Comparison

Top Hat vs Fantasy Startup

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

Head to head
About

Top Hat

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
Currently charting
Read full description

Top Hat is the perfect companion app to our comprehensive assessment platform that helps you learn better before, during and after class. Top Hat makes learning fun and engaging (seriously!) and sets you up for success, helping you connect with your professors, your peers and the content you’re learning in and out of the classroom. Here’s what Top Hat offers you: Compelling resources, delivered on your smartphone or laptop: • Follow your prof’s lecture slides on your own device • Contribute in class with an easy-to-use response system that’s always with you • Participate with your profs and peers using in-app discussions Content tailored to your course: • Experience dynamic, interactive textbooks loaded up with images, videos, audio clips and more • Read your digital materials from anywhere and keep them forever Quizzes, tests and polls that improve learning comprehension: • Challenge yourself by taking polls and quizzes on your own devices • Improve your knowledge retention with interactive assessment elements • Check for gaps in your understanding with graded and non-graded homework and short quizzes Thanks for using Top Hat. As you experience the app, we’d love to get your feedback: support@tophat.com or follow us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook @TopHat

About

Fantasy Startup

Learn startup investing skills and strategy risk-free through an interactive simulation. Analyze real startup scenarios, build a virtual portfolio, and track your investments' success or failure. Gain practical knowledge for venture capital and wealth building.

Highlights
  • Virtual portfolio with $1,000 starting capital
  • 50 real-world startup case studies
  • 150 bite-sized venture capital lessons
  • Leaderboard competition with friends
  • Completion certification for investors
  • Realistic startup outcomes (IPO, acquisition, failure)
Features
Read full description

Want to learn how to invest in startups — without risking real money? Fantasy Startup® is the #1 interactive simulation for learning the skills, strategy, and decision-making of startup investing. Perfect for college students, young professionals, or anyone curious about venture capital and building wealth. With $1,000 in your virtual portfolio, you’ll discover, analyze, and invest in real startup scenarios. Each company is broken down into Market Size, Team, Signals, Valuation, and Risks — just like actual investors review. You’ll need to decide in minutes whether to invest or pass. Over the course of the game, you’ll unlock up to 50 startup opportunities, track your portfolio, and watch as your investments succeed or fail through realistic startup outcomes like IPOs, acquisitions, or failures. Every in-game “day” equals a year in a startup’s life — so you’ll quickly see the results of your decisions. Key Features: - Start with $1,000 and build your own startup portfolio - 50 real-world startup case studies with instant investment choices - 150 bite-sized lessons on venture capital, angel investing, and entrepreneurial finance - Compete with friends on the leaderboard and compare portfolios - Earn points, unlock quizzes, and prove your investing skills Completion Certification: Analyze 25+ deals and achieve a 3X return multiple to become a Certified Startup Investor by Doriot Why It Matters: Startup investing is one of the fastest-growing areas of wealth building. Studies show even small exposure to private markets (up to 10% of net worth) can diversify and strengthen long-term returns. Fantasy Startup® makes this world accessible, fun, and risk-free — helping you prepare for when you’re ready to invest for real. Whether you dream of becoming a venture capitalist, want an edge in finance and entrepreneurship classes, or simply want to learn how to build wealth smarter — Fantasy Startup® is your gateway to the investing economy of the future.

Screenshots

Top Hat4 screens
Fantasy Startup4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Top Hat at none against Fantasy Startup's 6. Top Hat also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.2) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 9 months). Fantasy Startup's advantage is review sentiment (43% vs 15%) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). 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. Fantasy Startup sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Top Hat asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Top Hat holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Top Hat has 23K ratings behind it against 45, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 15% of Top Hat's written reviews are positive against 43% of Fantasy Startup's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Top Hat ships an update every 2 weeks, Fantasy Startup every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Top Hat versus Fantasy Startup: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTop HatFantasy Startup
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (23K ratings) — better4.2 (45 ratings)
Positive reviews15.1% of reviews42.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings23K — better45
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#192 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size152 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTop Hat MonocleDoriot Markets LLC

Customer experience

Top Hat

All ratings23,089 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral3.2%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews199 reviews
Positive15.1%
Neutral8.5%
Negative76.4%

Fantasy Startup

All ratings44 ratings
Positive77.3%
Neutral2.3%
Negative20.5%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative57.1%

Bugs and requests

Top Hat

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Answers not registering correctly
  • Slides not loading properly on mobile devices
  • Inconsistent performance across platforms

Requested features

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

Fantasy Startup

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Top Hat

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Fantasy Startup

One-time6
  • Deal every 12 hours$0.99
  • $10,000 in-game cash$1.99
  • Deal every 6 hours$2.99
Show 3 more
  • $25,000 in-game cash$3.99
  • $50,000 in-game cash$4.99
  • At your own pace$5.99

Questions

Is Top Hat free?
Top Hat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Fantasy Startup free?
Fantasy Startup is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Top Hat or Fantasy Startup?
Top Hat is rated higher. Top Hat averages 4.6 out of 5 from 23K ratings, while Fantasy Startup averages 4.2 from 45 ratings.
Do Top Hat or Fantasy Startup have ads?
Neither Top Hat nor Fantasy Startup shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Top Hat or Fantasy Startup?
Top Hat ships an update every 2 weeks, and Fantasy Startup every 9 months. Most recently, Top Hat was updated on October 27, 2026 and Fantasy Startup on October 11, 2026.

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