FlatWorld vs Top Hat
FlatWorld
flatworld.com
Top Hat
tophat.comSide by side
| Figure | FlatWorld | Top Hat |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $35/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 8 |
| Spec score · Digital Textbook Platforms | 7.7 (#16) | 7.9 (#12) |
| Audience | Its materials are designed for college and university instructors and students. | Top Hat is designed for higher education, with tailored plans available for departments and institutions. |
| Founded | 2007 | 2009 |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| LMS integrations | FlatWorld lists Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, and Brightspace integrations, including roster sync. | Top Hat lists integrations with Canvas, Blackboard, D2L Brightspace, Moodle, and Sakai, with LTI 1.3 integrations released for Canvas and D2L Brightspace. |
| Product | FlatWorld publishes higher-education textbooks with digital course materials for students and instructors. | Top Hat is a higher education student engagement and courseware platform for interactive, personalized learning in and beyond class. |
| Security | FlatWorld’s Trust Portal says it maintains an active SOC 2 Type II report and is TX-RAMP certified. | Top Hat says it holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification and encrypts data in transit and data at rest. |
| Support | FlatWorld offers instructor support through a named representative and says support requests receive a response within 1–2 business days. | Top Hat lists support by phone, email, and live chat for instructors and students, with support hours of Monday to Friday, 9 AM–9 PM ET. |
Plans
Top Hat
- 1 Term$35 a month
- 1 Year$58 a month
- 4 Years$96 a month
- Department or Institution-WidePrice not published
- 1 Term (4 months)$35, paid once
- 1 Year (12 months)$58, paid once
- 4 Years (48 months)$96, paid once
- Department or Institution-Wide SolutionsPriced on request
In their own words
Top Hat
Top Hat is a higher education student engagement and courseware platform for interactive learning in and beyond class. During lectures, educators can use polls, discussions, quizzes and instant feedback. For coursework, it supports interactive homework and readings, customizable digital textbooks and instructor-created materials. Instructors can create, schedule or upload tests and assignments, and use AI tools to generate questions from course content. Ace helps educators prepare classes and create interactive prompts; students can use it for personalized study and practice based on course materials. Top Hat turns attendance, participation, reading and assessment data into insights about student progress. It lists integrations with Canvas, Blackboard, D2L Brightspace, Moodle and Sakai; LTI 1.3 integrations for Canvas and D2L Brightspace can provide roster sync, grade sync, deep links and single sign-on. Students can use a browser or iOS and Android apps. Student access plans are $35, paid once for four months, $58, paid once for 12 months, or $96, paid once for 48 months. Eligible paid courses usually offer a five-day free trial.