Gradescope vs TAO
Gradescope
gradescope.com
TAO
taotesting.comSide by side
| Figure | Gradescope | TAO |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $149/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 7 |
| Spec score · Automated Grading Software | 8.5 (#5) | 8.7 (#3) |
| Analytics | Question-level and rubric-level statistics provide item analysis and help identify learning gaps. | TAO Insights offers customizable reports, dashboards, data export and APIs for third-party analytics integration. |
| Purpose | Gradescope helps instructors administer and grade assessments given online or in class. | TAO is an online assessment platform for creating, delivering and managing digital assessments. |
| Rating on Capterra | 4.6 out of 5 from 5 reviews | 0.0 out of 5 from 0 reviews |
| Rating on GetApp | 4.6 out of 5 from 5 reviews | 0.0 out of 5 from 0 reviews |
| Self-hosting | Gradescope is delivered as a cloud service; the documented autograder is uploaded to Gradescope rather than deployed as a self-hosted Gradescope server. | Organizations can deploy TAO themselves, use TAO Cloud, or choose private-cloud hosting. |
| Support | Gradescope directs users with questions or concerns to [email protected]. | Community Edition support is through the TAO Community Forum and User Guide; paid plans offer additional support options. |
| What it does | Gradescope is a cloud assessment platform for administering, collecting and grading paper, digital, bubble-sheet, programming and online assignments. | TAO is an open-source digital assessment platform for creating, delivering, scoring, grading and reporting tests. |
Plans
Gradescope
- Gradescope BasicFree
- Gradescope BasicFree
- Institutional TrialFree
- Gradescope InstitutionalPriced on request
TAO
- TAO Community EditionFree
- TAO StarterFree
- TAO StarterFree
- TAO Author$149 a month
- TAO Ignite$990 a month
- TAO ElevatePriced on request
- TAO EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
Gradescope
Gradescope is an assessment platform for instructors who administer and grade work completed online or in class. It handles variable-length assignments, including problem sets and projects, as well as fixed-format worksheets, quizzes, bubble sheets, and exams. Instructors can grade with flexible rubrics, provide detailed feedback, and revise rubric decisions on work that has already been graded. For programming work, students can submit code from GitHub or Bitbucket; instructors can use autograders or add inline comments during manual grading. Gradescope also offers question- and rubric-level statistics, with grade and data exports. Its AI can group similar responses for instructor review on some question types; Answer Groups and AI-assisted grading require an Institutional license. That license also enables integrations with Blackboard, Brightspace, Canvas, Moodle, and Sakai. Without it, rosters can be imported by CSV and grades downloaded for LMS upload. The free Basic plan is listed at free. Android and iOS apps support student submissions and grade viewing, not instructor workflows.
TAO
TAO is an online platform for creating, delivering and managing digital assessments. Authors can build tests manually, convert existing exam files, use AI-assisted drafting or import QTI packages. Question formats include Choice, Extended Text, File Upload, Hotspot and Text Entry. Scoring supports automatic and manual methods, partial credit, weighted responses and cut scores, with branching logic also available. Results can be reviewed through session and test-taker reports, custom reports, CSV results, Data Explorer and TAO Insights. TAO supports QTI 2.2 and QTI 3.0, and promotes interoperability through QTI and LTI. Delivery options include online, LMS via LTI, test centers, local proctoring, and cloud-hosted or self-hosted configurations. TAO Cloud offers shared or private hosting using providers including AWS, Google Cloud and Linode. Starter is free for one author and 50 learner attempts monthly; Community Edition is a free, self-hosted open-source option. Paid plans include TAO Author at $149 a month and TAO Ignite at $990 a month; custom plans are also listed.