Comparison

Top Hat vs Iowa State Safe

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
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

Iowa State Safe

This official university safety application provides students, faculty, and staff with enhanced campus security. It offers direct access to emergency services, real-time location sharing for personal safety, and a comprehensive suite of tools for reporting concerns and receiving critical alerts.

Highlights
  • Emergency Contacts
  • Mobile Bluelight with real-time location
  • Friend Walk location sharing
  • Report safety concerns
  • Virtual WalkHome monitoring
  • Live chat with campus security
  • Emergency response documentation
Read full description

Iowa State Safe is the official safety app of Iowa State University. It is the only app that integrates with Iowa State University's safety and security systems. The ISU Police has worked to develop a unique app that provides students, faculty and staff with added safety on the Iowa State University campus. The app will send you important safety alerts and provide instant access to campus safety resources. Iowa State Safe features include: - Emergency Contacts: Contact the correct services for the Iowa State University area in case of an emergency or a non-emergency concern - Mobile Bluelight: Send your location to Iowa State University security in real-time in case of a crisis - Friend Walk: Send your location to a friend through email or SMS on your device. Once the friend accepts the Friend Walk request, the user picks their destination and their friend tracks their location in real time; they can keep an eye on them to make sure they make it safely to their destination. - Report a Tip: Multiple ways to report a safety/security concern directly to Iowa State University security. - Virtual WalkHome: Allow Campus Security to monitor a user’s walk. If a user feels unsafe when walking on campus, they can request a Virtual WalkHome and a dispatcher on the other end will monitor their journey until they reach their destination. - Safety Toolbox: Enhance your safety with the set of tools provided in one convenient app. - Chat with ISU PD: Communicate live with safety staff at Iowa State University via chat. - Notification History: Find previous Push Notifications for this app with the date and time. - Share Map with your Location: Send your location to a friend by sending them a map of your position. - I’m OK!: Send your location and a message indicating that “You’re OK” to a recipient of your choosing. - Emergency Response Aids: Campus emergency documentation that can prepare you for disasters or emergencies. This can be accessed even when users aren’t connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data. - Support Resources: Access support resources in one convenient app to enjoy a successful experience at Iowa State University. - Safety Notifications: Receive instant notifications and instructions from Iowa State University safety when on-campus emergencies occur. Download today to ensure you’re prepared in the event of an emergency.

Screenshots

Top Hat4 screens
Iowa State Safe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Top Hat at every 2 weeks against Iowa State Safe's every 14 months. Top Hat also leads on ratings volume (23K vs 1). Iowa State Safe's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Iowa State Safe holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Top Hat has 23K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Top Hat ships an update every 2 weeks, Iowa State Safe every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Top Hat versus Iowa State Safe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTop HatIowa State Safe
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (23K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews14.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings23K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 14 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size152 MB23 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperTop Hat MonocleIowa State University of Science and Technology

Customer experience

Top Hat

All ratings23,089 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral3.2%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews198 reviews
Positive14.6%
Neutral8.6%
Negative76.8%

Iowa State Safe

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Iowa State Safe

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Top Hat

No in-app purchases

None

Iowa State Safe

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Top Hat free?
Top Hat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Iowa State Safe free?
Iowa State Safe is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Top Hat or Iowa State Safe?
Iowa State Safe is rated higher. Top Hat averages 4.6 out of 5 from 23K ratings, while Iowa State Safe averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Top Hat or Iowa State Safe have ads?
Neither Top Hat nor Iowa State Safe shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Top Hat or Iowa State Safe?
Top Hat ships an update every 2 weeks, and Iowa State Safe every 14 months. Most recently, Top Hat was updated on October 25, 2026 and Iowa State Safe on October 16, 2026.

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