Piazza vs Illinois
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Piazza
This platform facilitates communication and learning for higher education. Students can ask and answer questions, while instructors can monitor student engagement. It provides real-time updates and a centralized space for class interactions.
- Ask and answer questions
- Real-time updates
- Centralized class communication
- Student engagement monitoring
- Mobile access for students and instructors
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Piazza is the leading social learning platform for higher education, used by hundreds of thousands of students and more than 15 thousand professors for centralized class communications and polling. If you're a student, the Piazza app lets you ask and answer questions in all your Piazza classes from your mobile device, and updates you in real time when your peers are engaged. If you're an instructor, the app gives you a simple way to check in on your students during those spare moments between meetings. Stay connected to your class with Piazza!
Illinois
Navigate the University of Illinois with this comprehensive digital companion. Access class schedules, your student ID, campus maps, and event information. Utilize an AI assistant for university-related questions and discover wellness resources.
- Customizable home screen
- Class schedules and locations
- Digital student ID and bus pass
- AI-powered university assistant
- Interactive campus maps with amenities
- Campus event listings
- Wellness resources
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Your digital companion to the University of Illinois, the Illinois app is for you, whether you’re a student, a Fighting Illini fan, an employee, or a first-time visitor. Features include: • A customizable home screen to make the app your own • Campus map with amenities like ADA entrances, all-gender restrooms, and lactation spaces • Class schedules, locations, and building floor plans • Illini ID, library card, and MTD bus pass • Digital business card • Wellness and safety resources, including SafeWalk requests and 24/7 crisis hotlines • Residence hall dining menus tailored to your food preferences • Groups: create or join one, or explore the official Illinois communities you’re already part of • University events, including Fighting Illini sports, Campus Recreation group fitness classes, arts, culture, and more Your quickest path to support is to report issues at https://go.illinois.edu/AppFeedback.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Illinois at 2.7 against Piazza's 2.1. Piazza's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and in-app purchases 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.
Illinois holds the better App Store score, 2.7 against 2.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 277 and 117 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 14% of Piazza's written reviews are positive against 11% of Illinois's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Piazza ships an update fortnightly, Illinois every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Piazza | Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.1 (277 ratings) | 2.7 (117 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 14.3% of reviews — better | 10.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 277 — better | 117 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 124 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Piazza Technologies, Inc. | University of Illinois |
Customer experience
Piazza
Illinois
Bugs and requests
Piazza
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inability to post or reply
- Randomly logs out users
- Fails to load posts and resources
- Incompatible with newer iOS versions
Requested features
5 requests- Dark mode option
- Ability to access course materials
- Improved formatting and editing tools
- Better organization of posts and discussions
- Seamless integration with web version
Illinois
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Piazza
No in-app purchases
Illinois
No in-app purchases
