# Top Hat vs Y Combinator

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Y Combinator at 50% against Top Hat's 14%. Top Hat's advantage is ratings volume (23K vs 26) and rating (4.6 vs 4.3). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

Top Hat holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Top Hat has 23K ratings behind it against 26, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 14% of Top Hat's written reviews are positive against 50% of Y Combinator's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Top Hat ships an update fortnightly, Y Combinator every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Top Hat | Y Combinator |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (23K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/top-hat-better-learning/id674069291/reviews)** | [4.3 (26 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/y-combinator/id6464718392/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **23K** | 26 |
| Positive reviews | 14.4% of reviews | **50.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | **#107** | — |
| Size | 162 MB | 84 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **16.4** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Top Hat Monocle](https://appshunter.io/developer/411098284) | [Y Combinator](https://appshunter.io/developer/1706164044) |

## What reviewers say

### Top Hat

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

**Currently charting:** #107 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


### Y Combinator

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/y-combinator/id6464718392)

Access Y Combinator's extensive library of startup content, including YouTube videos, podcasts, and essays. It also serves as a mobile client for Hacker News, offering the latest startup news for founders and programmers. Additional features are available for YC-funded founders.

**Highlights:** Organized YC YouTube videos, Startup School content, On-the-go podcast listening, Hacker News mobile client, YC founder-only knowledge base, Access Bookface feed and messages

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Top Hat free?

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

### Is Y Combinator free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Top Hat or Y Combinator?

Top Hat is rated higher. Top Hat averages 4.6 out of 5 from 23K ratings, while Y Combinator averages 4.3 from 26 ratings.

### Do Top Hat or Y Combinator have ads?

Neither Top Hat nor Y Combinator shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Top Hat or Y Combinator?

Top Hat ships an update fortnightly, and Y Combinator every 3 weeks. Most recently, Top Hat was updated on September 24, 2026 and Y Combinator on September 18, 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.*