Perlego vs Top Hat
Perlego
perlego.comTop Hat
tophat.comSide by side
| Figure | Perlego | Top Hat |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $35/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 8 |
| Spec score · Digital Textbook Platforms | 6.9 (#28) | 7.9 (#12) |
| Product | Perlego is a subscription-based digital academic library providing access to academic and professional books. | Top Hat is a higher education student engagement and courseware platform for interactive, personalized learning in and beyond class. |
| Security | Perlego’s 2025 publisher security whitepaper says it uses TLS for data in transit and AES 256-bit encryption for sensitive data at rest. | Top Hat says it holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification and encrypts data in transit and data at rest. |
| Support | The help centre says customers can contact support through live chat or email. | 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
Perlego
- CompletePrice not published
- EssentialPrice not published
- Institutions & OrganisationsPriced on request
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.