Scholarly

Scholarly vs Award Scholar: which apply-for-you tool should you trust?

Last updated October 2026 · By the Scholarly team

Short answer

Award Scholar and Scholarly both promise to do the applying, but Award Scholar is a four-month-old site that keeps official scholarship links behind a signup and doesn't publish its prices up front. Scholarly lists its price ($59.99 a year or $19.99 a month on the web), links nothing behind a wall, and makes you approve every application. If you try Award Scholar, check the price and renewal terms at checkout first.

We make Scholarly, so weigh our take accordingly. Every fact about another company on this page links to its source at the bottom, checked in October 2026. Prices and features change; confirm on their site before you pay.

Side by side

Scholarly compared with Award Scholar
Feature	Scholarly	Award Scholar
Price	Free to set up. Swiping and auto-apply need a subscription: $59.99 a year or $19.99 a month on the web. On iPhone it's billed through the App Store.	Not published on the homepage. Shown at checkout, per its FAQ. Profile and matches are free.
How you find scholarships	Swipe through scholarships matched to your profile. Anything you don't qualify for is hidden. Roughly 700 are open at a time.	AI matching from an uploaded profile. Public scholarship pages show the amount and eligibility but say "Unlock the official link" and hide the essay question until you sign up.
Applies for you?	Yes Fills in and submits each application after you review and approve it.	Partly "Apply with AI" fills in the provider's form when you choose it. Its FAQ says some provider forms "may be submitted without a second preview."
Essay help	Stores one personal statement and reuses it. You edit it when you want; it isn't rewritten behind your back.	AI essay drafts for each scholarship, which its FAQ says use real details from your profile.
Platforms	iPhone app (4.7 stars, 4,100+ ratings) and a web app.	Website. We didn't find an Award Scholar app on the U.S. App Store.
Business model	Subscriptions. No ads, no sponsored listings in the swipe feed.	Subscription (price shown at checkout). Company: Orchard St, Inc.
Data sharing	Never sold. Your details go only to the providers you swipe right on.	Not summarized; read its privacy policy before signing up.
Track record	On the App Store since April 2026, 4,100+ ratings.	Domain registered June 21, 2026. Scam Detector's automated trust score: 19.9/100 on Oct 19, 2026.

The real difference

On paper the pitch is close to ours: one profile, matched scholarships, the forms filled for you. The differences are in the details you'd want to check before paying anyone.

Links. Award Scholar's scholarship pages are public, and they rank in search, but the button to the provider's official page says "Unlock the official link" and the essay prompt says "Sign up to unlock." Scholarships are public information. You can always look up the sponsor directly.

Price. Award Scholar's FAQ says the price, billing period, and renewal terms appear before you pay. That's fine, but it means you can't compare without starting a signup. Ours are on this page.

Review step. Award Scholar's own FAQ says some forms may go out without a second preview inside the product. Scholarly holds every application until you approve it.

Age. The domain was registered on June 21, 2026. New isn't the same as bad; Scholarly launched in April 2026. But a brand-new site has no track record, and automated checkers such as Scam Detector score that harshly. Its validator gave awardscholar.com 19.9 out of 100 when we looked.

Pick Award Scholar if…

You specifically want AI-written first drafts of every essay
You're comfortable starting a signup before seeing the price
You've read the refund policy and renewal terms

Pick Scholarly if…

You want to see the price before signing up
You want every application held for your approval
You want an app with months of public App Store reviews
You'd rather your one personal statement be yours, edited by you

Can you use both?

You could, but two paid apply-for-you tools will mostly hit the same third-party scholarships, and providers usually accept one application per person. Pick one. Whichever you choose, keep a list of what was submitted in your name.

Questions people ask

What is Award Scholar?

Award Scholar (awardscholar.com) is a scholarship matching site that drafts essays with AI and offers an "Apply with AI" button that fills in provider forms. Its homepage footer names Orchard St, Inc. as the company behind it.

How old is Award Scholar?

The awardscholar.com domain was registered on June 21, 2026, according to public registration records. That makes it about four months old as of October 2026.

How much does Award Scholar cost?

Prices aren't published on its homepage. Its FAQ says you can build a profile and see matches before checkout, that some features need a paid subscription, and that the exact price, billing period, and renewal terms are shown before you pay.

Why does Award Scholar hide scholarship links?

Its public scholarship pages show an "Unlock the official link" prompt and a "Sign up to unlock the essay question" message instead of linking straight to the provider. Signing up is how you see them. Every scholarship it lists is run by an outside provider, so you can also search for the provider's own page.

Is Award Scholar safe?

We can't vouch either way. What we can report: Scam Detector's automated validator showed a trust score of 19.9 out of 100 for awardscholar.com when we checked on October 19, 2026. Automated scores lean heavily on things like domain age, so a new site scores low by default. Read the terms and refund policy and see the price before you enter a card.