Scholarships.com vs College Countdown
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Scholarships.com
Discover and apply for scholarships and grants quickly. This platform connects students and families with billions in financial aid opportunities, offering a free and trusted resource for college funding.
- Scholarship and grant search
- Apply in minutes
- No essay scholarships
- Local scholarships by state
- Merit-based scholarships
- Scholarships for diverse students
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Find and apply for scholarships and grants fast. Scholarships.com is the most trusted scholarship search platform, connecting over 26 million students and families with more than $19 billion in financial aid opportunities, completely free. Scholarships for High School Students Junior or senior, start your college scholarship search today. Browse scholarships for high school juniors, seniors, and first-generation students all in one place. No Essay Scholarships Apply in minutes, no essays required. Local Scholarships by State Search scholarships by state to find local awards near you. Nearly 50% of our database is location-based, giving you better odds of winning. Merit-Based Scholarships Earn scholarships for academic achievement, GPA, and talent, regardless of financial need. Scholarships for Every Student Hispanic scholarships, scholarships for Black students, first-generation college scholarships, and more. Over 3.7 million scholarships and grants available, all free. From unusual scholarships to full-tuition college scholarships, start your search today
College Countdown
This app helps high school students and their parents plan and save for college. It integrates college savings, scholarship tracking, and college readiness tools, including AI-powered study plans and career matching.
- Link bank accounts for savings tracking
- Scholarship application pipeline
- AI-powered study plans
- Career and major matching
- College readiness index
- Parent and teen dashboards
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CollegeCountdown is the only app that brings together college savings, scholarship tracking, and teen college readiness in one place — for both parents and students. PLAN YOUR COLLEGE SAVINGS - Link your 529 college savings plan, savings accounts, and investment accounts via Plaid - See your real-time funding gap against inflation-adjusted costs at any school - Calculate exactly how much you need to save each month to stay on track - Track your SECURE 2.0 Roth IRA rollover eligibility ($35,000 lifetime opportunity) - Share a family gift link so grandparents and relatives can contribute directly TRACK AND WIN SCHOLARSHIPS - Build a scholarship pipeline — track every application from research to won - Discover scholarships matched to your teen's profile, grade, and interests - Generate AI-powered financial aid appeal letters for any school offer - Watch your funding gap shrink in real time as scholarships are won GUIDE YOUR TEEN'S COLLEGE READINESS - Personalized 4-year high school roadmap with grade-by-grade milestones - Daily AI-generated study plan tailored to your teen's weak areas and goals - SAT and ACT diagnostic tests, mini practice sessions, and AI coaching - Career Compass: discover careers, matched college majors, and the high school courses to take now - Activities tracker with AI profile analysis — see exactly what colleges will see - College Readiness Index (0–100): one score that tracks academic, test prep, application, and financial progress FOR PARENTS - Parent Hub with Finance, Planner, Goals, Progress, and Nudge tabs - AI financial coach for gap analysis, scenario planning, and SECURE 2.0 guidance - Send challenges and goals to your teen — they accept and track progress - Weekly AI progress report on your teen's college readiness - AI-suggested nudges — the right message to send at the right moment FOR TEENS - Personal dashboard with countdown to college, challenges, and daily plan - My Day — AI-generated daily schedule targeting SAT/ACT weak spots - Application Profile Score — understand what admissions officers will see - Career and major matching based on your interests and strengths - College Journey timeline — a record of every milestone, score, and win - Full Length SAT and ACT tests in-app - Career based prep for future and college COLLEGE SEARCH - Browse and compare colleges with real data: tuition, acceptance rate, graduation rate, median earnings, and median debt - Build your college list with Target, Reach, Safety, and Considering categories - See test score ranges and after-graduation outcomes for every school - AI-recommended schools based on your teen's career and major interests PLANS Free trial available. Monthly Family plan $4.99/month or $49.99/year (up to 4 children). Monthly Teen Only plan $1.99/month. CollegeCountdown is built for families with high school students planning for college enrollment 1–5 years from now. Start free and upgrade when you're ready. Terms of Use: https://collegecountdown.app/terms | Privacy Policy: https://collegecountdown.app/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Scholarships.com at none against College Countdown's 5. College Countdown's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 5 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. College Countdown sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Scholarships.com asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Scholarships.com against 5.0 for College Countdown. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 2 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Scholarships.com ships an update every 5 weeks, College Countdown weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Scholarships.com | College Countdown |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 62 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Scholarships.com, LLC | Julian Smiles |
Customer experience
Scholarships.com
College Countdown
In-app purchases
Scholarships.com
No in-app purchases
College Countdown
- CollegeCountdown Plus - Teen$1.991 Month
- CollegeCountdown - ScoreLab$1.991 Month
- CollegeCountdown Plus$4.991 Month
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- CollegeCountdown - ScoreLab$19.991 Year
- CollegeCountdown Plus$49.991 Year
Questions
Is Scholarships.com free?
Is College Countdown free?
Which has better reviews, Scholarships.com or College Countdown?
Do Scholarships.com or College Countdown have ads?
Which is updated more often, Scholarships.com or College Countdown?
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