2026 edition
Best Scholarship Sites in 2026 [Ranked & Scored]
Short answer
On our published weights, ScholarshipOwl ranks first at 6.75 out of 10 and Bold.org second at 6.30. The ranking answers one question: which site helps a student send more applications that fit, with the least wasted effort. ScholarshipOwl scores lowest in set on cost and privacy, so read the trade-offs before you sign up. The highest-ranked free site is Bold.org.
By The Deadline Desk · Best Scholarship Sites · Published
Desk research from each site's public pages, app store listings and review profiles. Editorial assessment; we did not create accounts or apply for scholarships.
How do the scored scholarship sites rank?
The question: Which scholarship site helps a student send more applications that fit, with the least wasted effort?
| Rank | Site | Cost | Score | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ScholarshipOwl | Paid after free trial | 6.75 / 10 | Students who want to send many applications with little repeat work and are willing to pay after the trial |
| 2 | Bold.org | Free | 6.30 / 10 | Students who want free, donor-funded scholarships with clear rules on every listing |
| 3 | Fastweb | Free | 5.45 / 10 | Students who want a large free database with listings checked by people |
| 4 | Scholarships.com | Free | 5.10 / 10 | Students who want the biggest stated database, including local awards, at no cost |
Score: editorial assessment, 0 to 10, from public pages. It is not a measure of your chance of winning.
Score breakdown by criterion
| Site | Effort saved 25% | Matching 20% | Transparency 15% | Cost 10% | Privacy 10% | Help 10% | Ratings 5% | Database size 5% | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ScholarshipOwl | 9 highest in set | 8 highest in set | 7 | 3 lowest in set | 2 lowest in set | 8 highest in set | 7 | 4 | 6.75 |
| Bold.org | 6 | 6 | 8 highest in set | 10 highest in set | 4 highest in set | 4 lowest in set | 9 highest in set | 3 lowest in set | 6.30 |
| Fastweb | 3 lowest in set | 7 | 7 | 10 highest in set | 3 | 4 lowest in set | 2 lowest in set | 9 | 5.45 |
| Scholarships.com | 3 lowest in set | 5 lowest in set | 6 lowest in set | 10 highest in set | 4 highest in set | 4 lowest in set | 3 | 10 highest in set | 5.10 |
ScholarshipOwl ranks 1 of 4. It scores highest in set on effort saved, matching and help and lowest in set on cost and privacy.
Which scholarship sites did we review?
ScholarshipOwl
Paid after free trialPolicy says it may sell data- Database, as stated
- 10,000+ scholarships
- Application help
- One application for many scholarships, one-click apply on many listings, and automatic reapplication to scholarships that pick winners more than once a year.
- Best for
- Students who want to send many applications with little repeat work and are willing to pay after the trial
Bold.org
FreePolicy says it may sell data- Database, as stated
- "Thousands of Scholarships Exclusively Awarded on Bold.org" (no exact count)
- Application help
- One-tap applications for no-essay scholarships in the app.
- Best for
- Students who want free, donor-funded scholarships with clear rules on every listing
Fastweb
FreePolicy says it may sell data- Database, as stated
- 1.5 million scholarships worth over $3.4 billion
- Application help
- Personalized recommendations from a profile; no auto-apply or one application for many stated.
- Best for
- Students who want a large free database with listings checked by people
Scholarships.com
FreePolicy says it may sell data- Database, as stated
- Over 3.7 million scholarships and grants totaling about $19 billion
- Application help
- Search and scholarship alerts; no auto-apply or one application for many stated.
- Best for
- Students who want the biggest stated database, including local awards, at no cost
Appily (formerly Cappex)
FreeReviewed, not scored- Database, as stated
- "The nation's largest, multi-billion dollar scholarship database" (no count stated)
- Application help
- Not read.
- Best for
- Students who want detailed scholarship filters inside a college planning tool
- Why not scored
- Its application features, essay help and ratings were not on the pages we read.
BigFuture Scholarships (College Board)
FreeReviewed, not scored- Database, as stated
- Over 24,000 scholarships, more than $1.5 billion a year
- Application help
- Not read.
- Best for
- Students who want no-essay drawings tied to college planning steps
- Why not scored
- We could read only search listings of its pages; its privacy terms and app details were not read.
Niche
FreePolicy says it may sell dataReviewed, not scored- Database, as stated
- "Thousands of scholarships" (no exact count)
- Application help
- Many scholarships need no essay; Niche says you can "apply to several with just a few clicks".
- Best for
- Seniors who want no-essay entries and may also want direct admission offers
- Why not scored
- Its help features and app ratings were not on the pages we read, and the only rating profile we found is unclaimed and filed under an unrelated category.
Scholly (Sallie Mae)
FreeReviewed, not scored- Database, as stated
- "Thousands of scholarships" (no exact count)
- Application help
- "Scholly Easy Apply" scholarships use one form.
- Best for
- Students who want a free search plus no-essay awards from a lender's scholarship brand
- Why not scored
- Sallie Mae's scholarship pages did not finish loading for us, so we could not read them in full.
Unigo
Not readReviewed, not scored- Database, as stated
- Over 3.6 million scholarships and grants, $24 billion in awards
- Application help
- An account saves results and essay questions to fill out future Unigo scholarships faster.
- Best for
- Students who want a large database plus monthly awards run by the site
- Why not scored
- Its privacy terms, apps and ratings were not read.
What happened to Going Merry?
Going Merry is closed. Its website no longer loads, and it was reported to have shut down in March 2026. We do not review or score it.
