Alps vs zyBooks
Both help schools teach computer science. Here’s what each one is for, and where they differ.
What each one is for
Alps
Alps helps every CS student reach mastery: practice matched to each student, help when they’re stuck, and a view of who needs help and why. It runs on open textbooks, publisher titles and your own material.
Who it serves: CS classes from block coding through AP and college CS.
zyBooks
Interactive STEM textbooks from Wiley, written for the web, with animations, auto-graded activities and zyLabs coding in 50+ languages.
Who it serves: Mainly college STEM courses, plus K-12 AP CS classes.
How they compare
| Topic | Alps | zyBooks |
|---|---|---|
| What you teach from | ||
| Course material | ||
| Course material | 40+ open and publisher titles, 10,000+ practice problems, and your own material. | zyBooks titles and interactive editions of print books; instructors write sections, and the AI Wizard drafts labs. |
| Several sources in one class | ||
| Several sources in one class | Several titles and your own activities in one class; each section sees the units you choose. | Several catalog zyBooks in one class zyBook; sections that need different content use separate class zyBooks. |
| Languages and tools | ||
| Languages and tools | Python, Java, C/C++, SQL, JavaScript, HTML/CSS, notebooks, block coding and a cyber range, in the browser. | zyLabs runs 50+ languages in VS Code, Jupyter and other workspaces. |
| Practice and help for each student | ||
| Mastery tracking | ||
| Mastery tracking | Estimated skill by skill from every run, hint and test result, and shown by unit in the Gradebook. | Completion, score and time per student; mastery-based challenge activities advance a level after each correct answer. |
| Practice at each student’s level | ||
| Practice at each student’s level | Alps matches each student’s practice to their mastery, from 10,000+ leveled problems with verified solutions and tests. | Challenge activities zyBooks’ authors place in each section; some generate a new problem after a wrong answer. |
| Differentiated assignments | ||
| Differentiated assignments | Alps groups the class by mastery and engagement, then builds each group’s work in under a minute; you review first. | The instructor assigns work by class section, sets extra exam time per student, and groups students in labs. |
| Help when a student is stuck | ||
| Help when a student is stuck | On by default on most coding problems: a hint, an outline, then the step as a puzzle; help, not the answer. | Explanations on each answer, solutions after a wrong challenge answer, and beta AI Hints in labs the instructor turns on. |
| Grading | ||
| Code grading | ||
| Code grading | Unit tests on submit, written for you on your own activities, plus checks on how Python and Java code was written. | zyLabs run output and unit tests, plus custom bash tests that can grade code style or anything else. |
| Written answers | ||
| Written answers | AI grading against a rubric, criterion by criterion, with feedback; your score stands. | Short answers checked against one correct answer; manual scores and comments. |
| Insights for the teacher | ||
| Live view during class | ||
| Live view during class | Who is working, reading or stopped, and on what; students who stall rise to the top. | Completion and time reports by student. |
| Why a student is stuck | ||
| Why a student is stuck | Groups students by what stops them (a failing test, a repeated error, lost working code), each with a next step. | Student Behavior Insights flags students whose time, runs, submissions or pasted code stand out from the class. |
| Where the class is stuck | ||
| Where the class is stuck | Wrong answers and errors many students share, what to revisit and why, and how other classes did. | Class averages of completion and time by chapter, section and activity type. |
| How the work was done | ||
| How the work was done | A replay that flags the same error run after run, working code that broke, or a large paste. | Keystroke Code Playback with pastes flagged and timestamped, paste limits, and a MOSS similarity checker. |
| Running it in a school or district | ||
| Sign-in and rosters | ||
| Sign-in and rosters | Google, Microsoft, Clever or ClassLink sign-in; rosters from Google Classroom or your LMS, not Clever or ClassLink. | zyBooks accounts with a class code, or an LTI 1.3 launch from the LMS. |
| Grades to your LMS | ||
| Grades to your LMS | Google Classroom and any LTI 1.3 LMS; assignments appear there and grades sync back automatically. | LTI 1.3 grade passback to Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace, Moodle and Sakai. |
| Student data privacy | ||
| Student data privacy | FERPA and COPPA compliant; signs district DPAs and the NDPA. | A signed Utah student data privacy agreement on the SDPC registry. |
| Reporting for leaders | ||
| Reporting for leaders | Progress and mastery by school, course and section, with dashboards built to your questions. | Reports per class zyBook, for its instructors and TAs. |
| Training and support | ||
| Training and support | Office hours and email support; training and PD by quote. | Onboarding webinars, a K-12 account manager, and email support seven days a week. |
| Other differences | ||
| Subjects beyond computer science | ||
| Subjects beyond computer science | Computer science, data science and statistics; no engineering, math or IT titles. | Engineering, math, statistics, data science and IT as well as CS. |
| IT certification titles | ||
| IT certification titles | No certification-aligned titles; AP Cybersecurity and a cyber range. | Titles aligned with CompTIA Security+, Network+, Linux+ and Tech+. |
| Price | ||
| Price | A free plan runs a whole class with practice, hints and auto-grading; paid plans, at published prices, add licensed titles, rubric grading and LMS sync. | Students typically pay $69–$90 per class; K-12 schools get a discounted rate. |
Where each one is a strong fit
Where zyBooks is a strong fit
If your department teaches across STEM and wants one interactive-textbook platform for all of it, with CompTIA-aligned IT titles and in-platform exams with lockdown browsers.
Where Alps is a strong fit
If you want practice matched to each student and a view of who needs help and why, on open textbooks and your own course beside publisher titles, with a free plan.
As of October 2026. Details about zyBooks come from its own public pages, listed below, and details about Alps from this site. If something here has changed, email support@alps.2sigma.us.