SZapp vs Alert SA
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SZapp
Stay connected with your school community. Access newsletters, documents, and receive live notifications directly from your school.
- Access school newsletters
- View school documents
- Receive live notifications
- Stay connected with school community
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SZapp allows school communities to stay connected with their school. View and access Schoolzine newsletters, documents and get live notifications from your school!
Alert SA
Receive timely alerts and warnings for various hazards like fires, heatwaves, severe weather, and floods. Customize notifications for up to 10 specific areas and stay informed about fire danger ratings and total fire bans. This official government app ensures you have critical public safety information.
- Multi-hazard alerts
- Customizable watch zones
- Fire danger ratings
- Total fire ban information
- Cross-border notifications
- Accessibility features
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The Alert SA App is the official mobile application of the South Australian Government, designed to provide timely and relevant information on a range of hazards. Stay informed and prepared with alerts and warnings for: · Fires · Heatwaves · Severe weather · Floods · Hazardous materials Additionally, receive important Fire Danger Rating and Total Fire Ban information via the app. With the Alert SA App, you can create up to 10 watch zones to receive notifications about hazards occurring in areas of interest to you. The app uses your mobile device’s GPS location and requires an internet connection to receive data. Key Features: Multi-Hazard Alerts: Receive notifications for various hazards, including fire, flood, severe weather, hazardous materials, and heatwaves. Customizable Watch Zones: Set up to 10 watch zones to get alerts for specific areas. Accessibility: Fully supports large text and voiceover features to ensure you receive information in a way that suits your needs. Cross-Border Notifications: Get fire warnings within 100km of the border of neighbouring states and territories. Modern User Interface: Enjoy a new, intuitive design with a dedicated onboarding screen and improved user experience. Please note that during emergencies and extreme weather events, such as bushfires, floods, or severe storms, telecommunications services may be unreliable. As a result, you may not receive timely information while using the app. The South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission (SAFECOM), the South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS), the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS), and the South Australian State Emergency Service (SES) recommend that you do not rely on any one single source of information during an emergency. Download the Alert SA App today and stay informed about public information and warnings in South Australia. If there’s anything you think we can improve, we’d love to hear from you at AlertSA@eso.sa.gov.au
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Alert SA at 53% against SZapp's 4%. SZapp's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months). 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.
SZapp ships an update every 3 weeks, Alert SA every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SZapp | Alert SA |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.9 (15 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 4.1% of reviews | 53.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 15 — better |
| 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, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 45 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Schoolzine Pty Ltd | Government of South Australia – South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission |
Customer experience
SZapp
Alert SA
User reviews
SZapp
From App Store reviewsWhat we love
- 👍 New interface praised
- 🚀 Fast and easy to use (rarely mentioned)
Room to improve
- 🐛 App won't load/open
- 🐛 Constant login issues
- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 Notifications not working
- 🐛 Incompatible with latest iOS
Alert SA
From 15 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🗺️ Customizable watch zones for personalized alerts
- 📍 Real-time incident mapping and location visibility
- 🔔 Reliable notifications for critical emergencies
- 👍 User-friendly interface and easy navigation
- 💾 Comprehensive incident information and details
Room to improve
- 🔊 Notification sound is intrusive and cannot be customized
- 📢 Alert fatigue from excessive non-critical notifications
- 🐛 Notifications fail to arrive despite enabled settings
- ❌ Frozen app after recent updates (iOS)
- 📍 Insufficient location details in notifications (missing suburb/street address)
Bugs and requests
SZapp
Reported bugs
20 issues- App does not load after latest updates
- App remains on cover/home screen
- App fails to display/load content
- Absentee form is not received
- User is logged out after quitting the app
Show 15 moreShow fewer
- Notifications default to off after logout
- Cannot log in after auto-updating
- Incorrect login details error
- Cannot click subscribe or cancel buttons
- App opens web browser within itself and cannot return
- Red notification badge persists even after reading all notifications
- Cannot add news from two different years from the same school
- App crashes when typing in reason field
- App does not rotate to landscape mode
- Cannot select UK as a region
- Search UX is terrible
- Password requirements are too restrictive
- App reports no internet connectivity
- Cannot get past the choose a region option
- Cannot finish form to create login on iPhone 8 S
Requested features
16 requests- Fix app compatibility with latest iOS
- Improve login stability
- Ensure absentee forms are received
- Fix notification issues
- Allow users to stay logged in
Show 11 moreShow fewer
- Implement a search function for articles
- Improve app stability and reduce crashes
- Allow users to add news from multiple years
- Improve font size and readability
- Make the interface more intuitive
- Remember previously entered information
- Fix the persistent red notification badge
- Allow users to select regions beyond Australian states
- Improve password reset functionality
- Add an in-app contact link to developers
- Allow landscape mode for documents
Alert SA
Reported bugs
10 issues- App freezes on welcome screen after update (version 3.3.0+)
- Fire hazard rating button causes app crash
- Notifications not received despite enabled settings and watch zones configured
- Push notifications fail after iPhone OS updates
- App stuck in portrait mode on iPad in landscape orientation
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Notifications arrive days late or not at all
- Incidents outside watch zones still trigger alerts
- No push notification buttons visible on some iPhone models
- App becomes unresponsive during high-incident periods
- Inconsistent notification delivery across devices
Requested features
16 requests- Customizable notification sounds with multiple options
- Ability to filter alert types (fires only vs. all incidents)
- Watch zones smaller than 5km for suburban areas
- Wind direction and speed information for fire events
- Dynamic watch zones that adjust based on fire danger levels
Show 11 moreShow fewer
- Landscape mode support for iPad/tablets
- Route-based alert zones instead of radius-only
- Evacuation point locations with facility details (pet-friendly, horse-friendly)
- Different zone sizes for different hazard types
- North indicator on map
- Road closure information integrated into app
- Burned area visualization (black zones for completed fires)
- Toggle to hide completed incidents
- Ability to sort incidents by most recent first
- Optional heatwave and non-critical alerts
- Street address in tree-down notifications
In-app purchases
SZapp
No in-app purchases
Alert SA
No in-app purchases
