CollegesRef vs others

    Appily review: is Appily legit, and how does it compare with CollegesRef?

    Who runs Appily, what it costs, what it does with your information, and when CollegesRef is the better fit. Every Appily claim links to Appily's own pages.

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    Updated . Every claim about another site links to that site's own page.

    The short answer

    Appily, formerly Cappex, is owned by EAB, which acquired Cappex in 2020; Cappex became Appily in 2023. It is a real, established company, it says "Appily is always free", and it is open about how it makes money: it calls itself a data broker. CollegesRef is an independent college research site that uses federal data. Both are free for students; they differ most in how they handle your information.

    • Use Appily if

      you want a large scholarship database, virtual tours and direct admission offers, and you are comfortable with colleges and marketing partners receiving your profile.

    • Use CollegesRef if

      you want to check net price by income, graduation rate and earnings against federal records before you share your details with anyone.

    CollegesRef vs Appily: features side by side

    Numbers in brackets point to the source for each claim, listed at the bottom with the date we checked it.

    CollegesRef vs Appily: account required?, where the college data comes from, ads and sponsored placements, your data and colleges, net price tools, admission chances, scholarships, student reviews, mobile app, price for students
    FeatureCollegesRefAppily
    Account required?No account to search, read profiles or use the tools. A free account saves colleges to a Backpack.[1]Needed for personalized features such as scholarship matching and the planner; a completed profile shows direct admission offers.[2][3]
    Where the college data comes fromU.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS; careers from BLS and O*NET. Each figure shows its data year.[4]In-house team, colleges, scholarship organizations, public data, and directory data licensed from Wintergreen Orchard House and Peterson's.[5][6]
    Ads and sponsored placementsColleges on a partner plan can get a placement labelled Sponsored. Google AdSense ads may appear on guides and data stories, labelled "Advertisement", never on profiles or tools.[7][8]Shares data with advertising partners. Colleges can buy promotional tools and paid traffic.[9][3]
    Your data and collegesYour details go to a college only when you ask on an inquiry form; colleges may pay for that delivery. Google Analytics measures site use.[8][10]Calls itself a data broker and may provide your information to advertisers and marketing partners for fees. Its FAQ says it does not sell your info "to random third parties".[9][11][2]
    Net price toolsNet price by family income on college profiles, a cost estimator and an affordability check.[12]A tool to compare costs of colleges; profiles show net price by income. A net price calculator: not stated publicly.[3][13]
    Admission chancesAdmission chances places your SAT or ACT against admitted students' ranges.[12]An acceptance calculator; Appily calls it "an estimate, not a guarantee".[2]
    ScholarshipsA directory of verified scholarships and grants. No scholarship of our own.[14]Nearly 250,000 scholarships listed.[3]
    Student reviewsNo written reviews yet; written reviews appear only after moderation. Some profiles show student videos.[15]Not stated publicly. Profiles show some student quotes.[13]
    Mobile appNo app yet. iPhone and Android apps are listed as coming soon.[16]Not stated publicly.[2]
    Price for studentsFree. Optional one-time reports: Aid & Loan Plan $14, Premium Fit Report $29.[1]"Appily is always free."[2]

    What Appily does well

    Appily puts a lot in one place. It covers 4,000+ colleges, lists nearly 250,000 scholarships and offers virtual campus tours. Students who complete a profile can see direct admission offers from participating colleges. An acceptance calculator, a cost comparison tool, a college list maker and quizzes help students build and narrow a list.

    Its college profiles show net price by family income, graduation rates and graduate earnings, drawing on an in-house team, colleges, scholarship organizations, public data and directory data licensed from Wintergreen Orchard House and Peterson's.

    Where CollegesRef is different

    Your information. Appily's page on what "data broker" means says it shares data with advertising partners, and its privacy rights page says it may provide your personal information to advertisers and marketing partners in exchange for fees, with opt-outs where state law provides them. Its FAQ also says it does not sell your info "to random third parties". Read both and decide for yourself. CollegesRef sends your details to a college only after you ask on an inquiry form, and colleges may pay us for that delivery.

    Funding. Partner colleges can get a placement labelled Sponsored on CollegesRef, we sell optional one-time reports, we use Google Analytics, and Google AdSense ads may appear on guides and data stories. See how we make money.

    Data. We use only the College Scorecard and IPEDS for college figures, and every figure shows its source year. Appily's profiles did not show a data year on the page we read.

