LibreTexts vs Top Hat
LibreTexts
libretexts.org
Top Hat
tophat.comSide by side
| Figure | LibreTexts | Top Hat |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $104.17/mo | $35/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 7 | 8 |
| Spec score · Digital Textbook Platforms | 8.3 (#6) | 7.9 (#12) |
| Audience | LibreNet membership is open to institutions in K-12 and higher education, while individual educators can use LibreTexts to create, adapt, and host OER free of charge. | Top Hat is designed for higher education, with tailored plans available for departments and institutions. |
| Founded | 2008 | 2009 |
| Headquarters | Davis, California, United States | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Privacy | LibreTexts says it does not accept advertising or sell, rent, or lease user lists to third parties, and it describes collection of voluntarily provided personal information and anonymous Google Analytics demographics. | Top Hat says it stores information on servers in the United States and Canada and follows FERPA rules to keep school information confidential. |
| Support | LibreTexts offers free support tickets, monthly webinars, weekly office hours, and free Academy lessons. | 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
LibreTexts
- ADAPTFree
- All-AccessFree
- Jupyter HubFree
- LibreTexts core platformFree
- The ForgeFree
- LibreNet Consortium (affiliate)$1,250 a year
- LibreNet Consortium (full)$2,500 a year
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
LibreTexts
LibreTexts is a nonprofit open education platform for creating, adapting, and sharing accessible textbooks, homework, and related learning materials. Its libraries cover 17 subject fields and more than 2,000 textbooks, and instructors can remix chapters into custom books. Pages can include Jupyter Notebooks, ADAPT homework questions, 3D visualizations, and videos. ADAPT supports formative and summative assessment and includes a shared bank of more than 240,000 openly licensed elements. LibreTexts can be embedded in institutional learning management systems over a secure connection, with optional grade and assessment exchange. Guides cover importing books into Canvas, Moodle, and D2L, and also mention Blackboard. Book pages may provide PDF, EPUB, and editable downloads. Educators can create, adapt, and host open educational resources free of charge. The service is available on the web, Android, and iOS, with offline access and annotation tools. A free plan is listed, with paid pricing from $15/mo.
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.