Esslo is an AI feedback tool for college application essays, started by two Stanford students. It reviews Common App, supplemental, Coalition, UC and UCAS essays with line-by-line comments, scores across six categories and a percentile against other essays it has scored, and its FAQ says it never writes any part of a student’s essay. It also sells a plan for college counselors.

How much does Esslo cost?

Their pricing page, read 10 October 2026: a free plan with limited feedback on one draft; Student, $40 a month for up to 20 drafts; Student Plus, $80 a month, unlimited; Student Max, $100 a month, which adds the activities list. Free unlimited access is offered on request to students who qualify for Common App, SAT or ACT fee waivers. Check their page for the current price.

Is Esslo or NudgeEssay cheaper?

It depends on how you work. For many drafts in one month, Esslo’s Student plan is cheaper per draft, about $2. NudgeEssay is $25 for one essay, $150 for 10 or $200 for 20, and each essay includes one free re-read of the revised draft, so the 20-essay pack works out to about $5 a read. It is paid once, and nothing renews or expires.

Does either one write my essay?

No. Esslo’s FAQ says it never writes any part of a student’s essay, and NudgeEssay never hands you a sentence you could paste into your draft. Both point at what you wrote and tell you what to change. Every college sets its own rule on AI, and checking your school’s policy is on you.

Can I try NudgeEssay free?

Yes. Paste your essay and you see the verdict, the standout line and the six rubric bands before any payment step. Seven complete sample reports are also published in full, free to read with no account.

Is NudgeEssay affiliated with Esslo?

No. NudgeEssay is not affiliated with, endorsed by or partnered with Esslo, and has no relationship with any college. Every Esslo fact on this page was read from their own site on 10 October 2026 and is linked below with that date. Esslo is a trademark of its owner.

An Esslo alternative, for when you would rather pay per essay than per month

Have a draft? Get a free read on it below

Esslo is an AI feedback tool for college application essays, started by two Stanford students. Its pricing page lists four plans: a free one with “limited feedback on one draft”, Student at $40 a month for up to 20 drafts, Student Plus at $80 a month for unlimited essays, and Student Max at $100 a month, which adds the activities list. Its homepage describes line-by-line comments, scores across six categories and a percentile against other essays it has scored, and says plainly that it never writes any part of a student’s essay. Students who qualify for a Common App, SAT or ACT fee waiver can ask for free unlimited access.

NudgeEssay is priced per essay, not per month: $25 for one essay, $150 for 10, or $200 for 20, about $10 an essay. What comes back in about five minutes is a document: the one sentence a tired reader would carry out of your essay, six rubric bands built for that essay type, notes attached to your exact sentences, a paragraph-by-paragraph map of where attention drops, and a revision plan ranked by payoff. Every essay includes one free re-read of the revised draft, and nothing renews or expires. You see the verdict and the bands on your own essay before you pay anything.

The short version: if you will revise many drafts in one month, Esslo’s monthly plan costs less per draft, and that is worth knowing. If you have a set number of essays and want each one taken apart closely, then read again once you have revised it, a pack is paid once and does not run on a clock.

Updated 10 October 2026. Written and maintained by NudgeEssay; how facts on this site are sourced and corrected is on the about page.

Esslo vs NudgeEssay

How you pay

Esslo: Monthly: $40, $80 or $100 a month.
NudgeEssay: Per essay: $25 for one, $150 for 10, $200 for 20. Paid once; nothing renews or expires.

What is free

Esslo: One round, described as limited feedback on one draft. Free unlimited access for fee-waiver students who ask.
NudgeEssay: The verdict, the standout line and the six rubric bands on your own essay. The full marked report is paid.

How many reads

Esslo: Up to 20 drafts a month on Student; unlimited on Student Plus and Student Max.
NudgeEssay: One full read per essay, plus one free re-read of the revised draft. Further re-reads $10.

How long it takes

Esslo: Their homepage: "Get feedback in minutes".
NudgeEssay: About five minutes, at any hour.

