Comparison

ZipGrade vs KoolGround

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

Head to head
About

ZipGrade

Instantly grade multiple-choice tests and quizzes using your device's camera. This app offers a fast and accurate way for educators to assess student work, with features for organizing and exporting results. It provides immediate feedback to inform lesson planning and assignments.

Highlights
  • Instant grading with device camera
  • Supports multiple choice tests and quizzes
  • Organizes and exports results (PDF, Excel)
  • Free answer sheet templates available
  • Companion website for data management
  • Stores results by student, subject, and quiz
Features
Read full description

Teachers can grade multiple choice tests, quizzes, and assessments instantly in the classroom by using their iPhone or iPad's camera as a scanner. It is the most cost effective, fastest, and most accurate way to grade tests in the classroom or where ever you are. -------------------------------------------------------- * Free answer sheets available in several formats and sizes up to 100 questions (including custom form wizard) * Organizes results for reporting and exporting via PDF and Excel-readable format * Uses student ID numbers or written name of student for reporting. * Use companion website (www.zipgrade.com) to manage your data and upload student lists and review results in dozens of reports and exports. -------------------------------------------------------- Use for exit tickets, formative assessments, or regular quizzes. Stores results by students, subject, and quiz. By giving teachers the flexibility to grade papers instantly anywhere, ZipGrade provides immediate feedback on current knowledge and can be used to better focus lessons and assignments. Download ZipGrade free with access to all features and website, but limited to 100 scans per month. After you've used it for a class or two, use the in-app purchase a non-recurring subscription with unlimited scanning.

About

KoolGround

Streamline classroom management with features for attendance, assignments, grading, and communication. This app helps educators save time and paper by centralizing tasks and improving parent-teacher engagement.

Highlights
  • Automated attendance tracking
  • Paperless assignment creation and collection
  • Integrated gradebook with bulk editing
  • Class news and parent communication
  • Parent access to student progress
  • Detailed class and student reports
Features
Read full description

KoolGround is the easiest and fastest way to automate your classroom tasks. It is a simple and beautiful app for teachers, students, and parents. * Attendance: record attendance in class and after-school care and activities * Assignments: create, share, collect, review, comment, and grade – all in one place, paperlessly * Gradebook: fully synced with assignments provides easy to use bulk edit and tools to excuse and drop individual grades * Class news: a simple way to improve communication with students and parents and more: * Parent access: to keep parents informed on their child progress * Reports: for the entire class, or only for particular students * Unlimited classes and students * Invite more teachers to teach classes together KoolGround saves time and paper, and makes it easy to create classes, share assignments, communicate, and stay organized. KoolGround contains no ads and never uses your content or student data for advertising purposes. We know - your passion is teaching! Our goal is to work hard to help automate your classroom tasks so you can focus on teaching our kids! Thank you! Privacy Policy: https://koolground.com/privacy Terms Of Service: https://koolground.com/terms

Screenshots

ZipGrade3 screens
KoolGround4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ZipGrade at 86% against KoolGround's 0%. ZipGrade also leads on rating (4.9 vs 2.0) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 9 months). KoolGround's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. ZipGrade sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. KoolGround asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ZipGrade holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ZipGrade has 36K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of ZipGrade's written reviews are positive against 0% of KoolGround's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ZipGrade ships an update every 6 weeks, KoolGround every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
ZipGrade versus KoolGround: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZipGradeKoolGround
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (36K ratings) — better2.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews85.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings36K — better4
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZipGrade LLCC FIVE Inc

Customer experience

ZipGrade

All ratings36,274 ratings
Positive98.3%
Neutral0.9%
Negative0.9%
Written reviews505 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral3.2%
Negative11.1%

KoolGround

All ratings4 ratings
Positive25.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

ZipGrade

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Scanning issues with flat surface detection
  • Incorrect answer marking due to eraser marks

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to change question point values in bulk
  • Option to create/edit answer keys on website
  • Support for non-multiple choice question types
  • Improved data export/integration with other systems

KoolGround

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ZipGrade

One-time1
  • Add 1 year of use$6.99
None

KoolGround

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ZipGrade free?
ZipGrade is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is KoolGround free?
KoolGround is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ZipGrade or KoolGround?
ZipGrade is rated higher. ZipGrade averages 4.9 out of 5 from 36K ratings, while KoolGround averages 2.0 from 4 ratings.
Do ZipGrade or KoolGround have ads?
Neither ZipGrade nor KoolGround shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ZipGrade or KoolGround?
ZipGrade ships an update every 6 weeks, and KoolGround every 9 months. Most recently, ZipGrade was updated on October 13, 2026 and KoolGround on September 18, 2026.

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