Best scholarship apps and websites, compared

Updated September 10, 2026 · Descriptions reflect each service's own site as of this date. Features and prices change; confirm before you rely on them.

The best scholarship app depends on one question: do you want a list, or do you want the applications done? Scholarships.com, Fastweb, Bold.org, and Going Merry are free and mostly give you a list. Scholarly and ScholarshipOwl charge a subscription and submit the applications for you. Scholarly is the one built around the large national awards with a review step before every submission, and it runs as an iPhone app and a web app. Below is an honest comparison, including where each competitor is the better choice.

Comparison at a glance

Service	What it does	Applies for you?	Cost	Best for
Scholarly	Matches you to scholarships you qualify for and fills out and submits the applications after you review each one. iPhone app and web app.	Yes, after your review	Free to start; subscription to auto-apply	Students who want to apply to dozens of awards without repeating forms
ScholarshipOwl	Subscription service that submits applications on your behalf, including recurring sweepstakes-style awards, from one profile.	Yes	Paid subscription	Volume applications to smaller and recurring awards
Going Merry	Free matching platform with a saved profile; some partner scholarships accept applications inside the platform, the rest link out.	Partly, for partner scholarships	Free	Students whose schools already use it
Bold.org	Free platform hosting scholarships funded by individual donors, applied to on the site with an essay per award.	No, you apply on-site	Free	Essay-based donor scholarships
Scholarships.com	Large free database with filters. Applications happen on each provider's site.	No	Free	Browsing a big list
Fastweb	Long-running free database with email alerts. Applications happen on each provider's site.	No	Free	Deadline alerts by email

Head to head

Scholarly vs ScholarshipOwl

Both submit applications for you and both charge a subscription. The difference is the feed: Scholarly leads with the large national and corporate awards ranked by amount and deadline, and asks you to review each application before it goes out. ScholarshipOwl is built around volume, including recurring sweepstakes-style awards. If you want the big awards with a review step, Scholarly. If you want maximum volume of small entries, ScholarshipOwl.

Scholarly vs Going Merry

Going Merry is free and strong when your high school already loads its local scholarships into it. Outside those partner awards, you still apply on each provider's site. Scholarly costs money once you start swiping, but it submits the application for you across the national awards, not only partner ones. Many students use both: Going Merry for school-loaded local awards, Scholarly for everything else.

Scholarly vs Bold.org

Bold.org is free and hosts its own donor-funded scholarships, most of which want a fresh essay written on the site. Scholarly is a matching and auto-apply tool for scholarships that exist independently of it. Bold.org is worth a profile for its exclusive awards; Scholarly is for applying to the wider market from one profile.

Scholarly vs Scholarships.com and Fastweb

These are free databases. They are good for discovering that a scholarship exists and bad at the part that takes time, which is filling out each application on a different provider's website. Scholarly does the discovery with eligibility matching and then does the applying too. If you enjoy browsing and have the hours, a database is enough. If you do not, that is what Scholarly is for.

Common questions

What is the best scholarship app?

It depends on whether you want a database or a tool that applies for you. For applying, Scholarly and ScholarshipOwl submit applications on your behalf. For free discovery, Going Merry, Bold.org, Scholarships.com, and Fastweb are the established options. Most students who apply in volume use one auto-apply tool plus one free database.

Are scholarship apps worth paying for?

Only if the time saved is real. A paid auto-apply tool pays for itself with a single small award, but a free database is enough for a student who will happily spend a few hours a week on applications. Never pay to apply to a specific scholarship; legitimate scholarships are free to apply to.

Is there a scholarship app that applies for you?

Yes. Scholarly matches U.S. high school and college students to scholarships they qualify for and submits the applications after the student reviews and authorizes each one. ScholarshipOwl also submits applications on a subscription.

Is Scholarly free?

Onboarding and matching are free. Swiping and auto-applying require a subscription, billed through the App Store on iPhone or by card in the web app, with a cheaper yearly option. Cancel anytime.

Try the one that applies for you

Scholarly is free to start. Build your profile in about five minutes, see the scholarships you actually qualify for, and decide whether auto-apply is worth it for you.

Open Scholarly in your browser