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Piazza

piazza.com

From $379/mo Free plan WebiOSAndroidAPI
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Spec score 8.6 #5 of 25 in Classroom Management Software

What it is

Piazza is a course Q&A platform connecting students, teaching assistants, and professors around coursework. Its wiki-style format lets participants edit shared responses, with one student answer and one instructor answer for each question. Students can post anonymously to classmates, or anonymously to the instructor if the instructor permits it; instructors can endorse questions and answers. Course pages can hold announcements, course information, syllabi, assignments, lecture notes, and links. Participation reports show instructors who asks, answers, edits, or reads, as well as when questions arise during the term. Piazza lists integrations with Blackboard, Moodle, Sakai, Desire2Learn, Canvas, Jenzabar, and Angel. Integrated rosters can enroll users with appropriate roles, and users can sign in through the LMS. Piazza is available on web, iOS, and Android, with class alerts in its mobile apps. It says student email addresses and course enrollment details are accessible only to class instructors, and describes technical, administrative, and physical safeguards. Founded in 2009, it is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. A contribution-supported plan is free; paid instructor licenses start at $379 a month, billed per term.

Spec sheet

What it does
Piazza is a cloud social-learning platform for class questions, answers, announcements, files, videos and discussions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · getapp.com
Purpose
Piazza is a Q&A platform that connects students, TAs, and professors so students can get help with coursework.Read 7 Oct 2026 · piazza.com
Mobile apps
Piazza says its iOS and Android apps keep users connected to their class and provide class alerts.Read 7 Oct 2026 · piazza.com
Support
Piazza lists [email protected] and 800-818-4124 as support contact options.Read 7 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Headquarters
Palo Alto, California, United StatesRead 28 Sep 2026 · piazza.com
Founded
2009Read 28 Sep 2026 · piazza.com
Anonymity and endorsements
Students can post anonymously to classmates, or anonymously to the instructor if the instructor allows it, and instructors can endorse questions and answers.Read 7 Oct 2026 · piazza.com
Anonymous participation
Users can post anonymously to classmates and, where enabled, anonymously to instructors.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talent.piazza.com
API availability
GetApp states that Piazza has no available API, while third-party projects describe unofficial clients for its internal API.Read 15 Oct 2026 · getapp.com
Class locking
A premium lock feature lets instructors schedule lock dates and times for posting.Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Class statistics
The support center documents instructor class-statistics viewing and statistics export tools.Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Collaborative answers
Piazza uses community-edited wiki-style Q&A with a single student answer and a single instructor answer for each question.Read 7 Oct 2026 · piazza.com
Company facts
LinkedIn lists Piazza as privately held, founded in 2009, headquartered at 101 University Ave in Palo Alto, California, with 11–50 employees.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Company legal name
The privacy policy identifies the maker as Piazza Technologies, Inc.Read 15 Oct 2026 · piazza.com
Company products
Crunchbase describes Piazza Q&A and Piazza Network, and lists Pooja Sankar as founder and Ethan O’Rafferty as CEO.Read 15 Oct 2026 · crunchbase.com
Course tools
Course pages can host announcements, course information, syllabi, and resources such as assignments, lecture notes, and links.Read 7 Oct 2026 · piazza.com
Data practices
The privacy policy says Piazza collects device, usage and location information and uses service vendors for storage, analytics, billing and security.Read 15 Oct 2026 · piazza.com
Help documentation
The help center lists instructor, student, mobile, accessibility, integrations, licensing and Teams sections with dozens of articles.Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Instructor endorsements
Instructors can endorse answers to steer the class toward reliable responses.Read 15 Oct 2026 · piazza.com
LaTeX and code
The product advertises a LaTeX editor, syntax highlighting and code blocks.Read 15 Oct 2026 · piazza.com
License exceptions
The paid-model page says K-12 classes and classes with up to 25 students do not require licenses.Read 7 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Limit: Android feature gaps
Google Play reviews report teammate search failures, update-related lockouts, difficult link sharing and no convenient pinning.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Limit: missing assessment tools
Software Advice reviews cite absent timed quizzes, grading, course calendars, assignment submission and plagiarism detection.Read 15 Oct 2026 · softwareadvice.com
Limit: mobile app
App-store reviewers report sluggish or buggy mobile behavior, missing desktop features, failed uploads and login or loading problems.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Limit: pricing
A Software Advice reviewer said a price increase made Piazza too expensive and led them to leave.Read 15 Oct 2026 · softwareadvice.com
Limit: user interface
G2 reviewers describe the interface as dull, while Software Advice reviewers call navigation and search dated or jumbled.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
LMS integrations
Documented integrations cover Blackboard, Coursera, Moodle, Canvas and other major learning-management systems.Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
LMS sign-in and enrollment
With LMS integration, course rosters can automatically enroll users with appropriate roles, and users can be signed in through the LMS.Read 7 Oct 2026 · piazza.com
LTI 1.3
Canvas setup uses an HTTPS redirect, school-specific target and OIDC URLs, a public JWK URL and Canvas developer keys.Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
LTI legacy integration
The LTI guide supplies launch-parameter mappings, testing credentials and Python and Drupal starter code.Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Microsoft Teams
The knowledge base includes adding Piazza to Microsoft Teams and managing enrollment through Teams.Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Mobile support
Official mobile distribution is available for iPhone/iPad and Android.Read 15 Oct 2026 · getapp.com
Participation reports
Instructors can view reports on who asks, answers, edits, or reads and when questions arise during the term.Read 7 Oct 2026 · piazza.com
Polls
Polls support single or multiple choices, timed availability, anonymity, revoting controls and CSV statistics export.Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Praise: collaboration
GetApp reviewers describe peer interaction, shared resources, organized discussions and increased engagement as benefits.Read 15 Oct 2026 · getapp.com
Praise: communication
G2 reviewers repeatedly value one place to ask instructors and classmates questions, answer publicly and message privately.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Praise: time savings
Reviewers say shared answers reduce repeated instructor replies and improve course communication efficiency.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Privacy and FERPA
Piazza states that universities have verified its Q&A platform facilitates FERPA compliance and that student email addresses and course enrollment information are accessible only to class instructors.Read 7 Oct 2026 · piazza.com
Rating on Apple App Store
2.1 out of 5 from 277 ratingsRead 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Rating on G2
4.2 out of 5 from 27 reviewsRead 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Rating on GetApp
4.2 out of 5 from 9 reviewsRead 15 Oct 2026 · getapp.com
Rating on Google Play
3.1 out of 5 from 2.2K reviewsRead 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Rating on Software Advice
4.2 out of 5 from 9 reviewsRead 15 Oct 2026 · softwareadvice.com
Scale claim
Piazza says more than 100,000 professors and millions of students in thousands of universities across 90 countries use it.Read 15 Oct 2026 · piazza.com
Security and privacy
Piazza says class posts are limited to enrolled users, access codes can add protection, and FERPA controls are provided.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talent.piazza.com
Security safeguards
Piazza says it implements technical, administrative, and physical safeguards to protect information from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.Read 7 Oct 2026 · piazza.com
Self-hosting
The reviewed official materials describe Piazza as a hosted service and provide no self-hosting package.Read 15 Oct 2026 · getapp.com
Status
The public status page currently lists the website, employer portal, mobile app and API as operational with no recent downtime recorded.Read 15 Oct 2026 · plazza.statuspage.io
Terms and content rights
Users retain ownership of posted content but grant Piazza a broad perpetual royalty-free license to operate the service.Read 15 Oct 2026 · piazza.com
Unofficial JavaScript client
A community npm client logs in with credentials, stores a session token and exposes user, class, content and feed methods.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Unofficial SDK
An unofficial Python client is installable with pip, offers a Piazza abstraction and PiazzaRPC, and is MIT licensed.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Wiki-style Q&A
Students and instructors collaboratively maintain one student answer and one instructor answer for each question.Read 15 Oct 2026 · piazza.com

