# Top Hat Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra > With the help of Capterra, learn about Top Hat Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Higher Education products and more. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/221038/Top-Hat --- # Top Hat Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on March 13, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Integrations](#integrations)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) Top Hat ## What is Top Hat? Top Hat is the leader in student engagement for higher education. Grounded in learning science and powered by AI, our platform helps educators create interactive, personalized learning experiences that deepen connection and drive student success. Used by 35,000+ instructors at over 1,500 institutions, Top Hat supports learning for more than three million students, turning classrooms into spaces of active exploration and growth. We combine real-time participation tools with flexible course content, assignments, testing, and analytics, all in one platform that integrates with major LMS providers like Canvas, Blackboard, D2L, and Moodle. At the center is Top Hat Ace, our AI-powered assistant that helps instructors save time on prep and gives students personalized, on-demand study support tailored to their course materials. ## What is Top Hat used for? [Higher Education](https://www.capterra.com/higher-education-software/)[Student Engagement Platform](https://www.capterra.com/student-engagement-platform-software/)[Polling](https://www.capterra.com/polling-software/) Overall rating Based on 41 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 68% Neutral 12% Negative 20% Starting price $35 Other, Per Year Free trial not available Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for Top Hat?[Manage this product listing](https://digitalmarkets.gartner.com/get-listed/claim-bx?url=https://www.tophat.com/&name=Top Hat) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### Top Hat 3.8 (41) VS. [4.7 (2,782)](https://www.capterra.com/p/158456/JotForm-4-0/reviews/) Starting Price $35 Other, Per Year Starting Price $39 Flat Rate, Per Month Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 3.9 (41) Ease Of Use 4.7 (10,408) Value For Money 2.9 (18) Value For Money 4.5 (6,450) Customer Service 3.8 (20) Customer Service 4.5 (5,757) ## Top Hat alternatives [4.7 (944)](https://www.capterra.com/p/137289/Typeform/reviews/) Starting price $39.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 96% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.3 (231)](https://www.capterra.com/p/150446/Cornerstone-LMS/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 88% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.6 (450)](https://www.capterra.com/p/131426/Zoho-Survey/reviews/) Starting price $35.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 96% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.6 (5,044)](https://www.capterra.com/p/153140/Connecteam/reviews/) Starting price $29.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 96% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/176406/Top-Hat/alternatives/) ## Features Features with the highest number of reviews are displayed first. Those that have no reviews appear next, sorted alphabetically. Reporting/Analytics 5.0 (5) 60.00% of 5 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important View and track pertinent metrics to find patterns and gain insights from data Course Management 5.0 (4) 50.00% of 4 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Create, organize, and assign courses to users Course Tracking 5.0 (4) 50.00% of 4 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track which progress and course materials have been completed by each user Surveys & Feedback 4.8 (4) 50.00% of 4 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Gauge satisfaction and receive information for improvement and success Asynchronous Learning 4.3 (3) 33.33% of 3 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Supports flexible learning at different times (i.e., learners can access course materials at their own pace) Scoring 5.0 (3) 66.67% of 3 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Automatically calculate score after the assessment Top Hat 72 features Software specialized for schools (K-12 & Post-Secondary) Dashboard to view the status of ongoing processes, identify current incidents and track past activities Track and document all activities across devices, networks, and other systems Creation, administration, and evaluation of assessments or tests Assign issues and tasks based on availability or required skills Supports flexible learning at different times (i.e., learners can access course materials at their own pace) Manage attendance for classes, shifts, meetings, or events Track the attendance of specific individuals or groups Supports learning paths that combine in-person classes with online/virtual courses Tools that allow users to create and publish courses and course material/content Plan and schedule lessons and maintain students' behavior in the classroom Manage and track all internal and external communication conducted via calls, email, text, or chat Handles digital content throughout its lifecycle, from creation and storage to distribution and archiving Developing custom training courses for educating employees or for teachers to create courses for their students Create, organize, and assign courses to users Track which progress and course materials have been completed by each user Map out the subjects that comprise courses of study Tailored or customizable questions for more targeted and relevant data collection Pre-designed layouts that can be customized to match preferences and requirements Analyze survey results via statistical testing or crosstabs directly within the software Import and export data to and from software applications Graphical representation of data Online forums/groups where users can ask questions, share ideas, best practices, etc. Tracks metrics that provide insight into how a user interacts with any interface or product Collecting, analyzing, and utilizing feedback from users or customers to improve a product or service Software designed for higher education organizations Games or game-like elements to