# Top Hat vs Revel by Pearson

The clearest difference is update cadence: Top Hat at every 2 weeks against Revel by Pearson's every 3 months. Top Hat also leads on chart position (#174 vs unranked). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Top Hat against 4.7 for Revel by Pearson. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 23K and 8.9K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 15% of Top Hat's written reviews are positive against 12% of Revel by Pearson's.

Top Hat ships an update every 2 weeks, Revel by Pearson every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Top Hat | Revel by Pearson |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (23K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/top-hat-better-learning/id674069291/reviews) | **[4.7 (8.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/revel-by-pearson/id1088745696/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **23K** | 8.9K |
| Positive reviews | **15.1% of reviews** | 12.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | **#174** | — |
| Size | 152 MB | 261 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **16.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Top Hat Monocle](https://appshunter.io/developer/411098284) | [Pearson Education, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/329060244) |

## What reviewers say

### Top Hat

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/top-hat-better-learning/id674069291)

**Currently charting:** #174 Top Free · Education (US App Store)

Enhance your learning experience with interactive resources, in-class participation tools, and dynamic digital textbooks. Engage with professors and peers, and test your knowledge with quizzes and polls to improve comprehension and retention.

**Highlights:** Follow lecture slides on your device, In-class response system, In-app discussions with peers and professors, Dynamic, interactive digital textbooks, Take polls and quizzes, Access graded and non-graded homework

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Smooth and intuitive interface
- 👍 Useful for attendance and in-class quizzes
- 💡 Potential for interactive learning

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 💰 Expensive subscription fees
- 🔒 Privacy concerns with location tracking

**Reported bugs**

- Answers not registering correctly
- Slides not loading properly on mobile devices
- Inconsistent performance across platforms

**Requested features**

- Add page numbers and search functionality to ebooks
- Improve syncing between mobile and web versions
- Allow more flexible location settings for attendance


### Revel by Pearson

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/revel-by-pearson/id1088745696)

Access interactive course materials offline and online, with progress syncing across devices. Listen to audio versions of texts, complete quizzes, and set reminders to stay on track with deadlines.

**Highlights:** Offline course material access, Cross-device progress syncing, Audio playback of texts, In-app quizzes, Customizable reminders and notifications, Highlighting and note-taking

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Convenient app for accessing textbook
- 👍 Good learning tool with interactive features

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Poor user experience and interface
- 🔇 Audio playback issues
- 📱 Not optimized for mobile devices
- 💾 Unreliable sync and data saving

**Reported bugs**

- Orientation issues when switching between pages
- Highlighting and text selection problems
- Inconsistent audio playback controls
- Frequent crashes and freezes
- Incompatibility with newer iOS versions

**Requested features**

- Add portrait mode and zoom options
- Improve highlighting and note-taking features
- Implement bookmark/progress saving
- Allow offline access to textbook content


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Top Hat free?

Top Hat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Revel by Pearson free?

Revel by Pearson is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Top Hat or Revel by Pearson?

Revel by Pearson is rated higher. Top Hat averages 4.6 out of 5 from 23K ratings, while Revel by Pearson averages 4.7 from 8.9K ratings.

### Do Top Hat or Revel by Pearson have ads?

Neither Top Hat nor Revel by Pearson shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Top Hat or Revel by Pearson?

Top Hat ships an update every 2 weeks, and Revel by Pearson every 3 months. Most recently, Top Hat was updated on October 29, 2026 and Revel by Pearson on October 26, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*