Freckle by Renaissance vs. Google Classroom

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Freckle by Renaissance
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Freckle’s differentiation platform is designed to makes it easy for teachers to reach each student at their own individual level—without having to spend extra time preparing many different lessons every day. The Freckle platform was designed by Freckle Education in San Francisco, and was acquired and is now supported by Renaissance Learning (acquired May 2019).N/A
Google Classroom
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
N/A
$0
per month
Pricing
Freckle by RenaissanceGoogle Classroom
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Education Fundamentals
$0
per license/per month
Google Workspace for Education Standard
$3
per student/per year
Teaching and Learning Upgrade
$4
per license/per month
Google Workspace for Education Plus
$5
per student/per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Freckle by RenaissanceGoogle Classroom
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsEducation Fundamentals Version - 30-day free trial for qualifying institutions.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Freckle by RenaissanceGoogle Classroom
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Freckle by RenaissanceGoogle Classroom
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
Freckle by Renaissance
-
Ratings
Google Classroom
7.8
53 Ratings
4% below category average
Course authoring00 Ratings7.545 Ratings
Course catalog or library00 Ratings7.536 Ratings
Player/Portal00 Ratings8.234 Ratings
Learning content00 Ratings8.038 Ratings
Mobile friendly00 Ratings7.951 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications00 Ratings7.540 Ratings
Assignments00 Ratings8.452 Ratings
Compliance management00 Ratings7.429 Ratings
Learning administration00 Ratings7.740 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics00 Ratings7.737 Ratings
Social learning00 Ratings7.846 Ratings
Gamification00 Ratings6.95 Ratings
Single Sign On (SSO) Enabled Learning00 Ratings8.57 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Freckle by RenaissanceGoogle Classroom
Small Businesses
Google Classroom
Google Classroom
Score 8.1 out of 10
Tovuti LMS
Tovuti LMS
Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Schoolmint Hero
Schoolmint Hero
Score 9.7 out of 10
Sakai
Sakai
Score 8.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Schoolmint Hero
Schoolmint Hero
Score 9.7 out of 10
Intellum
Intellum
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Freckle by RenaissanceGoogle Classroom
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(13 ratings)
8.6
(73 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(3 ratings)
1.0
(3 ratings)
Usability
9.1
(1 ratings)
3.0
(4 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(1 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
9.1
(1 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(3 ratings)
1.9
(14 ratings)
Online Training
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
1.0
(1 ratings)
2.0
(2 ratings)
Configurability
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.1
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Freckle by RenaissanceGoogle Classroom
Likelihood to Recommend
Renaissance Learning
Freckle is a fantastic online learning platform. I think it works well in multiple learning environments. Last year I used Freckle in a distance learning model and this year on individual iPads in class. I love that it is a quick platform to assess student achievement. I haven't experienced a scenario where Freckle would fail however, lack of access to the internet is always a factor.
Read full review
Google
- During the pandemic, the college needs a fast and easy solution to conduct Google Classroom. The integration with Google Accounts and Google Meet allows the university to run and access the Classroom on a large scale. - The teacher wants to conduct some exams in third-party software like Moodle. But we have not found any plugin for this famous open-source learning platform. The exam system in Google Classroom is so poor that it doesn't even fully screen the test when students are writing their exams.
Read full review
Pros
Renaissance Learning
  • Freckle does a great job adapting lessons.
  • Freckle does a great job motivating students and participation.
  • Freckle is very interactive with students and teachers to support continued participation.
  • Freckle provides DOK challenge questions that support students' understanding after standards are met.
  • Student inquiry and problem-based questions are also new additions to Freckle that help support led activities.
Read full review
Google
  • Student-teacher communication - I love using Classroom for this because my students can always go back and check what was on Classroom by looking through the stream. This way they don't have to go dig through emails to find what they're looking for.
  • Posting to multiple classes - I can post the same announcement or assignment to multiple classes at once without having to repeat the process or send separate emails.
  • Streamlining grading - when students turn work in on Classroom, it all goes to one place and then when I'm grading I can open their documents directly from Classroom or my Drive folder. This way, I'm not looking through emails and Google Doc shared files for their assignment.
Read full review
Cons
Renaissance Learning
  • My students get bored with just answering questions the whole time. They complain about having to get on to Freckle.
  • I would like to see open ended or open response questions.
  • I would like for Freckle to be able to assess fluency.
Read full review
Google
  • Although usually in the discussion with other LMS apps such as Schoology and Canvas, Google Classroom doesn't possess as in-depth of a platform. There is no ability to set individual learning paths, pace student work with completion settings, or embed other apps directly into teacher-created assignments.
  • The assignment creation options are limited. Teachers can only choose from creating an assignment (usually a link with directions), a material (usually a doc/slide/website, etc), a question, and a quiz.
  • With gamification taking on a new lens in education, there really isn't any way to use gamification elements with Google Classroom. There isn't any way to create Individual learning paths, or use badges and micro-credentials within Classroom. Outside programs would have to be used.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Renaissance Learning
Freckle is an excellent educational tool. The platform supports students and provides them with the opportunity to be successful in mathematics.
Read full review
Google
Testing is particularly important in online learning, and Google Classroom falls far short of other learning management systems in this regard. Security is also a concern: while account control is reasonable for the account used with Google Classroom, the person controlling a particular account is often able to, for example, forward or download proprietary materials.
Read full review
Usability
Renaissance Learning
user friendly
Read full review
Google
This is only a product I would recommend to a humanities teacher. Math and science teachers cannot use this product the same way that I can as an English teacher. It is great for word process and for reading, but unable to handle the demands of math and science. Therefore, I would highly recommend this product to English or Social Studies teachers, but NOT math or science teachers
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Renaissance Learning
No answers on this topic
Google
We have had very little trouble in accessing Google Classroom. Our issues, if any, have risen from our server and not the Google servers.
Read full review
Support Rating
Renaissance Learning
Such an excellent program that is a hidden gem at no cost for teachers to use with students.
Read full review
Google
Since this platform is provided by Google, the technical support is better than any others, and we are not required to bother about the space constraints for adding the contents. If we have a good uninterrupted internet facility we can access Google Classroom without any delay or lag. They have app support in both Android and iPhone.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Renaissance Learning
No answers on this topic
Google
It was relatively easy to implement due to the simplicity of the platform. Even our more technology challenged teachers found it easy to get started with Google Classroom.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Renaissance Learning
I personally love the other products more than freckle math. I love the name Freckle, and I love the concept, but I don't think my class benefits from Freckle in an exponential way. I have been through many trainings and I just don't see it the same as other Renaissance products.
Read full review
Google
I haven't tested or evaluated another digital classroom website or application. I feel like Google Classroom is convenient for many reasons such as compatibility to Google docs, slides, etc. I also love the ability to link to YouTube and other sites. I don't know if there would be a site that is easier to maneuver.
Read full review
Scalability
Renaissance Learning
No answers on this topic
Google
It is very easy to push out this program across our buildings. Teachers are able to use it without much trouble.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Renaissance Learning
  • I used Freckle in the free version and was very pleased with the opportunities it offered my students and the engagement is achieved.
  • I currently use Freckle premium and continue to enjoy the benefits that Freckle provides to my student's growth, more so it now provides weekly reports and other analytical reports to support students.
Read full review
Google
  • Students are able to continue learning in a remote environment
  • Parents have a single, consistent organization structure to make it easy to track assignments and progress for multiple children
  • Much better solution than the quickly assembled Zoom-and-gloom of the previous spring when school abruptly went remote with no planning
Read full review
ScreenShots