    Where CollegesRef falls short

    We have no virtual tours and no direct admission offers, and our scholarship directory is far smaller. Federal data lags a year or two behind what colleges report on their own sites, and it does not cover essays or campus clubs.

    Is Appily safe to use?

    Appily is a legitimate service, not a scam. "Safe" here is mostly a privacy question: creating a profile means colleges you interact with receive your details, and Appily may share information with marketing partners. If you use it, check its privacy rights page (opens in a new tab) for the opt-outs available in your state, use an email address you are happy to receive college marketing at, and never pay anyone for a scholarship application.

    Example: Purdue University on CollegesRef and Appily

    The same school on both sites: Purdue University's main campus in West Lafayette, Indiana. Our column links to the exact CollegesRef page; the Appily column is what its public page showed when we read it.

    Example: Purdue University on CollegesRef and Appily
    MeasureOn CollegesRefAppily profile
    Acceptance rate49.9% (Scorecard, latest data)50%[13]
    Average net price$14,851 a year after grants$12,294[13]
    Net price, family income under $30,000$6,147 for families earning up to $30,000$4,927[13]
    Earnings$80,082 median, 10 years after starting college$62,200 average salary, 6 years after graduation[13]
    Data yearSource and year shown next to every figureNot shown on the profile[13]

    The net price gap ($12,294 vs $14,851) most likely reflects different data years; Appily does not show which year it uses. Earnings differ because the measures differ (6 years after graduation vs 10 years after starting college).

    How to choose between Appily and CollegesRef

    1. Research first without an account: check net price for your income and outcomes on CollegesRef.
    2. Decide whether you want colleges to contact you. If yes, an Appily profile can bring direct admission offers.
    3. If you sign up, read Appily's privacy rights page and set the opt-outs your state allows.
    4. Search scholarships on Appily and our verified directory; never pay to apply.
    5. Confirm costs on each college's own net price calculator before applying.

    Questions people ask

    Is Appily legit?

    Yes. Appily is owned by EAB, an education company, and was called Cappex until 2023. It is free for students. It also describes itself as a data broker, so read its privacy pages before creating a profile.

    Is Appily free?

    Appily's FAQ says "Appily is always free." It earns money from colleges and from partners it shares data with.

    Are Appily scholarships legit?

    Appily lists nearly 250,000 scholarships from many providers. Check each award on the provider's own site, and never pay to apply.

    Does CollegesRef sell my data to colleges?

    We send your details to a college only when you ask on an inquiry form, and colleges may pay us for that delivery. Everything we earn money from is on how we make money.

    Sources and how we checked

    We read each site's own public pages (privacy policies, about pages, help pages and data documentation) and record the date we read each one. Where a site does not say something publicly, we write “not stated publicly” rather than guess. We do not rate or score other sites. Policies change, so check the linked pages before you rely on them. If a claim here is out of date, email [email protected] and we will correct it.

    1. [1] CollegesRef: Pricing, checked November 16, 2026.
    2. [2] Appily: FAQs (opens in a new tab), checked November 16, 2026.
    3. [3] Appily: About (opens in a new tab), checked November 16, 2026.
    4. [4] CollegesRef: Methodology, checked November 16, 2026.
    5. [5] Appily: About Appily (ownership and content) (opens in a new tab), checked November 16, 2026.
    6. [6] Appily: Data attribution (opens in a new tab), checked November 16, 2026.
    7. [7] CollegesRef: For colleges (partner plans), checked November 16, 2026.
    8. [8] CollegesRef: How we make money, checked November 16, 2026.
    9. [9] Appily: What "data broker" means (opens in a new tab), checked November 16, 2026.
    10. [10] CollegesRef: Privacy policy, checked November 16, 2026.
    11. [11] Appily: Your privacy rights (sale opt-out) (opens in a new tab), checked November 16, 2026.
    12. [12] CollegesRef: Free tools, checked November 16, 2026.
    13. [13] Appily: Purdue University profile (opens in a new tab), checked November 16, 2026.
    14. [14] CollegesRef: Scholarships, checked November 16, 2026.
    15. [15] CollegesRef: Student reviews tab (Purdue example), checked November 16, 2026.
    16. [16] CollegesRef: How to use CollegesRef (app status), checked November 16, 2026.
    17. [17] Appily: Rebrand history (from Cappex) (opens in a new tab), checked November 16, 2026.