# Top Hat vs enCourage UW

The clearest difference is update cadence: Top Hat at fortnightly against enCourage UW's every 28 months. Top Hat also leads on ratings volume (23K vs 3) and chart position (#210 vs unranked). enCourage UW's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and iOS requirement (15.5 vs 17.0). 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.

enCourage UW 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 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Top Hat ships an update fortnightly, enCourage UW every 28 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Top Hat | enCourage UW |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (23K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/top-hat-better-learning/id674069291/reviews) | **[5.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/encourage-uw/id6468810119/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **23K** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | 14.4% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 28 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | **#210** | — |
| Size | 162 MB | 7 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.5** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Top Hat Monocle](https://appshunter.io/developer/411098284) | [University of Wisconsin-Madison Shared Apps](https://appshunter.io/developer/908478605) |

## What reviewers say

### Top Hat

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

**Currently charting:** #210 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


### enCourage UW

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/encourage-uw/id6468810119)

This application facilitates the creation of supportive and genuine learning environments. It is designed to foster authentic communities for educational purposes in various settings.

**Highlights:** Create supportive learning communities, Foster authentic educational environments, Applicable in any learning situation, Designed for community building

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Top Hat free?

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

### Is enCourage UW free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Top Hat or enCourage UW?

enCourage UW is rated higher. Top Hat averages 4.6 out of 5 from 23K ratings, while enCourage UW averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.

### Do Top Hat or enCourage UW have ads?

Neither Top Hat nor enCourage UW shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Top Hat or enCourage UW?

Top Hat ships an update fortnightly, and enCourage UW every 28 months. Most recently, Top Hat was updated on September 26, 2026 and enCourage UW on September 10, 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.*