA PLANNER Organize extracurriculars, clubs, sports, volunteering, part-time jobs, and personal commitments — not just school. FAMILY CONNECT Share your schedule with a parent or guardian. Family Connect keeps everyone informed while students stay in control of what they share. SYNC EVERYWHERE Your classes, assignments, exams, and schedules stay synced across every device automatically. WIDGETS & PERSONALIZATION See upcoming classes and deadlines from your Home Screen widgets. Light and Dark Mode included. FEATURES Scout: AI Study Coach for studying, workload & reminders Schedule Scan: add your timetable from a photo Weekly and rotating class schedules Homework planner with reminders and priorities Grade tracking and GPA overview Exam calendar and study planner Subtasks for complex assignments Built-in Focus timer Xtra Planner for extracurricular activities iCal calendar synchronization Home Screen widgets WHY STUDENTS CHOOSE MYSTUDYLIFE Built specifically for students and designed with executive function in mind — not a generic calendar or paper planner. Download MyStudyLife today and start the new school year organized. MYSTUDYLIFE+ & FAMILY CONNECT SUBSCRIPTIONS Free to download. Optional auto-renewing subscriptions unlock premium features: • MyStudyLife+ (Individual): $6.99/month or $39.99/year ($3.33/mo equivalent) • Family Connect, 1 Student: $9.99/month or $59.99/year ($5.00/mo equivalent) • Family Connect, 2 Students: $14.99/month or $89.99/year ($7.50/mo equivalent) • Family Connect, 3-5 Students: $19.99/month or $119.99/year ($10.00/mo equivalent) Prices shown in USD; may vary by region. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account upon confirmation of purchase. Your subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period. You can manage or cancel your subscription at any time from your Apple ID Account Settings after purchase. Privacy Policy: https://www.mystudylife.com/privacy-policy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula

About

Derive

This app provides an infinite canvas for handwritten math and science notes. It uses AI to recognize your handwriting, offering a live tutor for step-by-step assistance directly within your notes. Organize your work into notebooks that sync across devices.

Highlights
  • Infinite canvas for note-taking
  • Handwritten math recognition
  • Live AI tutor for step-by-step help
  • Notebook and page organization
  • Cross-device syncing
  • Light, dark, and sepia themes
Read full description

Derive Notes is a canvas-first note-taking app built for math, science, and engineering students. Write equations by hand with Apple Pencil, and let Derive understand what you wrote, so your notes do more than sit on the page. HANDWRITING THAT'S ACTUALLY UNDERSTOOD Draw on an infinite canvas the way you would on paper. Derive recognizes your handwritten math as you work, turning messy strokes into clean, structured expressions you can check, reuse, and build on. A TUTOR RIGHT NEXT TO YOUR WORK Stuck on a step? Open the tutor panel and get step-by-step help tied directly to what's on your canvas. It works alongside your handwriting instead of pulling you into a separate app. BUILT FOR REAL STUDY SESSIONS - Infinite canvas with smooth, low-latency inking - Pen, eraser, and lasso tools for fast editing - Organize your work into notebooks and pages - Two-finger tap to undo, pinch to zoom - Your notebooks sync securely across your devices DESIGNED FOR FOCUS A clean, distraction-free workspace with light, dark, sepia, and high-contrast themes, so long study sessions stay comfortable. Derive Notes keeps your handwriting at the center and adds just enough intelligence to make studying faster by recognizing your math, helping you through hard steps, and keeping every page organized and in sync. Note: Derive uses trusted third-party AI providers to process handwriting and page text for recognition and tutoring. You're asked for consent in-app before these features are used. DESIGNED FOR IPAD AND APPLE PENCIL Handwriting, drawing, and the full authoring tools require an iPad with Apple Pencil. On iPhone, Derive is a companion for reading and reviewing your notebooks: browse your library, open any page, search across everything, and ask the tutor. Notes you write on iPad appear on iPhone automatically. SUBSCRIPTION Derive Pro unlocks writing and editing, handwriting recognition, and the AI tutor. Every new account starts with a 7-day free trial, and a trial or subscription is required to use Derive. If a subscription later lapses, the notebooks you already made stay readable, so your own work is never locked away. - Derive Pro Monthly: A$9.99 per month - Derive Pro Annual: A$101.99 per year - Both start with a 7-day free trial Prices are in Australian dollars and may vary by region. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. A subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within the 24 hours before that period ends. You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you buy a subscription. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Derive Terms of Service: https://derivenotes.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://derivenotes.com/privacy

Screenshots

My Study Life4 screens
Derive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: My Study Life at free with in-app purchases against Derive's subscription. My Study Life also leads on review sentiment (61% vs 29%) and rating (4.5 vs 4.1). Derive's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 9 days). On price, in-app purchases 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. My Study Life sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and Derive sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

My Study Life holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: My Study Life has 6.2K ratings behind it against 21, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of My Study Life's written reviews are positive against 29% of Derive's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

My Study Life ships an update every 9 days, Derive every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
My Study Life versus Derive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMy Study LifeDerive
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (6.2K ratings) — better4.1 (21 ratings)
Positive reviews61.2% of reviews — better29.4% of reviews
Number of ratings6.2K — better21
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size160 MB75 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMy Study Life, Ltd.Derive Notes Pty Ltd

Customer experience

My Study Life

All ratings6,232 ratings
Positive88.7%
Neutral2.5%
Negative8.8%
Written reviews991 reviews
Positive61.2%
Neutral10.5%
Negative28.4%

Derive

All ratings21 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive29.4%
Neutral35.3%
Negative35.3%

Bugs and requests

My Study Life

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Classes and assignments not displaying properly
  • Time and date entries not saving correctly
  • Unexpected app crashes and data loss
  • Login and account sync issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add option to set custom reminders
  • Implement recurring tasks and events
  • Include a grade tracking feature
  • Provide an iPad-optimized version
  • Add a widget for quick access

Derive

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

My Study Life

Subscriptions10
  • MSL Premium- Weekly$2.997 Days
  • MyStudyLife+ (1 month)7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • MSL+ Family Monthly 1 Student$9.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • MSL+ Monthly Family 2 Students$14.991 Month
  • Family+ 3-5 Students Monthly$19.991 Month
  • MyStudyLife+ Annual14 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • MyStudyLife+ (1 year)7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Family+ 1 Student Annual$59.991 Year
  • Family+ 2 Students Annual$89.991 Year
  • Family + 3-5 Students Annual$119.991 Year
6 purchases

Derive

Subscriptions6
  • Derive Pro (Monthly, student)7 Days trial$8.991 Month
  • Derive Pro (Monthly)7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Derive Pro (Monthly, invited)1 Month trial$9.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Derive Pro (Yearly, student)7 Days trial$75.001 Year
  • Derive Pro (Annual)7 Days trial$83.901 Year
  • Derive Pro (Annual, invited)1 Month trial$83.901 Year

Questions

Is My Study Life free?
My Study Life is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Derive free?
Derive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, My Study Life or Derive?
My Study Life is rated higher. My Study Life averages 4.5 out of 5 from 6.2K ratings, while Derive averages 4.1 from 21 ratings.
Do My Study Life or Derive have ads?
My Study Life shows ads; Derive does not.
Which is updated more often, My Study Life or Derive?
My Study Life ships an update every 9 days, and Derive every 3 days. Most recently, My Study Life was updated on October 18, 2026 and Derive on October 15, 2026.

Other comparisons