Comparison

Seesaw vs Acellus

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

Head to head
About

Seesaw

This educational platform empowers elementary students to showcase their thinking and creativity through multimodal tools. It facilitates authentic assessments and fosters inclusive communication between students, teachers, and families, enhancing the learning process for all.

Highlights
  • Student digital portfolios
  • Multimodal learning tools
  • Inclusive family communication
  • Standards-aligned instruction
  • Formative assessments
  • Ready-to-teach lessons
Currently charting
Read full description

Beloved by teachers around the world, Seesaw is the only educational platform built specifically to address the unique needs of elementary classrooms. Seesaw brings together high-quality instruction, authentic assessments that drive deep learning insights, and inclusive communication – in one place. With Seesaw, students have the power to show their thinking and share their learning, ideas and creativity with their teachers and families. Used by 10M teachers, students and families in over a third of elementary schools in the US. Beyond the US, Seesaw is used in over 130 countries! Teachers love Seesaw—out of 1000 teachers surveyed, 92% said Seesaw makes their lives easier. Built on extensive educational research, Seesaw is validated by industry-leading third-party LearnPlatform as a designated evidence-based intervention, eligible for ESSA Federal Funding with Tier IV designation. Awarded the ISTE Seal of Alignment. Grounded in learning science research and based on practitioner experience, the ISTE Standards ensure that using technology for learning can create high-impact, sustainable, scalable and equitable learning experiences for all learners. High Quality Instruction - Enable teachers to deliver high-quality, standards-aligned instruction that encourages student voice and choice - Multimodal tools make learning accessible and engaging. Tools include video, voice, screen recording, photos, drawing, labeling and more! - Present to Class mode designed for front of class modeling, whole class instruction and discussions - Assign activities to all students for center/stations work or whole class independent work. Use student groups to easily differentiate assignments - Over 1600 research-based and ready-to-teach lessons created by Seesaw’s curriculum experts with whole group instruction videos, 1:1 or small group practice activities and formative assessments. Includes robust lesson plans to support teacher implementation. - 100k ready-to-assign activities created by our community of educators and 1600+ ready-to-teach scaffolded lessons Inclusive Family Engagement - Engage families as partners in the learning process through inclusive two-way communication through portfolios and messages - Provide a window into the classroom and insight into their child's progress with frequent sharing of student posts and assignments - Robust messaging with built-in translation into over 100 home languages - Message Progress Reports to families to keep them informed Digital Portfolios - Capture learning completed within and outside of Seesaw through digital portfolios that showcase student growth. - Organize student work by folder and skill - Simplify parent-teacher conferences and report cards Assessment to Support Data-Driven Decisions - Routinely assess student learning to glean meaningful insights into their understanding and make data-informed instructional decisions - Formative assessments with auto-graded questions provided detailed and actionable reporting - Tie skills and standards to activities for easy progress monitoring of key learning objectives Accessible and Differentiated Learning - Enable developmentally appropriate, accessible, and differentiated instruction to reach and engage all learners Seesaw is COPPA, FERPA and GDPR compliant. Learn more at web.seesaw.me/privacy Need help? Visit our Help Center at help.seesaw.me.

About

Acellus

This online learning system offers a dynamic and interactive educational experience for K-12 students. It uses short video lessons and practice problems to assess understanding, with personalized instruction and real-time progress monitoring available.

Highlights
  • Self-paced learning
  • Personalized instruction
  • Live progress monitoring
  • Automatic record-keeping
  • Data-driven instruction
  • Comprehensive K-12 curriculum
Read full description

Every student learns differently. Acellus meets them where they are — with personalized, video-based K-12 instruction used by over one million students across every U.S. state. Short video lessons introduce each concept, followed by practice problems that adapt to how your student is progressing. The result: a dynamic learning experience built around the individual, not the classroom average. Learn at Their Own Pace Students work independently through concepts, with personalized instruction that helps them truly master each one before moving on. Stay in the Loop Monitor your student's progress in real time from any device. Scores, hours worked, and course progress are automatically compiled into printable reports. Always Improving Student responses are continuously analyzed and used to refine course content — so courses get more effective over time, updated daily. A Complete K-12 Curriculum Acellus covers all core subjects K-12, plus Advanced Placement (AP), Exceptional Education, Career & Technical Education, and Exam Preparation — over 470 courses in total. Learning That Goes Anywhere At school, at home, or on the go — Acellus picks up exactly where your student left off, on any device with an internet connection. Give your student the personalized education they deserve. Download Acellus today.

Screenshots

Seesaw4 screens
Acellus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Acellus at none against Seesaw's 1. Seesaw's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Seesaw sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Acellus asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Seesaw holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 100K and 32K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Seesaw's written reviews are positive against 36% of Acellus's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Seesaw ships an update weekly, Acellus every 3 months. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Seesaw versus Acellus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSeesawAcellus
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (100K ratings) — better4.5 (32K ratings)
Positive reviews46.0% of reviews — better36.1% of reviews
Number of ratings100K — better32K
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#75 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.616.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size89 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSeesaw Learning, Inc.GoldKey Security Corporation

Customer experience

Seesaw

All ratings100,056 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral1.8%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews962 reviews
Positive46.0%
Neutral12.1%
Negative41.9%

Acellus

All ratings31,649 ratings
Positive87.6%
Neutral3.2%
Negative9.2%
Written reviews507 reviews
Positive36.1%
Neutral15.2%
Negative48.7%

User reviews

Seesaw

From 100K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Great communication tool
  • 💡 Versatile for teachers and students
  • 🚀 Efficient for remote/online learning
  • 👍 Engaging for students

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and glitchy
  • 💡 Limited text editing options
  • 🔒 Security and privacy concerns
  • 👎 Difficult to navigate
  • 👎 Confusing interface

Acellus

From 32K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to navigate classes
  • 👍 Engaging and interactive lessons
  • 👍 Flexible and self-paced learning
  • 👍 Helpful and fun teachers
  • 👍 Ability to track progress and compete with friends

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Incorrect answers marked as wrong
  • 🐛 Lessons not always aligned with assessments
  • 🐛 Boring or gimmicky teaching styles in some courses
  • 🐛 Lack of live teacher interaction and support

Bugs and requests

Seesaw

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes and freezes
  • Losing work when switching apps
  • Inconsistent performance on different devices
  • Issues with uploading and sharing content
  • Notification problems

Requested features

6 requests
  • Allow parents to post and comment
  • Improve text editing capabilities
  • Add auto-save functionality
  • Provide better organization and tracking of assignments
  • Enhance video recording and editing options
Show 1 more
  • Allow for easier switching between student accounts

Acellus

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Videos randomly restarting or freezing
  • Incorrect grading of written assignments
  • Inability to review past lessons and videos
  • Courses not properly syncing progress across devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add subtitles or transcripts for videos
  • Allow skipping of videos if content is already understood
  • Improve mobile app usability and stability
  • Provide more hands-on and interactive learning experiences
  • Offer more personalized learning paths and feedback

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Seesaw

One-time1
  • 1 Month of Seesaw Plus$12.99
None

Acellus

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Seesaw free?
Seesaw is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Acellus free?
Acellus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Seesaw or Acellus?
Seesaw is rated higher. Seesaw averages 4.8 out of 5 from 100K ratings, while Acellus averages 4.5 from 32K ratings.
Do Seesaw or Acellus have ads?
Neither Seesaw nor Acellus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Seesaw or Acellus?
Seesaw ships an update weekly, and Acellus every 3 months. Most recently, Seesaw was updated on September 24, 2026 and Acellus on September 24, 2026.

Other comparisons