Scholarly vs Scholarships360scholarships360.org (opens in a new tab)

Scholarly vs Scholarships360: free directory or an app that applies?

Last updated October 2026 · By the Scholarly team

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 Scholarships360

Feature	Scholarly	Scholarships360
Price	ScholarlyFree 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.	Scholarships360Free
How you find scholarships	ScholarlySwipe through scholarships matched to your profile. Anything you don't qualify for is hidden. Roughly 700 are open at a time.	Scholarships360Directory and personal matches. Claims 6,000+ vetted programs and $82 million+ in scholarships.
Applies for you?	ScholarlyYes Fills in and submits each application after you review and approve it.	Scholarships360No Except its own no-essay award, which you enter by signing up.
Essay help	ScholarlyStores one personal statement and reuses it. You edit it when you want; it isn't rewritten behind your back.	Scholarships360Lots of free guides and articles reviewed by an education advisory board.
Platforms	ScholarlyiPhone app (4.7 stars, 4,100+ ratings) and a web app that runs in any browser, Android included.	Scholarships360Website. We didn't find a Scholarships360 app on the U.S. App Store.
Business model	ScholarlySubscriptions. No ads, no sponsored listings in the swipe feed.	Scholarships360Free to students. Revenue from college and scholarship-provider partners and advertising.
Data sharing	ScholarlyNever sold. Your details go only to the providers you swipe right on.	Scholarships360Privacy policy says it sells personal information to college and scholarship-provider partners and shares data with ad partners such as Meta.

The real difference

Scholarships360 is one of the better free directories. Its listings are labeled as vetted, its advice articles are solid, and the $10,000 no-essay award costs nothing to enter. It's a reasonable first stop for any high school junior.

The catch is the same as every directory: you still do the applying. You'll click through to each provider, create an account, and fill in a form that asks for things you've typed twenty times already. Scholarly exists for that step. You give it your profile and one personal statement once, and it handles the forms for scholarships it can submit, with your approval on each.

The other catch is how free gets paid for. Scholarships360's privacy policy is unusually plain about it: your information is sold to colleges and scholarship providers. Some students actually want that, because it brings recruiting mail. If you don't, opt out.

Pick Scholarships360 if…

• You want a free, curated list and good how-to articles
• You want the free $10,000 no-essay entry
• You don't mind colleges and partners getting your details, or you'll opt out

Pick Scholarly if…

• You want the forms filled in for you
• You want one profile reused everywhere
• You'd like your data kept away from marketers
• You want an iPhone app as well as a browser version

Can you use both?

Yes. Make a free Scholarships360 account for the no-essay entry and the reading material, then let Scholarly handle the applications it can submit. When Scholarships360 shows you something Scholarly doesn't have, apply to it directly. Nothing about one blocks the other.

Questions people ask

Is Scholarships360 free?

Yes. Its homepage says "100% free" and the about page says "100% free, always."

How does Scholarships360 make money if it's free?

Through partners. Its privacy policy, updated February 17, 2026, says it sells personal information to its college and scholarship provider partners and shares data with advertising partners such as Meta for marketing and retargeting. You can opt out under the policy's privacy rights section.

Is the Scholarships360 $10,000 No Essay Scholarship real?

It's Scholarships360's own award. Creating an account enters you automatically. It has rolling monthly deadlines, is open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and the page says earlier applicants have a better chance. The page describes interviewing finalists rather than a pure random draw.

Who runs Scholarships360?

Will and Brian Geiger, who started it in 2010. The company is Scholarships360, Inc.

Does Scholarly apply to the scholarships listed on Scholarships360?

Some of the same third-party scholarships may appear in both, since they're public awards. Scholarly only shows the ones it can submit for you, which is a smaller set.

Try Scholarly free

Scholarly is free to set up. You'll see which scholarships you qualify for before you decide whether auto-apply is worth paying for.

Open the web app Get the iPhone app

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Sources

Checked October 19, 2026.

1. Scholarships360 homepage (100% free, 6,000+ vetted programs): scholarships360.org
2. Scholarships360 about page (founded 2010): scholarships360.org/about
3. Scholarships360 $10,000 No Essay Scholarship: scholarships360.org/scholarships/10000-no-essay-scholarship
4. Scholarships360 privacy policy (updated Feb 17, 2026): scholarships360.org/privacy-policy
5. Scholarly on the App Store (rating, in-app purchase prices): apps.apple.com/us/app/id6761978211