LessonUp vs Top Hat

LessonUp8.5Visit Top Hat8.1Visit

Higher score LessonUp #4 in Interactive Classroom Software 8.5/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 1 of 6 features Visit LessonUp

vs

Top Hat #7 in Interactive Classroom Software 8.1/10 5-day trial Free trial✓ 1 of 6 features Visit Top Hat

• LessonUp fits best

  Teachers building interactive curriculum lessons

• Top Hat fits best

  Higher education with assessment workflows

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Side by side

Feature	LessonUp 8.5/10 Visit ↗	Top Hat 8.1/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.5	8.1
Ranking	#4 in Interactive Classroom Software	#7 in Interactive Classroom Software
Best for	Teachers building interactive curriculum lessons	Higher education with assessment workflows
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	$7/mo	$35/unit/mo
Free plan	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Free trial	30 days	5 days
Free trial length	30 days	5 days
Deployment	Cloud, Mobile	Cloud, Mobile
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web, iOS, Android
Integrations	5 integrations	5 integrations
Features LessonUp 1/6 · Top Hat 1/6
Interactive presentations	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Live polls	✓	✓
Quiz activities	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Audience questions	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Assessment reports	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
LMS integration	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Max participants	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Interactive quizzes, polls, word clouds, hotspots, and open questions PowerPoint import, lesson editing, reports, and learning insights Web, iOS, and Android access with education-platform integrations	Combines polls, quizzes, discussions, attendance, and gradebook tools Supports Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace, Moodle, and Sakai Adds interactive readings, insights, and AI study support tools
Cons	Start limits teaching to 10 lessons per month School begins with a minimum of 10 teachers Mobile apps support student participation rather than teacher authoring	Paid access starts at $35 per 4-month term Department and institution pricing is custom Participation requires internet-connected student devices
Our verdict	LessonUp is an online teaching platform for teachers, schools, colleges, and education content partners. Its core purpose is to help educators find, create, import, and teach interactive lessons in person or online. Lessons can include… Read the review →	Top Hat is an interactive learning platform for college and university educators who need more than live polling. It combines interactive slide presentations, live polls and quizzes, discussions, anonymous responses, upvoting, word clouds,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• LessonUp — where it wins

  • Interactive quizzes, polls, word clouds, hotspots, and open questions
  • PowerPoint import, lesson editing, reports, and learning insights
  • Web, iOS, and Android access with education-platform integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • Start limits teaching to 10 lessons per month
  • School begins with a minimum of 10 teachers
  • Mobile apps support student participation rather than teacher authoring

• Top Hat — where it wins

  • Combines polls, quizzes, discussions, attendance, and gradebook tools
  • Supports Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace, Moodle, and Sakai
  • Adds interactive readings, insights, and AI study support tools

  Where it doesn't

  • Paid access starts at $35 per 4-month term
  • Department and institution pricing is custom
  • Participation requires internet-connected student devices

• LessonUp8.5/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

  A focused classroom tool for building lessons, collecting responses, and reviewing learning insights.

  Visit LessonUpFull verdict →
• Top Hat8.1/10 · 5-day trial

  A broad classroom platform for live participation, assessment, and learning insights.

  Visit Top HatFull verdict →