# My Study Life vs Derive

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.

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.

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | My Study Life | Derive |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (6.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-study-life-school-planner/id910639339/reviews)** | [4.1 (21 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/derive-handwritten-math-notes/id6763991536/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **6.2K** | 21 |
| Positive reviews | **61.2% of reviews** | 29.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Subscription |
| Size | 160 MB | 75 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [My Study Life, Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/910639342) | [Derive Notes Pty Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1895589672) |

## What reviewers say

### My Study Life

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-study-life-school-planner/id910639339)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| MSL Premium- Weekly | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| MyStudyLife+ (1 month) | $6.99 | per month |
| MSL+ Family Monthly 1 Student | $9.99 | per month |
| MSL+ Monthly Family 2 Students | $14.99 | per month |
| Family+ 3-5 Students Monthly | $19.99 | per month |
| MyStudyLife+ Annual | $39.99 | per year |
| MyStudyLife+ (1 year) | $39.99 | per year |
| Family+ 1 Student Annual | $59.99 | per year |
| Family+ 2 Students Annual | $89.99 | per year |
| Family + 3-5 Students Annual | $119.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Helpful for organizing school life
- 📅 Useful for tracking classes, assignments, and exams
- 🔔 Provides reminders before classes and due dates
- 🗓️ Syncs across devices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
- 🔄 Difficulty syncing data across devices
- 🔒 Login and account issues
- 🕰️ Lack of customization for class schedules
- 🔍 Poor interface for iPhone X and newer devices

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/derive-handwritten-math-notes/id6763991536)

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

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Derive Pro (Monthly, student) | $8.99 | per month |
| Derive Pro (Monthly) | $9.99 | per month |
| Derive Pro (Monthly, invited) | $9.99 | per month |
| Derive Pro (Yearly, student) | $75.00 | per year |
| Derive Pro (Annual) | $83.90 | per year |
| Derive Pro (Annual, invited) | $83.90 | per year |


## Frequently asked 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.

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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.*