If you’re considering your options for affordable online education programs that offer courses for college credit, StraighterLine and Sophia are two of the most popular choices. While both options help you save time and money on your college education, they offer different pathways and experiences for students. Here’s a helpful StraighterLine vs. Sophia comparison to help you decide which of the two programs suits you and your goals best.
StraighterLine vs. Sophia: How Many Courses Do We Offer?
StraighterLine offers more than 75 courses compared to Sophia’s 60+ classes. We’re dedicated to offering you more options so that you have more opportunities to earn college credits online and get those gen ed requirements out of the way. With StraighterLine, you can take courses in the following subjects:
In particular, students have highlighted exceptional experiences taking General Calculus I and II, Western Civilization, Introduction to Communication, and American Government through StraighterLine, along with several more of our courses across subject areas.
StraighterLine also offers three online college prep courses to help set you up for academic success:
We also offer classes in Health Sciences for students planning a career in a healthcare-related field such as nursing or healthcare administration.
Where Can I Use My Credits From StraighterLine vs. Sophia?
Part of the appeal of taking classes online is you’re able to transfer the credits you earn to the college of your choice. We want to make sure your hard work pays off when you’re ready to move on! It’s important to note that Sophia limits the number of credits you can transfer to your chosen school, while StraighterLine lets you transfer as many credits as your school will allow.
Partner Schools
When comparing StraighterLine vs. Sophia, both have agreements in place with colleges and universities to ensure that credits earned online will transfer to their institutions. StraighterLine has partnered with more than 180 schools that are guaranteed to accept your credits from our courses (including Liberty University, Rasmussen University, Purdue Global University, Baker College, and Grambling University). That’s more than three times Sophia’s 50 partner schools—meaning that, with StraighterLine, you’ll have three times as many options to ensure direct credit transfer if you’re enrolled in (or planning to enroll in) one of our partner institutions.
Non-Partner Schools
What if your school isn’t listed as a partner college with Sophia or StraighterLine? Both programs have had courses accepted at non-partner colleges through the American Council on Education (ACE)’s credit recommendation program. All of StraighterLine’s courses have been recommended for credit through ACE and have been accepted at more than 3,000 colleges and universities. Sophia’s courses are similarly ACE-recommended, and have been reviewed for credit at more than 1,000 colleges and universities.
Sophia vs. StraighterLine: Costs
Cost is one of the biggest considerations when choosing an online education program. Both StraighterLine and Sophia offer you the opportunity to earn college credit at your convenience, while saving significantly on the cost of higher education.
Sophia's Membership Plan
Sophia offers you the chance to try the first unit of one class for free. Should you decide to continue, you’ll need to sign up for a Sophia membership. Monthly memberships start at $99 per month or $599 if you pay for a full year upfront. With that, you can sign up to take as many classes per month as you’d like, but can only be active in up to 2 classes at a time. Your membership costs will cover everything you need for your classes, including eTextbooks.
StraighterLine's Membership Plan
StraighterLine offers you the chance to preview one of our courses for free, see sample course material, and get a feel for the online learning experience. Once you decide to study with us, you’ll pay for individual courses starting at $79 per class plus $99 per month for our membership. With your membership, you’re never limited in the number of courses you can take at one time, and these fees cover all course materials, eTextbooks, and access to our 24/7 tutoring services.
Style of Learning at StraighterLine vs. Sophia
StraighterLine is designed to offer you the same curricula you’ll find at leading universities combined with the traditional learning experience in a unique and modern way. Both programs provide fully online, asynchronous classes that can be taken on your own time at your own pace. Additionally, they both let you track your progress so you can see how far you’ve come. Both programs also offer a mixture of assignments, quizzes, and exams. While Sophia’s exams are not proctored, we offer proctored final exams supervised by an approved online proctoring service to ensure tests are taken with maximum integrity.
StraighterLine vs. Sophia Course Approvals & Recommendations
Neither Sophia nor StraighterLine can be accredited as colleges or universities because they don’t grant degrees. However, they both offer courses accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) and are recognized as credible alternative credit providers.
Approved Quality Curriculum
Peer-review assessment service designed for providers of online courses delivered directly to learners.” The first two recipients of the AQC were StraighterLine and Sophia.
American Council on Education
As we mentioned, ACE allows the transfer of online credits to select institutions. All courses offered by Sophia and StraighterLine are ACE-approved.
Student Support Offered at Sophia vs. StraighterLine
As you embark on your online learning journey, you’ll need support. That support can come in the form of advisors, tutors, or student services.
Student Support with Sophia
Sophia has Learning Coaches that students can access by phone, email, or online chat during office hours. Some of their courses offer up to 10 hours of third-party tutoring via Pearson SmarThinking, for a fee.
Student Support with StraighterLine
Student success is our number one priority at StraighterLine. That means providing student support at all levels of learning and for all types of learners:
- Student advisors are available 7 days a week via phone or live chat to help you with non-academic issues
- 10 hours of online tutoring and writing lab services are available for all courses at no extra cost
- Enrollment Counselors are available via live chat to help you navigate your learning path
Make the Right Choice with StraighterLine
StraighterLine is your best option for online learning and earning transferable college credit. With more than 75 courses in 10 subjects, you’re guaranteed to find a class (or several!) that fit your needs. We support you every step of the way. And when you’re ready, the credits you earn are transferable to over 170 partner schools, plus thousands of others than accept ACE credit! Don’t wait another minute to start your online learning journey with StraighterLine. Start exploring our classes to find out how you can earn the college credits you need for success.
