MarkScanner

Alternatives

MarkScanner, Crowdmark, Gradescope: which fits how you mark?

These tools solve different problems. Crowdmark and Gradescope help you mark every answer yourself, faster. Answer-sheet scanners score bubbles and gridded answers. MarkScanner drafts the marks on handwritten working, and you review and approve them. The right one depends on how you assess and what your school already uses.

Based on each company’s published documentation as of October 6, 2026. Products change, so check their sites before you decide. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we’ll fix it.

Side by side

Four approaches to marking paper math

Comparison of Crowdmark, Gradescope, answer-sheet scanners, and MarkScanner, as of October 6, 2026
Crowdmark Gradescope Answer-sheet scanners such as ZipGrade MarkScanner
What the software does with handwritten working Helps you mark it yourself, with reusable rubric comments. Answer grouping is in limited testing. [3][4] Reads handwritten final answers and groups similar ones, so you mark each group with a rubric. [9] Scores bubbles or gridded answers against your key. Handwritten working isn’t marked. [11] Drafts marks and comments for each part of the working, against the rubric you approve. You review and change any of it.
Your existing paper tests Yes, with “Ready to grade”: upload a blank copy and map where each question sits. QR-coded booklets are the other option. [2] Yes: upload a blank copy and mark out each question’s region on the page. [8] Students answer on the tool’s answer sheets. [11] Yes. Upload the blank test and answer key with the class set. No question regions to map, no special sheets.
Who can buy it Schools and districts; pricing by request. [1][6] Free Basic plan for individual instructors. AI answer grouping and LMS sync need an Institutional licence. [7][9] Individual teachers; ZipGrade has a free tier and a low-cost yearly plan. [12] Individual teachers, with a free trial. Department pricing by conversation.
How students get results Online, through emailed links and student accounts; marked PDFs can be printed. [13][14] Online, through a student account or your LMS; graded PDFs can be downloaded. [15][16] Printable reports, or an optional student portal. [11] A printed one-page feedback sheet per student. No student accounts or portal.
Brightspace and other LMS Yes, including Brightspace (D2L). [5] Yes, including Brightspace, with an Institutional licence. [7][10] CSV export. [11] Not yet. CSV export for your gradebook.

Choose Crowdmark when

  • Your school or district already licenses it.
  • You want to mark every answer yourself, with colleagues, using shared comments.
  • Results need to reach students through Brightspace or an online portal.

Choose Gradescope when

  • You want to keep marking the working yourself, faster, with rubrics that update across every paper.
  • Your questions have short final answers that group well.
  • Your institution has a licence, or the free Basic plan covers what you need.

Choose an answer-sheet scanner when

  • Your quizzes are multiple choice or short numeric answers.
  • You don’t need to mark the working.
  • Low cost matters most.

MarkScanner

Choose MarkScanner when

  • Your tests have multi-step, show-your-work questions, and the working is what you mark.
  • You want a first draft of every mark and comment, not a faster way to write them all yourself.
  • You give the paper tests you already have, without special sheets or mapping question regions.
  • You’re an individual teacher and want to start without a school licence.
  • You hand back printed feedback, and your students’ work should stay stored in Canada and out of AI training.

See it on real questions in the worked examples.

Honest about the gaps

Where MarkScanner falls short today

  • No Brightspace or Google Classroom sync yet. Results come out as CSV and printed sheets.
  • No student portal. Feedback is printed or shared as PDFs.
  • Math only, and strongest on multi-step algebra and functions. Graphs and diagrams need a closer look in review.
  • A young product from a small company. We don’t have a SOC 2 report.
  • AI drafts can be wrong, including answers that aren’t flagged. Your review is part of the workflow.

Try it free

See how MarkScanner marks your own papers

Use your own account and your own papers. You approve the rubric, review the draft marks, and decide what goes back to students.

Email us and we’ll set up your account and help with your first assessment.

Email us to get started Not ready for an account? Try it on one quiz first

After your trial, $49 CAD/month plus HST per teacher.

Sources

From official vendor pages, as of October 6, 2026. Crowdmark, Gradescope, and ZipGrade are trademarks of their owners. MarkScanner isn’t affiliated with them.

  1. [1] Crowdmark: K-12
  2. [2] Crowdmark: Ready to grade
  3. [3] Crowdmark: using a rubric
  4. [4] Crowdmark: answer grouping
  5. [5] Crowdmark: FAQ and integrations
  6. [6] Crowdmark: request pricing
  7. [7] Gradescope: pricing
  8. [8] Gradescope: creating an exam or quiz
  9. [9] Gradescope: AI-assisted grading and answer groups
  10. [10] Gradescope: integrations
  11. [11] ZipGrade: features
  12. [12] ZipGrade: pricing
  13. [13] Crowdmark: returning graded assessments
  14. [14] Crowdmark: downloading student work
  15. [15] Gradescope: viewing grades and feedback
  16. [16] Gradescope: exporting grades and submissions