Nearpod vs. Top Hat

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Nearpod
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Nearpod is an education-focused learning management software solution offered by Nearpod.
$159
per year
Top Hat
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Top Hat supports student engagement for higher education. Grounded in learning science, the platform and content solutions help educators create interactive, personalized learning experiences with the goal of boosting student engagement, belonging, and success.
$35
per semester per student
Pricing
NearpodTop Hat
Editions & Modules
Gold
$159
per year
Platinum
$397
per year
Silver
Free
Premium Plus
Get quote
per year
1 term
$35
per semester per student
1 year
$58
per year per student
4 years
$96
48 months per student
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
NearpodTop Hat
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsNearpod has a free version for all teachers. There are paid options for individual teachers, as well as schools and districts, for increased features and access.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
NearpodTop Hat
Best Alternatives
NearpodTop Hat
Small Businesses
Freckle by Renaissance
Freckle by Renaissance
Score 9.4 out of 10

No answers on this topic

Medium-sized Companies
Schoology Learning
Schoology Learning
Score 8.0 out of 10
Ellucian Banner
Ellucian Banner
Score 6.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Schoology Learning
Schoology Learning
Score 8.0 out of 10
PeopleAdmin Higher Ed Platform, from Powerschool
PeopleAdmin Higher Ed Platform, from Powerschool
Score 7.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
NearpodTop Hat
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(7 ratings)
8.0
(3 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.5
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
NearpodTop Hat
Likelihood to Recommend
Renaissance Learning
Nearpod is great for teachers who want data to help gauge how engaged students are during lessons. Additionally, teachers in one-to-one schools can better use these tools with a lesson delivery system like Nearpod. Nearpod is especially effective when a presenter has to deliver information to a large class.
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Top Hat
Top Hat is well suited for courses where students are comfortable with utilizing online learning management system as part of their course contents. It is more appropriate to use Top Hat as a stand-alone learning management system or if the school happens to have it integrated to the system. It is not recommended to use Top Hat and another platform or system for students as this would be too much for students.
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Pros
Renaissance Learning
  • Provide timely and individualized feedback.
  • Allow for the teacher to check for understanding, for the entire class, in one view.
  • Present an array of different interactive lesson items, at the fingertips of every student.
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Top Hat
  • I use Top Hat as a discussion tool where the students can write what they have learned or what they haven't.
  • Exams are taken in class and are totally paperless with grades available immediately.
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Cons
Renaissance Learning
  • I would love Nearpod to have more free activities.
  • I would love Nearpod to be free for educators.
  • I would love if teachers could assign homework on Nearpod.
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Top Hat
  • If students are paying, it's a confusing onboarding process for students and instructors and could be better streamlined.
  • The Android app not as well polished as iOS.
  • A better, free, or ad-supported model might be more palpable to students.
  • Integration directly with PowerPoint -- not requiring instructors to upload their slides to Top Hat.
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Likelihood to Renew
Renaissance Learning
Goal is to continue our subscription for the 2019-2020 school year
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Top Hat
No answers on this topic
Usability
Renaissance Learning
While there is some learning curve to fully understand and know how to lead a lesson with Nearpod, once mastered successfully, Nearpod lessons are simple to create and deliver. When leading a lesson, it is relatively simple to see how everyone in the class performs and how well they participate and understand.
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Top Hat
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Renaissance Learning
The support staff for Nearpod is top-notch. I have not had technical issues, but I did have a concern about my bill and they reached out to me nearly immediately to address the problem. I was very satisfied with how they handled the interaction from beginning to end. They did a great job.
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Top Hat
They are very helpful and fast to resolve any issues
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Alternatives Considered
Renaissance Learning
I don't know of a product off hand that does what Nearpod can do. Between the library of pre-made lessons, the ability to create your own lesson content, the ability to add interactive content, Nearpod offers a unique engagement platform for instruction
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Top Hat
Top Hat generally stacks up pretty well against other industry leading or popular learning management systems. Top Hat is comparable to learning management systems used in most educational institutions. The features such as allowing the educator to create an interactive experience by leveraging tools such as quizzes and polls is comparable. Data on student performance is also a helpful feature that is comparable to that of other similar learning management systems.
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Return on Investment
Renaissance Learning
  • The impact is awesome. It gives students a digital option other than PowerPoint for presentations.
  • The feedback tool allows you to follow students in realtime.
  • The shallow learning curve made it easy encourage other faculty to try it.
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Top Hat
  • One of the better ways to track attendance in a mostly secure and automated way.
  • Promotes more active learning, especially in large classrooms.
  • Unpopular if students have to pay.
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