Comparison

Crash Course vs Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Crash Course

Access thousands of free educational videos covering humanities and sciences. Enhance your learning with supplemental flashcards and quizzes for select courses. Join a community dedicated to making education fun and engaging.

Highlights
  • Thousands of educational videos
  • High school and college level courses
  • Humanities and sciences subjects
  • Supplemental flashcards
  • Quizzes for review
  • Community of learners
Features
Read full description

Watch thousands of educational videos and review your learning with the Crash Course App! At Crash Course, we believe that high-quality educational content should be available to everyone for free. We produce courses that accompany high school and college-level classes ranging from the humanities to the sciences. On YouTube we have created a community of over 10 million subscribers that believe, like us, that learning should be fun, engaging, and thoughtful (and silly when appropriate). This app is a portal to our thousands of videos online and a place to review your learning with supplemental flashcards and quizzes. Flashcard decks are currently available for all episodes of Anatomy & Physiology, Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry, and we'll be continually adding more content. So please join our community of learners because you are the exception!

About

Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts

Access your Pearson eTextbooks and supplementary learning materials in one app. Watch short video explanations of complex topics and utilize study tools like notes, highlights, and flashcards. The app also offers an audiobook feature for most eTextbooks and powerful search functionality.

Highlights
  • eTextbook access
  • Video explanations
  • Notes and highlights
  • Audiobook feature
  • Searchable content
  • Flashcard creation
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The Pearson+ mobile app provides you access to all your Pearson eTextbooks in one place, as well as curated bite-sized video explanations of complex topics for your toughest college courses. Get started by logging in with the same username and password you created via the web-based version of Pearson+. Feature highlights: -- Anytime, anywhere access to eTextbook content and embedded media assets -- Short video explanations of complex topics to help you succeed in the classroom -- Ability to easily create and refer to your notes and highlights within the eTextbook  -- Have your eTextbook read aloud to you with our audiobook feature (available for most eTextbooks) -- Search across all the content in the eTextbook to easily find exactly what you need -- Create your own flashcards or use pre-built ones to help you study -- Personalize the reading experience to best meet your needs For bug reports or general feedback, please reach out to us at PearsonPlusFeedback@pearson.com.

Screenshots

Crash Course3 screens
Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts4 screens

Verdict

The call

Crash Course and Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 76% of Crash Course's written reviews are positive against 31% of Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts's. Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months). On price, rating, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Crash Course sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Crash Course against 4.8 for Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts has 63K ratings behind it against 1.6K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Crash Course's written reviews are positive against 31% of Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crash Course ships an update every 4 months, Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Crash Course versus Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrash CoursePearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.6K ratings)4.8 (63K ratings)
Positive reviews75.7% of reviews — better31.1% of reviews
Number of ratings1.6K63K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#123 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size146 MB549 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperComplexly LLCPearson Education, Inc.

Customer experience

Crash Course

All ratings1,593 ratings
Positive95.5%
Neutral1.1%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews218 reviews
Positive75.7%
Neutral6.4%
Negative17.9%

Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts

All ratings62,854 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral1.7%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews412 reviews
Positive31.1%
Neutral13.6%
Negative55.3%

User reviews

Crash Course

From 1.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🙌 Helpful for students
  • 🎓 Great for learning difficult topics
  • 💕 High-quality, engaging content
  • 🆓 Completely free to use
  • 🙏 Grateful for the free education

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • 🔍 Limited course selection
  • 🔄 Trouble downloading/accessing content
  • 🔒 App is marked 17+, should be more accessible

Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts

From 63K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Convenient access to textbooks
  • 🎧 Useful audio feature
  • 📚 Helpful study tools (flashcards, quizzes)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy highlighting and page navigation
  • 📱 Poor usability on mobile devices
  • 🔍 Lack of search and page number features
  • 💰 Expensive for limited functionality

Bugs and requests

Crash Course

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Courses disappearing after updates
  • Search function not working
  • Trouble downloading content
  • App crashing during use

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add math and English courses
  • Expand course selection
  • Improve search functionality
  • Allow offline video viewing
  • Add progress tracking and favorites
Show 1 more
  • Implement landscape mode on tablets

Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Textbooks failing to load or display properly
  • Audio playback issues and lack of syncing
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching apps or rotating devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved highlighting and annotation tools
  • Better syncing between devices and web version
  • Page number support
  • Split-screen and landscape mode on tablets

In-app purchases

13 purchases

Crash Course

One-time13
  • Contribute $1.99$1.99
  • Contribute Tier 1$1.99
  • Contribute $4.99$4.99
Show 10 more
  • Contribute Tier 2$4.99
  • Contribute Tier 3$9.99
  • Contribute Tier 4$14.99
  • Contribute Tier 5$19.99
  • Contribute Tier 6$24.99
  • Contribute Tier 7$29.99
  • Contribute Tier 8$39.99
  • Contribute Tier 9$49.99
  • Contribute Tier 10$59.99
  • Contribute Tier 14$99.99
None

Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Crash Course free?
Crash Course is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts free?
Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Crash Course or Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts?
Crash Course and Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1.6K and 63K ratings respectively.
Do Crash Course or Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts have ads?
Neither Crash Course nor Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Crash Course or Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts?
Crash Course ships an update every 4 months, and Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts fortnightly. Most recently, Crash Course was updated on October 18, 2026 and Pearson+ | Study Prep & eTexts on October 20, 2026.

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