Comparison

Dolphin vs Scholarly

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Dolphin

Build a consistent study habit for SAT and ACT exams with daily practice questions and detailed explanations. Track your progress and focus on areas needing improvement, with optional features to block distracting apps.

Highlights
  • Daily practice questions
  • Worked explanations
  • Vocabulary review
  • Focus Mode for distraction blocking
  • Progress and streak tracking
  • Widgets for quick access
Read full description

Build a steady SAT and ACT study habit with Dolphin. Practice in a swipeable feed, work through explanations, and return to the questions and skills that need more attention. PRACTICE A LITTLE EVERY DAY Answer Math, Reading, English, and Science questions, review vocabulary, and set a daily learning goal. UNDERSTAND YOUR ANSWERS Use worked explanations, video solutions where available, and Pip the Tutor to explore a problem. Save questions and revisit mistakes as you study. MAKE ROOM TO FOCUS With your permission, Focus Mode uses Apple's Screen Time controls to block apps you choose on your selected schedule. Complete your lesson goal to unlock them, or take a break when you need one. KEEP YOUR MOMENTUM Track your streak and progress, and add Dolphin widgets to keep your learning goal close by. Dolphin offers optional in-app subscriptions. Features and content availability may vary. SAT is a trademark of the College Board, and ACT is a trademark of ACT, Inc. Dolphin is not affiliated with or endorsed by either organization.

About

Scholarly

Discover scholarships tailored to your profile with personalized matching. This app assists in drafting essays and tracks all your applications, deadlines, and statuses in one organized dashboard. Spend less time searching and more time applying to opportunities you qualify for.

Highlights
  • Personalized scholarship matching
  • AI-assisted essay drafting
  • Application deadline tracking
  • Swipe interface for browsing
  • Smart profile for data reuse
  • Secure data handling
Features
Read full description

Find scholarships you're actually eligible for. Scholarly matches you to real scholarships based on your profile, then helps you draft essays and track every application in one place. Stop Wasting Time on Scholarships You Can't Win Every year, students waste hours scrolling generic scholarship databases and filling out applications they never had a shot at. Match to scholarships based on your GPA, state, major, and background Draft essays in minutes instead of hours Track every deadline and status in one dashboard Built for students, not fundraising companies Scholarly helps you spend less time searching and more time winning. Onboarding takes two minutes — then you start swiping through scholarships picked for you. PERSONALIZED MATCHING Tell Scholarly about your school, GPA, field of study, citizenship, and background. Our matching engine filters out scholarships you don't qualify for so you only see opportunities worth your time. No more sorting through thousands of irrelevant listings. SWIPE TO APPLY Browse scholarships in a clean, fast swipe interface. Every card shows the award amount, deadline, and eligibility at a glance. Swipe right to save it to your applications. Swipe left to skip. AI ESSAY ASSISTANCE Provide a writing sample or a few notes about yourself, and Scholarly generates a personalized first draft for any scholarship essay prompt. Drafts are a starting point — fully editable, clearly labeled, and written in your voice, not a generic template. APPLICATION TRACKING Every scholarship you save lands in your Applications dashboard with its deadline, amount, and status. Never miss a due date. Never lose track of where you are in the process. SMART PROFILE Enter your information once. Scholarly reuses it across every application so you're not retyping your GPA, address, and school for the fiftieth time. BUILT FOR EVERY STUDENT High school seniors planning for college. Current undergrads covering tuition. Graduate students. First-generation applicants. Non-traditional students returning to school. Scholarly surfaces opportunities for all of them. WHY SCHOLARLY? Personalized matching — only see scholarships you qualify for AI-assisted essay drafting in your own voice Clean swipe interface built for speed Deadline and application tracking in one place Secure data handling — your information is never sold Built by students, for students Scholarly isn't another endless scholarship database. It's the tool that finds the ones that actually fit you, helps you apply faster, and keeps you organized from first swipe to final submission. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Scholarly is an auto-renewing subscription service. A subscription is required to use the app. Plans start at $9.99/week or $59.99/year or $19.99/month. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store Account Settings. Scholarly uses Apple's Standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://tryscholarly.app/privacy.html

Screenshots

Dolphin4 screens
Scholarly4 screens

Verdict

The call

Dolphin and Scholarly both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 85% of Dolphin's written reviews are positive against 26% of Scholarly's. Dolphin also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10). Scholarly's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks) and chart position (#98 vs unranked). On price, rating, ads and device support 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. Scholarly sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Dolphin asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Dolphin against 4.7 for Scholarly. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.4K and 4.5K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Dolphin's written reviews are positive against 26% of Scholarly's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dolphin ships an update every 2 weeks, Scholarly every 3 days. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Dolphin versus Scholarly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDolphinScholarly
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.4K ratings) — better4.7 (4.5K ratings)
Positive reviews84.9% of reviews — better25.5% of reviews
Number of ratings1.4K4.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
Best chart rank—#98 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size220 MB59 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPaloAI Inc.NeedThat Studio LLC

Customer experience

Dolphin

All ratings1,367 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral1.5%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews106 reviews
Positive84.9%
Neutral1.9%
Negative13.2%

Scholarly

All ratings4,230 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral1.2%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews94 reviews
Positive25.5%
Neutral1.1%
Negative73.4%

In-app purchases

None

Dolphin

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Scholarly

Subscriptions10
  • Unlock Scholarly Pro Mega Sale$6.991 Month
  • Unlock Scholarly Pro$9.991 Month
  • Unlock Scholarly Pro$14.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • Unlock Scholarly Pro$19.991 Month
  • Unlock Scholarly Pro Mega Sale$19.991 Year
  • Unlock Scholarly Pro3 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Unlock Scholarly Pro$29.991 Year
  • Unlock Scholarly Pro Sale$39.991 Year
  • Unlock Scholarly Pro$59.991 Year
  • Unlock Scholarly Pro3 Days trial$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Dolphin free?
Dolphin is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Scholarly free?
Scholarly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dolphin or Scholarly?
Dolphin is rated higher. Dolphin averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.4K ratings, while Scholarly averages 4.7 from 4.5K ratings.
Do Dolphin or Scholarly have ads?
Neither Dolphin nor Scholarly shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dolphin or Scholarly?
Dolphin ships an update every 2 weeks, and Scholarly every 3 days. Most recently, Dolphin was updated on November 5, 2026 and Scholarly on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons