PhDportal vs Shiksha

PhDportal is a free web service for finding and comparing English-taught PhD programmes at universities worldwide. Its catalogue lists more than 19,000 programmes from over 900 universities. Search filters cover subject, country, tuition fees, duration, study format, language requirements and university rankings. Users can save programmes to a shortlist for comparison, then connect directly with universities when applying. The service also supports scholarship searches and provides university pages with rankings, reviews, student life, admission requirements and tuition fees. Registered users can receive study matches, update preferences and keep a wishlist. Programme information comes from official university websites; some universities update listings directly, while PhDportal's data team curates and verifies others. Most programme pages are checked at least once a year, and tuition fees, deadlines and study dates are checked for unusual changes or inconsistencies. Students are advised to verify final details with the university before applying. PhDportal is part of Studyportals, whose operator is Studyportals B.V., headquartered in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

Shiksha helps students discover and research colleges, courses, and exams for higher education in India and abroad. Its college directory includes information on admission criteria, eligibility, fees, placements, rankings, reviews, scholarships, and accepted exams. Students can compare colleges and courses, read reviews, build a shortlist, and use college or rank predictors based on exam scores and historical cutoff trends. Shiksha Assistant counselling recommends colleges using factors such as exam scores, budget, location, and profile. The mobile app adds search, comparisons, reviews, alerts, personalized recommendations, and exam resources including papers, syllabi, and dates for 600+ exams. The service is available on Android, iOS, and web, and the listed plan is free. Shiksha says its site covers more than 60,000 institutions and 375,000 courses; it separately describes its website and app as hosting information on 800+ exams, 50,000+ institutions, and 400,000+ courses. It says contact information may be shared with colleges when users express interest or are shortlisted as potential admission candidates. The Android listing says the app may share app activity and collect location, while encrypting data in transit and allowing deletion requests. Shiksha says it is not affiliated with or endorsed by a government organization.