track progress and reward accomplishments Use AI to generate content in the form of text, images, videos, etc. Track student's scores and grades on course materials Review or test a specific candidate's skills Allow the audience to interact or engage with the content Students are encouraged to interact with technology-enabled study materials during the course of learning Students can access materials and communicate with instructors via their online student profile Organize and track educational activities Present live poll results to audience Integration with LMS system Access software remotely via mobile devices Access the system via a mobile application Access for students to complete learning materials on mobile platforms Observe and track the demand, usage, progress or quality of a system, product, or user Supports different types of question formats, including multiple-choice, checkbox, open-answer, Likert scale, and essay Survey or poll in which participants communicate responses via the internet, typically by completing a questionnaire on a web page Exams administered online via computers or other electronic devices Enable custom polls/voting to facilitate decision-making or increase engagement Share and present designs Document and report the progress of ongoing projects Reporting on how each user, task or process has advanced since its initiation Pre-written repository of questions that can be reused within a course or for assessment or interviews Brief assessments used to measure knowledge and skills Analyze and gain insights into data in real-time Receive data and information in real time Active monitoring of systems, applications, or networks Active reporting of data and metrics Receive system updates as soon as any changes are made Collection, analysis, and representation of numerical data and generation of reports to understand various patterns View and track pertinent metrics to find patterns and gain insights from data Automatically calculate score after the assessment Securely stores data to prevent data loss or breaches Record active support and chat sessions for auditing and training Allow users to access multiple services after entering their login credentials once Create lists of student grades, transcripts, class lists, course schedules, etc. to be shared with instructors and administration Database of students to track personal information of individuals and families Allow media to be embedded in the question or answer options Create and administer polls and surveys Gauge satisfaction and receive information for improvement and success Real-time, interactive learning experiences where participants engage in learning activities simultaneously Create, save, and re-purpose templates for emails, forms, etc. Create or build customized tests and quizzes Create tools to measure student retention of learning material and lessons Set up connections to third-party platforms to improve business processes Assign weighting to individual test questions according to the level of importance Visual representations of words that give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently Get Advice We can help you find the software with the features you need. Features 3.8 (41) 3.8 Based on 41 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 2.9 (18) Free Version [View pricing plan details](https://www.capterra.com/p/176406/Top-Hat/pricing/) Top Hat Pro $35.00 Other,Per Year It includes: - All the Lecture Features of Top Hat Basic - Anti-Cheating & Auto-Grading Technology - Authoring - Comprehensive Weekly Insights on Student Performance & Attendance - Create - Easy-to-Create Quizzes With Auto-Grading Capabilities - Edit - Editing & Customization Tools - Email & Live Chat Support for Instructors & Students - Embedded Assessments - Enhanced Phone - Full Gradebook - LMS Export - Personalized Training & Course Prep - Schedule or Upload Tests & Assignments - Videos & Simulations Value for money 2.9 (18) 2.9 Based on 18 reviews ## Integrations [ Canvas](https://www.capterra.com/p/127214/CANVAS/) Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs. ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 3.8 (20) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 3.8 (20) 3.8 Based on 20 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 3.8 Based on 41 reviews Filter by rating 5(18) 4(10) 3(5) 2(4) 1(4) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent Jesse Z. Software Engineer Computer Software ### "Great App For Any College Course. Can Be Used For Attendance and Engagement." 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 August 20, 2025 It is overall a great app for any college course to integrate. Not only can you take attendance, you can also ask questions and post poll questions for students. Pros The mobile app is very user friendly and it is easy for your professor to use to take attendance in class without passing a sign in sheet around. Also, the poll questions on this app are very interactive and make class engaging. Cons There are times that Top Hat requires you to reauthenticate through your university. This is frustrating when you just opened the app when class started and can't immediately enter the code. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AU Anonymous User Application Support Analyst Higher Education ### "Engaging Audience response system (and more)" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 July 31, 2023 Pros Fairly intuitive for users; flexible; offers a lot of functionality in one application; responsive development team that frequently updates (new functionality and fixes) Cons Development has had a pretty narrow view of the use cases; they didn't seem to anticipate all the different scenarios that might occur in a Higher Ed environment. Alternatives considered [iClicker](https://www.capterra.com/p/172795/iClicker/) Reasons for choosing Top Hat Most versatile functionality for the best price Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AU Anonymous User Associate Professor Education Management ### "Poor Customer Support" 1.0 Overall Rating 1.0 1.0 Ease of Use 1.0 1.