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Education · head to head

ClassLink vs Elevate

ClassLink logo

ClassLink

Education

Single sign-on, rostering and usage analytics for school districts

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Elevate logo

Elevate

Education

Cognitive skills training app from Elevate Labs covering reading, writing, maths and speaking games

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Elevate has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: ClassLink it is a single point of failure by design; a ClassLink outage locks pupils out of every application at once, which is a worse day than any individual product failing.; Elevate the free tier limits daily games enough that the personalised programme the app is designed around is effectively a paid-only feature.
  • They diverge on capability: ClassLink covers LaunchPad, Elevate covers Daily game sets.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ClassLink and Elevate actually diverge.

Attributes where ClassLink and Elevate differ
AttributeClassLinkElevate
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFree with a Pro subscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, WindowsiOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Education).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ClassLink

  • LaunchPad
  • Roster Server
  • Analytics
  • MyFiles
  • QuickCards and badge sign-in
  • ClassLink Extension
  • Multi-factor and conditional access
  • OneSync

Only in Elevate

  • Daily game sets
  • Personalised training plan
  • Progress tracking
  • Reading and comprehension drills
  • Maths and estimation games
  • Writing and proofreading games

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ClassLink

  • A district that has bought dozens of edtech products and cannot answer the board question of which ones are actually being used before renewal season.not Elevate
  • A primary school where five and six year olds cannot type passwords, needing badge or QR sign-in that still resolves to a real identity behind the scenes.not Elevate
  • A technology team spending each August rekeying class lists into a dozen vendor portals, wanting OneRoster provisioning to do it from the SIS instead.not Elevate
  • A district running a mix of Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 that needs one portal over both rather than telling pupils which login to use for which tool.not Elevate

Elevate

  • An adult wanting short daily practice on workplace writing and proofreading skillsnot ClassLink
  • Someone preparing for a maths or verbal reasoning assessment who wants low-stakes daily drillsnot ClassLink
  • A user comparing Elevate against Lumosity on whether they want practical skills or abstract cognitive gamesnot ClassLink
  • A buyer wanting to sample the format on the limited free tier before committing to a subscriptionnot ClassLink

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ClassLink

  • It is a single point of failure by design; a ClassLink outage locks pupils out of every application at once, which is a worse day than any individual product failing.
  • Pricing is entirely quote-based and per student, so a district cannot budget for it without a sales cycle, and comparisons against Clever come down to negotiated rates rather than list prices.
  • Rostering accuracy is only as good as the SIS data behind it, and districts with messy enrolment or course records find ClassLink faithfully propagates that mess to every downstream vendor.
  • Applications that do not support SAML or OIDC are handled by a browser extension that replays stored credentials, which works but breaks whenever the vendor changes its login page and is a weaker security posture than real federation.
  • Analytics measures logins and session activity, not learning or engagement, so a product that pupils open and abandon still looks used; districts that treat the numbers as proof of value draw the wrong conclusion.

Elevate

  • The free tier limits daily games enough that the personalised programme the app is designed around is effectively a paid-only feature.
  • As with the brain training category generally, evidence that improved performance on Elevate specific games transfers to broader real-world cognitive or task performance is weaker than marketing framing implies.
  • The annual subscription auto-renews and, as with most mobile subscriptions, must be cancelled through app store settings rather than inside the app itself.
  • Game variety within each skill category is finite, and long-term daily users report the exercises becoming repetitive after extended use.
  • It does not replace structured instruction for skills like reading comprehension or maths where a genuine foundational gap exists; it is practice and drilling rather than teaching from first principles.

Pricing, plan by plan

ClassLink

On request
  • ClassLink$undefined/year
    • Priced per student, with rates varying by district size and module mix
    • LaunchPad, Roster Server and Analytics are licensed separately or bundled
    • Annual district agreements, multi-year discounts negotiated

Elevate

Free
  • Elevate Pro$9.99/month
    • Free tier gives a limited number of games per day
    • Pro unlocks the full game library and personalised training plan
    • Annual Pro plans typically run $44.99 to $59.99, cheaper per month than monthly billing

Which should you pick?

Choose ClassLink if

  • You need launchpad.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, Windows.
  • You also want roster server.
ClassLink review

Choose Elevate if

  • You need daily game sets.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android.
  • You also want personalised training plan.
Elevate review

Questions people ask

Is ClassLink or Elevate better?
Neither clearly leads. ClassLink starts at On request and Elevate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ClassLink or Elevate?
Elevate has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for ClassLink and Free for Elevate.
Does ClassLink or Elevate run on more platforms?
ClassLink runs on Web, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, Windows. Elevate runs on iOS, Android.
Can I use Elevate for free?
Yes. Elevate has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ClassLink starts at On request.
What is ClassLink best used for?
ClassLink is most often used for a district that has bought dozens of edtech products and cannot answer the board question of which ones are actually being used before renewal season., a primary school where five and six year olds cannot type passwords, needing badge or qr sign-in that still resolves to a real identity behind the scenes., a technology team spending each august rekeying class lists into a dozen vendor portals, wanting oneroster provisioning to do it from the sis instead., a district running a mix of google workspace and microsoft 365 that needs one portal over both rather than telling pupils which login to use for which tool.. Of those, a district that has bought dozens of edtech products and cannot answer the board question of which ones are actually being used before renewal season. and a primary school where five and six year olds cannot type passwords, needing badge or qr sign-in that still resolves to a real identity behind the scenes. are not what Elevate is typically brought in for.
What can ClassLink do that Elevate cannot?
ClassLink covers LaunchPad, Roster Server, Analytics, MyFiles. Elevate covers Daily game sets, Personalised training plan, Progress tracking, Reading and comprehension drills.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ClassLink: How is ClassLink different from Clever?

Both do SSO and OneRoster provisioning to schools. ClassLink leans harder on usage analytics and on access to on-premise network file shares; Clever leans on its application marketplace. Vendor support is broadly comparable.

Elevate: Is Elevate free?

A limited number of games per day are free. The full library, personalised training plan and progress tracking require Elevate Pro.

ClassLink: Does it replace Google or Microsoft accounts?

No. It sits over them. Pupils still have an underlying Google Workspace or Entra ID identity and ClassLink federates to it.

Elevate: Does Elevate improve real-world cognitive ability?

It reliably improves performance on the specific games practised. Evidence that this transfers broadly to real-world cognitive or task performance is limited, consistent with the brain training category generally.

ClassLink: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted per student and varies with district size and which of LaunchPad, Roster Server and Analytics you licence.

Elevate: How is Elevate different from Lumosity?

Elevate focuses on practical skills such as reading, writing and workplace maths, while Lumosity is built around broader abstract memory, attention and reasoning games.

ClassLink: Does it work outside the United States?

Yes, but the OneRoster ecosystem and the SIS integrations are strongest for US K-12; international deployments get less of the prebuilt vendor coverage.

ClassLink: Can Analytics prove a product is worth renewing?

It proves whether people log in. It cannot tell you whether the time spent was useful, so treat low usage as a firm signal and high usage as a weak one.

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