Sandboxx vs Ulysses
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sandboxx
Easily send digital letters, photos, and gift cards to service members in basic training and beyond. Receive weekly training updates and access military news and products. Developed by veterans to support the military community.
- Digital letter writing
- Overnight shipping
- Letter tracking
- Weekly training updates
- Military news
- Gift card options
- Veteran support staff
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Developed by veterans with decades of service, our mission is to support service members and their supporters throughout their military journey. Sending letters to basic training and beyond has never been easier. With over 6 million letters sent to date, we have revolutionized the way you think of supporting your service member. A fully digital letter writing experience, overnight shipping, tracking and the option to add gift cards makes Sandboxx the ultimate supporter tool. With a growing community of over 1 million Sandboxx users, we are continuing to build more products to help. Get access to base specific training updates from within the app as your recruit progresses through basic training. Refer friends and family to earn free Letters and ensure your service member can receive even more mail. Check out Sandboxx News to stay up to date with all that’s going on in the military space. Grab some additional stamps, newsletters or motivation to mail your recruit in the Sandboxx Shop. With Sandboxx, we’ve got you covered for all your basic training needs. SEND LETTERS TO BASIC TRAINING AND BEYOND The easiest way to send letters to basic training or overseas. Send a letter, anytime, anywhere. We physically print your mail, include return stationery, provide tracking and overnight it to your recruit at any recruiting base. GET WEEKLY TRAINING UPDATES Stay up to date on your recruit as they progress through basic training. Learn about what they are going through on a weekly basis, all accessible within the Sandboxx app. LEARN MORE WITH SANDBOXX NEWS Your essential source of news from within the military space, Sandboxx News brings you a wealth of information to stay up to date on the ever evolving world of military life. Covering news to lifestyle to military affairs, the Sandboxx Editorial team brings decades of real life experience and education straight to your phone. GET EXCLUSIVE SANDBOXX PRODUCTS Whether you want to purchase military apparel for yourself or set up a daily mail send for your recruit, the Sandboxx Shop stocks a wide variety of recruit and supporter centric products that are sure to delight your recruit’s entire support system. OPSEC and PERSEC compliant Automatically connect with your service member to easily send letters Write your letter, add a photo and gift card and send within minutes Track your letter from Sandboxx HQ to the base mailroom Access to customer support fully staffed by veterans and military spouses Earn badges and become your recruit’s ultimate supporter No Federal or DoD Endorsement Implied. Love the app? Rate us! Have a question or need help? Email us at happiness@sandboxx.us, we'd love to hear from you.
Ulysses
This journal app helps you build self-control by reflecting on daily temptations and the strategies used to overcome them. It offers guided breathing exercises and insights into what works for you, without any pressure of streaks.
- Nightly self-control journaling
- Guided breathing exercises
- Insight into effective strategies
- No streak tracking
- Cultural ropes exploration
- Apple Watch integration
- iCloud sync
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Sailing home from Troy, Ulysses had to pass the Sirens — whose song pulled every sailor into the sea. He didn't trust willpower. He had himself tied to the mast. It wasn't strength that saved him. It was the rope. Ulysses & the Sirens is a nightly self-control journal built on that three-thousand-year-old trick. Each evening, one question: what did you resist today — and what was the rope that held you? An alarm across the room. A rule you set. The phone charging in the kitchen. Name the rope, tie the knot, and watch your voyage grow. NO STREAKS. EVER. Knots only count up. Nothing you have tied can be untied by a missed day. Quiet weeks are part of every voyage. WHEN THE SIREN SINGS Temptation doesn't wait for your evening review. One tap opens a minute of guided breathing with the rope — and the ropes that have held you before, ready to use. Hold on, then tie the knot while the win is fresh. YOUR ROPES, TESTED See which ropes actually hold you and which sirens keep returning. Insight, not guilt. THE BIGGER PICTURE Art, law, ritual, science — everything people build together is a rope against some siren that sings to all of us. Read the deck of cultural ropes, anchor the ones that hold you, attach your own thoughts and photos, and braid cards of your own. ALSO ABOARD • A knot-tying ceremony for every entry, with milestones at 7, 30, and 100 • Your journal as a golden rope of knots • Apple Watch app — tie a knot from your wrist, with the question on your watch face • Home screen widgets, evening reminder, search, and full export (PDF & JSON) • iCloud sync across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account. No servers. No analytics, no trackers, no ads. Your journal lives on your devices and in your private iCloud — nowhere else. Leave any time with everything. ONE PRICE, YOURS FOREVER No subscription, no paywalls, no ads — every feature aboard, and one purchase covers iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. If the rope has held you and you'd like to give more, an optional patron's tip unlocks nothing but a golden lantern icon and our gratitude.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Sandboxx at Free against Ulysses's $4.99. Sandboxx also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (180K vs 1). Ulysses's advantage is device support (5 vs 2). On rating, ads and iOS requirement 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
Sandboxx is free to download; Ulysses costs $4.99 up front. Ulysses sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Sandboxx asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Sandboxx against 5.0 for Ulysses. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sandboxx has 180K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Sandboxx ships an update every 10 days, Ulysses every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sandboxx | Ulysses |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.9 (180K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 72.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 180K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #101 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 122 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sandboxx, Inc. | Hessam Zahedi |
Customer experience
Sandboxx
Ulysses
Bugs and requests
Sandboxx
Reported bugs
3 issues- Login issues and password reset problems
- Inconsistent letter delivery tracking
- Incorrect recruit information entered by Sandboxx
Requested features
5 requests- Allow editing of letters before sending
- Increase photo upload limit
- Provide refund or credit expiration policy
- Improve in-app search and address management
- Sync weekly updates with recruit's actual schedule
Ulysses
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Sandboxx
No in-app purchases
Ulysses
- Tip — A coil of rope$2.99
- Tip — A new sail$6.99
- A ship for the fleet$14.99









