# Best Scholarship Sites

> Editorial ranking and reviews of scholarship websites and apps for US students and parents, scored on application effort saved, match quality, transparency, cost, privacy, help, ratings and stated database size.

Facts come from each site's public pages. Totals and ranks are computed from published scores and weights; see the pages for current figures.

## Ranking and method

- [Best scholarship sites, ranked](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/): the ranking of the scored sites, facts on nine reviewed sites, costs and data sharing
- [Scoring rules](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/scoring-rules): the eight criteria, weights and evidence rules
- [Your weights](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/your-weights): set your own criterion weights and see the scored sites re-rank
- [Compare sites](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/compare-sites): pick two to four sites and compare scores, reasons and facts in one table

## Reviews

- [ScholarshipOwl review](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/review/scholarshipowl): scored
- [Bold.org review](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/review/bold-org): scored
- [Fastweb review](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/review/fastweb): scored
- [Scholarships.com review](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/review/scholarships-com): scored
- [Niche review](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/review/niche): reviewed, not scored
- [Scholly (Sallie Mae) review](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/review/scholly): reviewed, not scored
- [Appily (formerly Cappex) review](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/review/appily): reviewed, not scored
- [BigFuture Scholarships (College Board) review](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/review/bigfuture): reviewed, not scored
- [Unigo review](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/review/unigo): reviewed, not scored

## Guides

- [Is ScholarshipOwl legit?](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/is-scholarshipowl-legit)
- [Free vs paid sites](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/free-vs-paid-scholarship-sites)
- [Privacy guide](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/scholarship-site-privacy)

## Head-to-heads

- 36 pages at https://bestscholarshipsites.com/<a>-versus-<b>, every pair of the 9 sites

## Alternatives

- [Sites like ScholarshipOwl](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/sites-like-scholarshipowl)
- [Sites like Bold.org](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/sites-like-bold-org)
- [Sites like Fastweb](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/sites-like-fastweb)
- [Sites like Scholarships.com](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/sites-like-scholarships-com)
- [Sites like Niche](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/sites-like-niche)
- [Sites like Scholly (Sallie Mae)](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/sites-like-scholly)
- [Sites like Appily (formerly Cappex)](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/sites-like-appily)
- [Sites like BigFuture Scholarships (College Board)](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/sites-like-bigfuture)
- [Sites like Unigo](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/sites-like-unigo)

## Learn

- [Scholarship 101](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/scholarship-101): hub for eight short lessons
- [What scholarship sites actually do](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/scholarship-101/what-scholarship-sites-do)
- [How scholarship matching works, and what to put in your profile](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/scholarship-101/how-scholarship-matching-works)
- [No-essay scholarships: drawings, odds and what to expect](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/scholarship-101/no-essay-scholarships)
- [One application for many: auto-apply and reapplication explained](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/scholarship-101/one-application-for-many)
- [A weekly scholarship routine that fits around school](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/scholarship-101/weekly-scholarship-routine)
- [Reusing scholarship essays without sounding copied](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/scholarship-101/reusing-scholarship-essays)
- [Reading a scholarship site's privacy policy in ten minutes](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/scholarship-101/reading-privacy-policies)
- [Scholarship scams, paid services and the difference between them](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/scholarship-101/scams-and-paid-services)
- [Scholarship glossary](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/scholarship-glossary)
- [Scholarship site FAQ](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/scholarship-faq)

## Bulletin

- [The Bulletin](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/bulletin): dated news and analysis from The Deadline Desk
- [Who runs the scholarship sites in 2026: lenders, nonprofits, media groups and startups](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/bulletin/who-runs-scholarship-sites-2026): published 2026-10-19T08:07:00Z
- [10,000 or 3.7 million: what scholarship database sizes do and do not tell you](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/bulletin/scholarship-database-size-claims): published 2026-10-19T08:06:00Z
- [Ratings check: what Trustpilot and App Store numbers say about scholarship sites](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/bulletin/scholarship-site-ratings-check): published 2026-10-19T08:05:00Z
- [The no-essay scholarships the sites run themselves, compared](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/bulletin/site-run-no-essay-scholarships-compared): published 2026-10-19T08:04:00Z
- [A parent's guide to scholarship sites: how to help without taking over](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/bulletin/parents-guide-scholarship-sites): published 2026-10-19T08:03:00Z
- [Why we weight application effort highest, and what it costs ScholarshipOwl elsewhere](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/bulletin/why-we-weight-application-effort): published 2026-10-19T08:02:00Z
- [Local scholarships: the awards big sites can miss, and how to find them](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/bulletin/finding-local-scholarships): published 2026-10-19T08:01:00Z
- [What changed on scholarship sites' own pages, December 2025 to October 2026](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/bulletin/dated-changes-scholarship-sites-2026): published 2026-10-19T08:00:00Z

## About

- [Privacy Policy](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/privacy-policy)
- [Cookie Policy](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/cookie-policy)
- [Terms of Use](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/terms-of-use)
- [Copyright and DMCA policy](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/dmca)
- [Contact](https://bestscholarshipsites.com/contact): questions, corrections, privacy requests and copyright notices