# Top Hat vs Second Course

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Second Course at 100% against Top Hat's 14%. Second Course also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). Top Hat's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (23K vs 2). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

Second Course 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 2, 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 100% of Second Course's.

Top Hat ships an update fortnightly, Second Course every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and July 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Top Hat | Second Course |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (23K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/top-hat-better-learning/id674069291/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/second-course/id6754541212/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **23K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 14.4% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | **Free** | Ad-supported |
| Best chart rank | **#140** | — |
| Size | 162 MB | 33 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Top Hat Monocle](https://appshunter.io/developer/411098284) | [Daniel Self](https://appshunter.io/developer/1848744695) |

## What reviewers say

### Top Hat

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

**Currently charting:** #140 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


### Second Course

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/second-course/id6754541212)

Discover free food events on your college campus. Receive alerts for snacks, meals, and desserts, claim your portion, and pick it up. It's also a tool for organizations to attract members and for universities to address food insecurity and waste.

**Highlights:** Free food alerts, Claim food portions, Event notifications, Food waste reduction, Food security improvement, Campus-wide availability

**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 Second Course free?

Second Course is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Top Hat or Second Course?

Second Course is rated higher. Top Hat averages 4.6 out of 5 from 23K ratings, while Second Course averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Top Hat or Second Course have ads?

Second Course shows ads; Top Hat does not.

### Which is updated more often, Top Hat or Second Course?

Top Hat ships an update fortnightly, and Second Course every 3 weeks. Most recently, Top Hat was updated on September 27, 2026 and Second Course on July 17, 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.*