What the score is

Esslo: Six categories (their example shows Writing, Detail, Voice, Character, Curiosity and Contribution), plus a percentile against essays they have scored.
NudgeEssay: Six criteria built for the essay type, each with a band label and the quote from your essay that drove it. No percentile and no comparison with other applicants.

What comes back

Esslo: Line-by-line comments, scores, suggestions, and what they call "Brutally Honest Thoughts".
NudgeEssay: A marked manuscript: the memory line, notes on your exact sentences, an attention map paragraph by paragraph, and a ranked fix list.

Does it write sentences for you

Esslo: No. Their FAQ: "Esslo never writes any part of a student's essay."
NudgeEssay: No. It points at your own material and never hands you a sentence to paste in.

A person reading it

Esslo: Their pricing page lists no human-reader plan.
NudgeEssay: Optional: a written read from an expert reviewer within 48 hours, $150 for one essay or $400 for 5.

The activities list

Esslo: Reviewed on Student Max ($100 a month).
NudgeEssay: Not reviewed. NudgeEssay reads essays only.

For counselors

Esslo: A counselor plan, licensed for commercial use, with a free trial.
NudgeEssay: A counselor plan: $24 an essay, $129 for 10 or $199 for 20.

Esslo compared with NudgeEssay across price, free tier, number of reads, scoring and what comes back
	Esslo	NudgeEssay
How you pay	Monthly: $40, $80 or $100 a month.	Per essay: $25 for one, $150 for 10, $200 for 20. Paid once; nothing renews or expires.
What is free	One round, described as limited feedback on one draft. Free unlimited access for fee-waiver students who ask.	The verdict, the standout line and the six rubric bands on your own essay. The full marked report is paid.
How many reads	Up to 20 drafts a month on Student; unlimited on Student Plus and Student Max.	One full read per essay, plus one free re-read of the revised draft. Further re-reads $10.
How long it takes	Their homepage: "Get feedback in minutes".	About five minutes, at any hour.
What the score is	Six categories (their example shows Writing, Detail, Voice, Character, Curiosity and Contribution), plus a percentile against essays they have scored.	Six criteria built for the essay type, each with a band label and the quote from your essay that drove it. No percentile and no comparison with other applicants.
What comes back	Line-by-line comments, scores, suggestions, and what they call "Brutally Honest Thoughts".	A marked manuscript: the memory line, notes on your exact sentences, an attention map paragraph by paragraph, and a ranked fix list.
Does it write sentences for you	No. Their FAQ: "Esslo never writes any part of a student's essay."	No. It points at your own material and never hands you a sentence to paste in.
A person reading it	Their pricing page lists no human-reader plan.	Optional: a written read from an expert reviewer within 48 hours, $150 for one essay or $400 for 5.
The activities list	Reviewed on Student Max ($100 a month).	Not reviewed. NudgeEssay reads essays only.
For counselors	A counselor plan, licensed for commercial use, with a free trial.	A counselor plan: $24 an essay, $129 for 10 or $199 for 20.

Esslo figures and quotations were read from esslo.org and esslo.org/pricing on 10 October 2026 and are linked below. Rows saying their page “lists no” something are claims about what is published, not about what the service does; ask them. Prices change, so check theirs and ours before you buy. Esslo is a trademark of its owner and is not affiliated with NudgeEssay.

Paste your essay for a free read

Have it in a document? or drop one here (Word, PDF, or Text).

Paste the draft here and see the verdict and the six bands on it before any payment step, then decide which way of paying suits how you work.

When Esslo is the better buy

If you plan to run many drafts through a reader inside one month, a flat monthly plan is the cheaper way to do it: up to 20 drafts for $40 works out to about $2 a draft. If you qualify for a fee waiver, Esslo offers free unlimited access on request, which nothing here matches. And if you want your activities list reviewed alongside the essays, their Student Max plan covers it and NudgeEssay does not.