Plans and prices

Contribution-supported Free Free use; optional contribution prompts Polls, statistics and class locking excluded · no ads Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Contribution-supported model Free Optional contribution prompts · polls, statistics, and class locking require a paid license Read 7 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Instructor license — 400-student maximum $379 a month per term; payment is due 3 weeks after class start date 400 student max class size Read 7 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Instructor license (up to 400 students) $379, paid once $379(USD)/term 400 student maximum · covers all students in instructor classes Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Instructor license — 700-student maximum $429 a month per term; payment is due 3 weeks after class start date 700 student max class size Read 7 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Instructor license (up to 700 students) $429, paid once $429/term 700 student maximum · covers all students in instructor classes Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Instructor license (unlimited) $479, paid once $479/term Unlimited class size · covers all students in instructor classes Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Instructor license — unlimited class size $479 a month per term; payment is due 3 weeks after class start date Unlimited class size Read 7 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Department license (up to 2,000 students) $9,000 a year $9,000/year Up to 2,000 students · unlimited classes per student Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Department license $12,000 a year per year Up to 3,000 students · unlimited classes per student in the department Read 7 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Department license (up to 3,000 students) $12,000 a year $12,000/year Up to 3,000 students · unlimited classes per student Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com
Enterprise site license Priced on request Institution or school-level license · contact Piazza for details Read 7 Oct 2026 · support.piazza.com

Every Piazza plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Each question has a student answer and an instructor answer.
  • Students can post anonymously to classmates.
  • Integrated LMS rosters can enroll users with appropriate roles.
  • Mobile apps provide class alerts.

Limits

  • Paid instructor licenses start at $379 a month, billed per term.
  • Polls, statistics, and class locking require a paid license.
  • Anonymous posts to instructors depend on instructor permission.

Who it suits

Piazza suits instructors and students who need a shared place to ask and answer coursework questions, organize course resources, and review participation. LMS integrations may fit courses using one of its listed systems.

Verdict

Piazza combines course Q&A, resource pages, LMS connections, and participation reports. The free plan excludes polls, statistics, and class locking, while paid license pricing is tied to the term and class size.

Where Specifiction places it

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