USThing vs HKUST Alumni
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
USThing
This campus app consolidates various Hong Kong University of Science and Technology IT services into a single platform. It offers features like facility booking, grade viewing, timetable access, and event information, all accessible with encrypted local storage of credentials.
- Facility booking (Library, FBS)
- View grades and timetables
- Course waitlist positions
- Next lesson notifications
- TimeMatch for finding free time
- Campus info and directory
- News and events
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USThing is a student-developed campus app for the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. With USThing, you can access multiple HKUST IT services in one single app. Features include: - Facility Booking (supports both Library rooms and FBS facilities) - View Grades, Time Tables and Course Waitlist positions - Next Lesson Notification - TimeMatch (Find common free time among friends) - Campus Info and Directory - News and Events around campus and more are on their way... USThing requires your ITSC username and password in order to help you access services conveniently. Your credentials are only saved locally with encryption and never stored on remote servers. If you have any enquiry regarding privacy, feel free to contact us. USThing is not affiliated with student societies and contains no paid ads or promotions. All contents are freely uploaded by our users.
HKUST Alumni
Access your Alum eCard for exclusive campus and alumni entrepreneur offers. Apply for library and sports services directly through the app and use your mobile eCard for seamless access.
- Digital Alum eCard
- Campus offers access
- Alumni entrepreneur deals
- Library service application
- Sports service application
- Mobile eCard for access
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Through this app, alumni can easily get their Alum eCard which will serve as the photo ID for enjoying fabulous offers on campus and those from our alumni entrepreneurs. What’s more, alumni can use this app to apply for library and sports services. Upon successful application, you can simply show the eCards on your mobile to access these services.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: HKUST Alumni at 5.0 against USThing's 4.0. HKUST Alumni also leads on iOS requirement (13.4 vs 16.4). USThing's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months) and review sentiment (44% vs 29%). 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.
HKUST Alumni holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 1 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 44% of USThing's written reviews are positive against 29% of HKUST Alumni's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
USThing ships an update every 3 weeks, HKUST Alumni every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 13, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | USThing | HKUST Alumni |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 44.4% of reviews — better | 28.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 13.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 62 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Zachary Lo | The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology |
Customer experience
USThing
HKUST Alumni
In-app purchases
USThing
No in-app purchases
HKUST Alumni
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is USThing free?
Is HKUST Alumni free?
Which has better reviews, USThing or HKUST Alumni?
Do USThing or HKUST Alumni have ads?
Which is updated more often, USThing or HKUST Alumni?
Other comparisons