What does each site cost, and what can it do with your data?
| Site | Cost | Data sharing | Own no-essay award |
|---|---|---|---|
| ScholarshipOwl | Paid after free trial Paid membership after a free trial. Plan prices are not on ScholarshipOwl's public pages. | Policy says "we may sell Identifiers generally" and may sell certain sensitive personal information, like ethnicity and citizenship, to third parties. | $50,000 No Essay Scholarship: a monthly random draw for four students at $1,000 each, plus two extra winners in December. Signing up enters you automatically; no fee. |
| Bold.org | Free Free. The homepage says "100% free no fees, ever". | Policy says "We may sell to or share your information with, and generate revenue from, scholarship providers, applicable academic institutions". | None stated |
| Fastweb | Free Free. No paid plan seen. | Policy says information "may be sold to colleges" and may be shared with colleges, employers, recruiters, "data aggregators, marketers". | None stated |
| Scholarships.com | Free Free. The homepage says "100% free". | Policy says "We may sell or share personal information", including for marketing and advertising; sharing with colleges and education partners is with consent. | None stated |
| Appily (formerly Cappex) | Free Free account. | Sharing with colleges is opt-out; the site links "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" and a minor-friendly privacy policy. | None stated |
| BigFuture Scholarships (College Board) | Free Free. | Privacy terms not read. | $40,000 and $500 BigFuture Scholarships: no essay, no minimum GPA or test score; entries earned by completing planning steps. |
| Niche | Free Free account. No paid plan seen. | Policy has a table of "Third Parties to Whom We Sell and/or Share" listing identifiers (name, address, phone, email) to advertising partners. | $40,000 Niche No Essay Scholarship (deadline October 15, 2026, one winner, requirements: none). The menu also links a $2,000 No Essay Scholarship. |
| Scholly (Sallie Mae) | Free Free to search, find and apply, per Sallie Mae. | Privacy terms not read. | $5,000 Grad School No Essay Scholarship and $2,000 No Essay Scholarship. |
| Unigo | Not read Cost not read. | Privacy terms not read. | Monthly Unigo scholarships, for example the Unigo $10K Scholarship (age 14 and up, US residents). |
Read more in the privacy guide and free vs paid scholarship sites.
Which head-to-head comparisons can I read?
- Appily vs BigFuture
- Appily vs Bold.org
- Appily vs Fastweb
- Appily vs Niche
- Appily vs ScholarshipOwl
- Appily vs Scholarships.com
- Appily vs Scholly
- Appily vs Unigo
- BigFuture vs Bold.org
- BigFuture vs Fastweb
- BigFuture vs Niche
- BigFuture vs ScholarshipOwl
- BigFuture vs Scholarships.com
- BigFuture vs Scholly
- BigFuture vs Unigo
- Bold.org vs Fastweb
- Bold.org vs Niche
- Bold.org vs ScholarshipOwl
- Bold.org vs Scholarships.com
- Bold.org vs Scholly
- Bold.org vs Unigo
- Fastweb vs Niche
- Fastweb vs ScholarshipOwl
- Fastweb vs Scholarships.com
- Fastweb vs Scholly
- Fastweb vs Unigo
- Niche vs ScholarshipOwl
- Niche vs Scholarships.com
- Niche vs Scholly
- Niche vs Unigo
- ScholarshipOwl vs Scholarships.com
- ScholarshipOwl vs Scholly
- ScholarshipOwl vs Unigo
- Scholarships.com vs Scholly
- Scholarships.com vs Unigo
- Scholly vs Unigo
Looking for alternatives to a specific site?
What does this ranking measure, and what not?
We score how well each site helps a student find scholarships that fit and apply with less repeat work, and what it costs in money and personal data. Facts come from each site's public pages, app store listings and review profiles. We did not create accounts or apply for scholarships, and no site can promise you will win. On our published weights it ranks first, and it scores lowest in set on cost and privacy.
What is new in the Bulletin?
Who runs the scholarship sites in 2026: lenders, nonprofits, media groups and startups
- Market
Scholarship sites change hands and names more than students realize. Cappex is now Appily, Scholly sits on Sallie Mae's website, Fastweb's privacy policy comes from Iron Corp US Inc., and Going Merry has closed. Here is who runs what, and why it matters.
4 min read
10,000 or 3.7 million: what scholarship database sizes do and do not tell you
- Data
- Method
Scholarship sites quote database sizes from 10,000 to 3.7 million. The figures are the sites' own, they count different things, and none of them is the number of awards you can win. Here is how to read them.
4 min read
Ratings check: what Trustpilot and App Store numbers say about scholarship sites
- Ratings
We collected the Trustpilot and App Store ratings for the scholarship sites we review. Bold.org's are the strongest, Fastweb's the weakest, and Scholarships.com has too few to judge. Here is how much weight the numbers can carry.
4 min read
Frequently asked questions
What is the best scholarship site?
It depends on what you need. On our weights, which favor saving application effort and good matching, ScholarshipOwl ranks first. If you will not pay for a scholarship site, Bold.org is the highest-ranked free option, and Scholarships.com and Fastweb state the largest databases.
Are scholarship sites free?
Most are. Bold.org, Fastweb, Scholarships.com, Niche, Appily, BigFuture and Scholly say they are free to use; we did not read Unigo's cost terms. ScholarshipOwl charges a membership after a free trial, and its plan prices are not on its public pages.
Do scholarship sites sell student data?
Several privacy policies say they may. ScholarshipOwl, Bold.org, Fastweb, Scholarships.com and Niche all have policy wording about selling or sharing personal information. Our privacy guide quotes each one.
Can any site guarantee I will win a scholarship?
No. Scholarships are awarded by their funders. ScholarshipOwl's own disclaimer says it does not guarantee any scholarship and that a premium membership does not increase your chances.