parking

i’m a first year transfer student at ucd and also a commuter. im just confused about the parking rates, i’ve seen so many people say that they pay 5.50 a day for parking and even through the honk app im still having to pay 4 something dollars every 70 mins. is that just because im parking in the quad? even when ive parked in pavilion im still paying an hourly rate. i’m signed up with my school email for the parking apps so im just not sure if im missing something or if thats just how it is. thanks for any help :)