SZapp vs The Standard
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!
The Standard
Stay informed with local and national news, sports results, and in-depth analysis. Access breaking news 24/7, save articles for later, and enjoy interactive puzzles. A digital replica of the daily newspaper is also available.
- Breaking news updates 24/7
- Browse articles by topic
- Save articles for later
- Breaking news alerts
- Digital newspaper replica
- Daily interactive puzzles
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The Standard app brings together the best of your daily newspaper and its website to take your local news experience to another level. As south-west Victoria's trusted voice, we keep you up to date seven days a week with news that’s important to our community. Whether it's the breaking news you need to know from around the region or across the nation, the latest HFNL, WDFNL, or other local sporting results, in-depth analysis explaining the decisions and events affecting our lives, or incisive commentary, you will be the first to know using The Standard app. The app is free to download, but you need to be a digital subscriber of The Standard to read articles. Features include: - Access to breaking news updates 24 hours-a-day - Browse the latest articles in the topics that interest you most - Save articles to read later - Alerts for breaking news and big stories - Read a digital replica of the day's newspaper - Play our daily interactive puzzles Please note: This app features Nielsen's proprietary measurement software which will allow you to contribute to market research or audience ratings services. Please see http://www.nielsen.com/digitalprivacy for more information.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SZapp at none against The Standard's 2. SZapp also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). The Standard's advantage is review sentiment (18% vs 4%). On price and device support 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. The Standard sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. SZapp asks for nothing beyond the download.
SZapp ships an update every 3 weeks, The Standard every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SZapp | The Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 4.1% of reviews | 18.2% of reviews — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 59 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Schoolzine Pty Ltd | Rural Press Pty Ltd |
Customer experience
SZapp
The Standard
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
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- 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
The Standard
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
SZapp
No in-app purchases
The Standard
- Monthly Subscription$12.991 Month
- Yearly Subscription$129.991 Year
