TERC EarthLabs vs SmartPass Mobile
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TERC EarthLabs
This app offers free high school Earth science curriculum units with interactive visualizations, videos, and hands-on labs. It allows users to run Flash-based videos and interactives on their iPad for engaging science education.
- Interactive visualizations
- Video content
- Hands-on labs
- Flash-based interactives
- Curriculum units
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EarthLabs (http://serc.carleton.edu/earthlabs) is a free set of high school Earth science curriculum units developed by TERC that engage students through a variety of modes including interactive visualizations, video, and hands-on labs. Download the EarthLabs App to run many of the Flash-based videos and interactives on your iPad.
SmartPass Mobile
This app allows educators and school staff to manage digital hall passes in real-time. It enables the creation, approval, and tracking of student passes, with features like Hall Monitor and Kiosk Mode for efficient school management.
- Create and schedule digital hall passes
- Approve or deny pass requests
- Real-time student tracking with photos
- Kiosk Mode for device-limited rooms
- Access staff ID cards
- Manage school account settings
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Educators use SmartPass to easily create, manage, and oversee digital hall passes in real-time. Protect your students and school assets with features like encounter prevention and room capacity limits, all without compromising student privacy and security. Teachers & Admins can: - Streamline hall passes with one-touch creation, approval, denial, or queuing - Prevent unsafe and disruptive incidents through encounter prevention and room restrictions - Deploy custom digital student ID cards, reducing costs, saving time, and improving record-keeping - Access analytics for live, pre-scheduled, and pattern-based insights into student movement to improve safety and security - Customize use to account for each student’s unique needs and accommodations Smarter movement. Better outcomes.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: TERC EarthLabs at 5.0 against SmartPass Mobile's 2.9. TERC EarthLabs also leads on review sentiment (40% vs 27%) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). SmartPass Mobile's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 53 months) and ratings volume (1.5K vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
TERC EarthLabs holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SmartPass Mobile has 1.5K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of TERC EarthLabs's written reviews are positive against 27% of SmartPass Mobile's.
TERC EarthLabs ships an update every 53 months, SmartPass Mobile fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TERC EarthLabs | SmartPass Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 2.9 (1.5K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 40.0% of reviews — better | 26.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1.5K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 53 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 40 MB | 46 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TERC, Inc. | SmartPass, Inc |
Customer experience
TERC EarthLabs
SmartPass Mobile
Bugs and requests
TERC EarthLabs
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
SmartPass Mobile
Reported bugs
3 issues- Frequent crashes and glitches
- Unreliable pass tracking
- Syncing issues between devices
Requested features
4 requests- More flexible time limits
- Customizable settings for each school
- Better integration with school systems
- Ability to provide feedback/explanations for time limit overruns
In-app purchases
TERC EarthLabs
No in-app purchases
SmartPass Mobile
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is TERC EarthLabs free?
Is SmartPass Mobile free?
Which has better reviews, TERC EarthLabs or SmartPass Mobile?
Do TERC EarthLabs or SmartPass Mobile have ads?
Which is updated more often, TERC EarthLabs or SmartPass Mobile?
Other comparisons
