Comparison

Top Hat vs Gradescope

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

Gradescope

Easily upload assignments for courses using this app. Submit files from your device or scan your work directly. Assign pages for variable-length assignments and resubmit if needed before the deadline.

Highlights
  • Upload assignments
  • Scan documents with camera
  • Select existing files
  • Assign pages for variable-length assignments
  • Resubmit assignments
  • View submitted and graded assignments
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Students, upload your assignments to Gradescope more easily than ever before! If your instructor uses Gradescope for your assignments, you can now upload your submission with our mobile app. After installing and opening the app, login to see your Gradescope courses and assignments. To upload a submission, click on the assignment in the “Not Submitted” tab and either “Select File” to select an existing file from your device or “Scan” all pages of your completed work using your iPhone’s camera. Once you submit your file(s), for templated assignments, you’re all set. For variable-length assignments, “Assign pages” to indicate where your answer for each question appears within your submission. It’s that easy! After confirming, your assignment then moves to the “Submitted” tab. If needed, you can resubmit your assignment until the due date your instructor set has passed. Once it is graded and grades are published for the assignment, it then moves to the “Graded” tab. Note: For V1 of the app, you will be directed to our mobile website for any advanced functionality, including viewing feedback and submitting timed, programming, or online assignments. Stay tuned for future updates that will allow you to do even more with our mobile app!

Screenshots

Top Hat4 screens
Gradescope4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Top Hat at 4.6 against Gradescope's 1.4. Top Hat also leads on ratings volume (23K vs 231) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). Gradescope's advantage is iOS requirement (13.4 vs 17.0). On price, review sentiment, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Top Hat holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 1.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Top Hat has 23K ratings behind it against 231, 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 9% of Gradescope's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Top Hat ships an update fortnightly, Gradescope every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Top Hat versus Gradescope: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTop HatGradescope
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (23K ratings) — better1.4 (231 ratings)
Positive reviews14.4% of reviews — better9.2% of reviews
Number of ratings23K — better231
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#147#114 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.013.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size162 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTop Hat MonocleTurnitin

Customer experience

Top Hat

All ratings22,776 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral3.3%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews195 reviews
Positive14.4%
Neutral8.2%
Negative77.4%

Gradescope

All ratings231 ratings
Positive7.4%
Neutral3.5%
Negative89.2%
Written reviews98 reviews
Positive9.2%
Neutral7.1%
Negative83.7%

User reviews

Top Hat

From 23K App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

Gradescope

From 231 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Quick and effective submission process
  • 👍 Clean and well-designed app
  • 📸 Convenient scanning and photo upload

Room to improve

  • 🔑 Frequent log-in issues and lack of session persistence
  • 📱 Suboptimal iPad and tablet experience
  • 🐛 Buggy scanning and submission functionality
  • 🤔 Lack of key features like viewing graded assignments

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

Gradescope

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Camera flash issues during scanning
  • Photos not uploading in correct order
  • Inconsistent download button behavior

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to sort assignments by due date
  • Integration of tools for instructors
  • Improved iPad and tablet optimization

In-app purchases

None

Top Hat

No in-app purchases

None

Gradescope

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Top Hat free?
Top Hat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Gradescope free?
Gradescope is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Top Hat or Gradescope?
Top Hat is rated higher. Top Hat averages 4.6 out of 5 from 23K ratings, while Gradescope averages 1.4 from 231 ratings.
Do Top Hat or Gradescope have ads?
Neither Top Hat nor Gradescope shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Top Hat or Gradescope?
Top Hat ships an update fortnightly, and Gradescope every 2 months. Most recently, Top Hat was updated on September 24, 2026 and Gradescope on September 22, 2026.
Which is more popular, Top Hat or Gradescope?
Top Hat currently peaks at #147 in the App Store charts, and Gradescope at #114. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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