Comparison

TIAA vs Award Advisor™

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

Head to head
About

TIAA

Manage your retirement and brokerage accounts securely with this app. Monitor investments, track fund performance, and trade equities, ETFs, and mutual funds. Set financial goals and access support tools.

Highlights
  • Secure login (password, Touch ID, Face ID)
  • Investment and retirement plan management
  • Brokerage trading (equities, ETFs, mutual funds)
  • Financial goal monitoring
  • Peek View for portfolio balances
  • Access to support and statements
  • Apple Watch integration
Features
Read full description

Manage your retirement and brokerage accounts using the TIAA mobile app. The app provides quick and secure access to all your TIAA finances and puts 100 years of top money management into the palm of your hand. The TIAA mobile app includes: • Security: Use your password, Touch ID, or Face ID to log in • Investment and retirement plan management: Monitor your account activity, contributions, and asset allocation; transfer money between funds in your retirement plan, fund a new brokerage account and track fund performance. • Brokerage trading: Buy and sell equities, ETFs, and mutual funds. • Goals: Monitor savings to achieve your financial goals. • Peek View: View your total portfolio and balances without logging in. • Contact TIAA & Support: Contact a professional or have quick access to all of our support tools and services, view tax forms and other statements. • Apple Watch: View your total portfolio and balances from your wrist. TIAA Brokerage, a division of TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, Member FINRA and SIPC, distributes securities. Brokerage accounts are carried by Pershing, LLC, a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, Member FINRA, NYSE, SIPC. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, Member FINRA, distributes securities products. Annuity contracts and certificates are issued by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) and College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), New York, NY. Each is solely responsible for its own financial condition and contractual obligations.

About

Award Advisor™

This app helps students and families understand and compare college financial aid awards. It processes award letters, provides clear cost breakdowns, and allows for personalized financial scenario planning to determine true college expenses.

Highlights
  • Process financial aid award letters
  • Standardized cost breakdown
  • Compare aid packages across schools
  • Personalize financial scenarios
  • Notifications for deadlines and opportunities
Features
Read full description

Unlock Your True College Costs with Award Advisor™! Navigating financial aid can be complex, but Award Advisor™ makes it clear. This powerful mobile application is designed to help students and families easily understand, compare, and manage college financial aid awards. Eliminate the guesswork and understand the true costs of attending schools. How Award Advisor Works: 1. Effortless Upload: Simply scan or upload your financial aid award letters from any school. Our advanced technology processes your documents quickly and accurately. 2. Understand Your Costs: Get a clear, standardized breakdown of your Cost of Attendance, including tuition, fees, grants, scholarships, and loans. No more deciphering confusing university formats! 3. Compare Schools: See an "apples-to-apples" comparison of award packages from different institutions. Easily identify "Your Obligation", the true amount you'll need to cover, for each school. 4. Personalize Your Scenarios: Adjust financial details, add personal contributions, or explore different funding options to see how they impact your overall costs. 5. Stay Informed: Receive important notifications and announcements about financial aid deadlines, opportunities, and gain access to curated non-profit loan providers. Key Features: • Award Letter Processing: Watch as we extract and organize all the financial data from your uploaded award letters. • Intuitive Cost Breakdown: View a standardized breakdown of tuition, fees, grants, scholarships, and loan packages. • Direct School Comparison: Get a straightforward comparison of financial aid packages from each college and university you are considering. • Personalized Financial Scenarios: Adjust figures to see how different choices and sources of funding impact your overall college costs. Award Advisor™ empowers you to make confident college financial decisions. Download the free app today!

Screenshots

TIAA4 screens
Award Advisor™4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Award Advisor™ at 5.0 against TIAA's 4.6. TIAA's advantage is ratings volume (8.3K vs 3) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Award Advisor™ holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TIAA has 8.3K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TIAA ships an update monthly, Award Advisor™ every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
TIAA versus Award Advisor™: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTIAAAward Advisor™
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (8.3K ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews35.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings8.3K — better3
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size166 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTIAAVermont Student Assistance Corporation

Customer experience

TIAA

All ratings8,315 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral3.1%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews320 reviews
Positive35.0%
Neutral18.1%
Negative46.9%

Award Advisor™

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

TIAA

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login issues and session expiration
  • Inconsistent display of account information
  • Unreliable check deposit functionality
  • Compatibility problems on certain devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add dark mode option
  • Improve performance and stability
  • Provide more customization options
  • Streamline navigation and information access
  • Integrate more advanced investment tools

Award Advisor™

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

TIAA

No in-app purchases

None

Award Advisor™

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is TIAA free?
TIAA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Award Advisor™ free?
Award Advisor™ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, TIAA or Award Advisor™?
Award Advisor™ is rated higher. TIAA averages 4.6 out of 5 from 8.3K ratings, while Award Advisor™ averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do TIAA or Award Advisor™ have ads?
Neither TIAA nor Award Advisor™ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TIAA or Award Advisor™?
TIAA ships an update monthly, and Award Advisor™ every 3 months. Most recently, TIAA was updated on October 23, 2026 and Award Advisor™ on October 11, 2026.

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