# Top Hat vs UTRGV

The clearest difference is review sentiment: UTRGV at 93% against Top Hat's 14%. UTRGV also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.6) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). Top Hat's advantage is ratings volume (23K vs 717) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

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

UTRGV holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Top Hat has 23K ratings behind it against 717, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 14% of Top Hat's written reviews are positive against 93% of UTRGV's.

Top Hat ships an update fortnightly, UTRGV every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Top Hat | UTRGV |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (23K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/top-hat-better-learning/id674069291/reviews) | **[4.8 (717 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/utrgv/id1432789678/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **23K** | 717 |
| Positive reviews | 14.4% of reviews | **93.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | **#146** | — |
| Size | 162 MB | 61 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Top Hat Monocle](https://appshunter.io/developer/411098284) | [The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley](https://appshunter.io/developer/1432789677) |

## What reviewers say

### Top Hat

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

**Currently charting:** #146 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


### UTRGV

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/utrgv/id1432789678)

Manage your academic life and connect with your university community. Stay organized with event and assignment tracking, access academic tools, and discover campus resources. Get important notifications and find your way around campus.

**Highlights:** Academic tools access, Class and assignment management, Event discovery and reminders, Campus community interaction, Campus services information, Push notifications for alerts, Campus map navigation

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Helpful features
- 🤩 Great university app
- 🤟 Awesome experience
- 💯 Excellent resources

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Frequent sign-in required
- 🗺️ Lacking navigation features
- 🐛 Occasional glitches

**Reported bugs**

- Login issues for some users
- Slow performance on older devices

**Requested features**

- Integrated campus map
- Single sign-on for all services
- Improved password management


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Top Hat free?

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

### Is UTRGV free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Top Hat or UTRGV?

UTRGV is rated higher. Top Hat averages 4.6 out of 5 from 23K ratings, while UTRGV averages 4.8 from 717 ratings.

### Do Top Hat or UTRGV have ads?

Neither Top Hat nor UTRGV shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Top Hat or UTRGV?

Top Hat ships an update fortnightly, and UTRGV every 6 weeks. Most recently, Top Hat was updated on September 26, 2026 and UTRGV on September 15, 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.*