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 1.0 1.0 Likelihood to Recommend 0/10 March 24, 2023 It looks like a good program but be wary of the customer support. Pros It looks like a very useful program to engage students in a large class. We wanted to use Top Hat. Cons The sales rep for Top Hat decided to stop replying to emails at critical time in deciding to implement Top Hat. We were even looking into the possibility of implementing Top Hat across the university. If Top Hat no longer wanted to pursue that, they could have at least replied to an email. Another colleague reported having problems with Top Hat personnel. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. EW Ella W. Full-time student Higher Education ### "Easy to Use" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 June 12, 2022 Easy to use and great way to learn with question along the way. The app did not have all of the functions as the textbook did online. Overall, it is engaging when available. Pros Very clear sections, questions, and due dates. I love that it would tell you what the correct answer was, that ay you are learning rather than wondering what part was wrong. Being able to read aloud and highlight text made it a great learning resource. Cons Submitting answers where the rest of the class could see was uncomfortable. I found that most students skipped those questions to avoid the social anxiety of being wrong in front of everyone. It prevented people from learning and checking their knowledge on concepts. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Vaidas L. Associate professor Education Management ### "Excellent for its purpose in education" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 7/10 May 26, 2022 Overall, I have had positive experience with the platform and I would encourage educators to at least take a look and decide if it suits for you. There is no 'one size fits all' approach in higher education. Pros I have used the platform for years. Started using it to take attendance, but then transitioned to a more inclusive approach. What I like the most is that you can setup your lecture flow with PowerPoints, include quizzes/assessment points throughout, include videos (or other multimedia), and export grades/attendance at the end. There are a lot of small features that can be catered to individual faculty needs, such as types of questions, integration, etc. Their tech support is excellent! They helped me transition my course to tophat in no time. Cons I liked everything about the platform as it suited my needs. My only issue is the pricing model where the students have to pay for access individually. Not all of my students have the means to pay for access (which can really impact their grade if they don' use the platform). However, there is a discount if the platform is used in multiple classes. I also think they have site licenses, too. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AU Anonymous User Student Education Management ### "Terrible" 1.0 Overall Rating 1.0 1.0 Ease of Use 1.0 1.0 Features 1.0 1.0 Customer Service 2.0 2.0 Likelihood to Recommend 0/10 April 5, 2022 Terrible Pros Has a nice built in quiz option when doing readings. Cons The app would crash over and over again or it would not show entire articles/readings and instead would show me a blank screen. Other times, it wouldn't let me submit work. My professor says she can't program the app to put in correct due dates either making us confused. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. MN Michelle N. CLS Program DIrector Higher Education ### "Great for Use in Higher Education" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 March 10, 2022 Pros Ease of use, easy to set up and customer service was very helpful in setting up Cons Pricing, so it was subsidized by the school Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. NM Neeraja M. Student Higher Education ### "Top Hat is one of my top choices for student engagement" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 July 29, 2021 Overall, I really like TopHat and would recommend it for presentations/education. Pros Top Hat is very convenient to use. My professors love it and all students love it too. It is engaging but not tedious. You can access it from your mobile or laptop. Cons Sometimes the software lags behind which can be annoying especially since everything is happening live. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. MV Michael Vincent B. Teacher III Education Management ### "Top Hat "On Top" of my List" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 June 11, 2021 Top Hat is a great application for teachers in managing quizzes. It is a user-friendly app for learners where in they can go through their lessons with ease. Pros Top Hat is an excellent software! I could easily give quizzes to my learners and give ratings to them easily. It is very user-friendly and bery accessible to learners for its mobile app feature. Cons Going back to view questions which were answered correctly and incorrectly were quite difficult. I wish this app would have commands like bookmarking and highlighting notes on it. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. SS Sidney S. Student Education Management ### "Top Hat" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 June 10, 2021 Overall, Top Hat is easy to use and seems to make life easier for professors. However, it is not the most cost effective for students who must pay out of pocket for the service each time their classes require it. Pros Top Hat is easy for both me and my professors to use. It's clean, sleek, and extremely user-friendly. Top Hat is also device-friendly and I've had a great experience using the mobile app on my iPhone. I like that my professors are able to embed questions within our lectures, which aids in my learning and makes sure I am understanding the material being presented in the lectures. Cons As a student, my least favorite thing about Top Hat is the pricing. Although my classes require Top Hat, the cost is not covered by university tuition and class fees. In addition, Top Hat makes you pay based on how long you will need the software. You can pay for an entire year, which would end up cheaper if most of your classes use Top Hat. However, you may end up paying for the entire year when you only need it for 3 months if only one of your classes requires it. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. 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