When a per-essay read is the better buy

If you have a known number of essays, say a personal statement and a handful of supplements, and you want each one taken apart closely, revised, and then read again, a pack costs the same whether you finish in a week or in January. Nothing renews if you forget to cancel. And if you want a person as well, the expert-read plans put a written human read on top of the same report.

All 23 checks are listed on what the review includes, and seven complete unedited reports are free to read on the samples page. Read one before deciding whether this is worth paying for. If the other option on your list is a person rather than software, the MaxAdmit comparison sets human editing beside a per-essay read.

What NudgeEssay is not

It is not an admissions decision, a prediction or a chance calculator, and it has no relationship with any college.
It is not a school list, an activities review or an application strategy. It reads one essay at a time.
It will not write your essay, and it should not. Every college sets its own rule on AI, and checking your school’s policy is on you.

Esslo vs NudgeEssay, answered

What is Esslo?: Esslo is an AI feedback tool for college application essays, started by two Stanford students. It reviews Common App, supplemental, Coalition, UC and UCAS essays with line-by-line comments, scores across six categories and a percentile against other essays it has scored, and its FAQ says it never writes any part of a student’s essay. It also sells a plan for college counselors.
How much does Esslo cost?: Their pricing page, read 10 October 2026: a free plan with limited feedback on one draft; Student, $40 a month for up to 20 drafts; Student Plus, $80 a month, unlimited; Student Max, $100 a month, which adds the activities list. Free unlimited access is offered on request to students who qualify for Common App, SAT or ACT fee waivers. Check their page for the current price.
Is Esslo or NudgeEssay cheaper?: It depends on how you work. For many drafts in one month, Esslo’s Student plan is cheaper per draft, about $2. NudgeEssay is $25 for one essay, $150 for 10 or $200 for 20, and each essay includes one free re-read of the revised draft, so the 20-essay pack works out to about $5 a read. It is paid once, and nothing renews or expires.
Does either one write my essay?: No. Esslo’s FAQ says it never writes any part of a student’s essay, and NudgeEssay never hands you a sentence you could paste into your draft. Both point at what you wrote and tell you what to change. Every college sets its own rule on AI, and checking your school’s policy is on you.
Can I try NudgeEssay free?: Yes. Paste your essay and you see the verdict, the standout line and the six rubric bands before any payment step. Seven complete sample reports are also published in full, free to read with no account.
Is NudgeEssay affiliated with Esslo?: No. NudgeEssay is not affiliated with, endorsed by or partnered with Esslo, and has no relationship with any college. Every Esslo fact on this page was read from their own site on 10 October 2026 and is linked below with that date. Esslo is a trademark of its owner.

Where these numbers come from

Esslo plans and prices: a free plan ("Limited feedback on one draft"), Student $40/month ("Feedback on up to 20 drafts / month"), Student Plus $80/month (unlimited), Student Max $100/month (adds the activities list), and free unlimited access on request for students who qualify for Common App, SAT or ACT fee waivers. www.esslo.org/pricing, read 10 October 2026.
Esslo product description: line-by-line comments, scores across six categories (the example shows Writing, Detail, Voice, Character, Curiosity and Contribution), a percentile against essays Esslo has scored, "Get feedback in minutes", "Esslo never writes any part of a student's essay", a counselor plan "Licensed for commercial use" with a free trial, and founders described as Stanford students. www.esslo.org, read 10 October 2026.

Other companies’ prices and features change without notice, and everything above is what their own pages said on the date given. Check the current version before you buy anything, including ours. Company and product names are the trademarks of their owners; NudgeEssay is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or partnered with any of them. Every option here is set beside the others on the full comparison. The same figures are read from the other side on a CollegeVine alternative, a private consultant versus a per-essay read, what each price of college essay review buys, where to get a Common App essay reviewed, what an AI college essay review can and cannot do, what a college essay grader leaves out, how to write a college essay, from seven marked-up reports, what OpenAI's own rules say about essays written with ChatGPT, what Anthropic's own rules say about AI-assisted work, Gemini and a college essay, and what Google does not say about it and a MaxAdmit alternative, and what their site does and does not publish.

Review your essay free