DecidED

What DecidED does

DecidED is a free, web-based college affordability comparison platform operated by OneGoal, a California-based national nonprofit founded in 2009 that has worked for more than 15 years on postsecondary advising. The product was launched in 2020 to help high school students and advisors translate complex financial aid award letters into standardized, comparable data so enrollment decisions can be made on true cost and fit factors such as graduation rate and campus diversity. The platform runs as separate self-serve Student and Advisor portals, with a third offering, the DecidED Award Translation API, aimed at college access organizations and software service providers that need to process award letters at scale.

The underlying technology centers on document image parsing and translation: students or partners upload pictures of award letters and the system extracts grants, scholarships, loans, and cost breakdowns into structured, comparable data. The Student Portal provides side-by-side comparisons of college costs and fit factors; the Advisor Dashboard adds real-time cohort tracking and CSV report exports. The API product, documented at docs.api.decided.org, exposes this parsing pipeline for programmatic integration, and the platform supports it with a Student Guides content library and a Help Center.

The business model is freemium and nonprofit: no revenue is generated from end users, no pricing tiers exist, and the product is explicitly free to students, advisors, and partners. DecidED is geographically restricted to US residents and is COPPA-compliant. There is no venture or private equity capital identified; the organization operates as a program of the OneGoal nonprofit foundation. Distribution is product-led and community-led through SEO-optimized educational guides, organic social sharing, partner referrals, and self-serve sign-up, with a contact-driven onboarding path for larger organizational deployments.

Name

DecidED

Legal name

OneGoal

Website

https://decided.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Short description

DecidED is a free, nonprofit-run web platform that uses document image parsing to translate college financial aid award letters into comparable cost data for US high school students, advisors, and partner organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Technology

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

College & Program Discovery, Matching & Fit Tools (EDAFAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Scholarships, Grants & Donor-Funded Awards Management (EDALAJAB)

Keywords

• College affordability platform
• Financial aid analysis
• Award letter translation
• College comparison tool
• Higher education access

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Free Platform Access: DecidED is provided completely free of charge to all students, advisors, and partners. The tool is a nonprofit initiative powered by OneGoal to help close the opportunity gap in higher education. No revenue is generated directly from users of the platform.
2. API Services: While the website indicates 'sign up for free' for API access, the revenue model for API services is not explicitly disclosed in the source materials. The API is positioned as a free resource for college access organizations and partners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

DecidED is a free, web-based platform developed by nonprofit OneGoal that helps college-bound students and their advisors translate complex financial aid award letters into standardized, comparable data. Users can upload images of award letters and receive automated analysis of costs, aid amounts, and affordability comparisons across colleges, alongside personalized fit factors such as graduation rates and campus diversity. An Award Translation API extends the same parsing capability to partner organizations for programmatic, at-scale processing.

Product overview

DecidED is a free college cost comparison platform offered by OneGoal that consists of multiple integrated products: the main DecidED Platform (including Student Portal and Advisor Dashboard), the DecidED Award Translation API for partners, and supporting resources including Student Guides and a Help Center. Students and advisors use the platform to upload financial aid award letters, compare college costs and fit factors, and make informed enrollment decisions. Partners can integrate via API to access award translation and financial aid data analysis capabilities at scale.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DecidED Platform Free web-based college cost comparison platform that helps students and advisors compare college costs, financial aid benefits, and fit factors such as graduation rate and campus diversity. Users upload financial aid award letters to receive automated affordability analysis and side-by-side college comparisons. Accessible via Student Portal (student.decided.org) and Advisor Dashboard (advisor.decided.org).
• DecidED Award Translation API

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.5 minutes saved per award letter processed
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• OneGoalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOneGoal is the parent nonprofit organization that developed and powers DecidED. The tool was created based on years of work with students, families, advisors, and communities to close the opportunity gap. OneGoal is described as 'a national nonprofit that is leading the movement to transform postsecondary advising and support' with more than 15 years of experience.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Niche: Niche provides comprehensive college search, comparison, and ranking tools with rich financial aid data and student reviews. It is one of DecidED's closest direct competitors for college-bound students evaluating affordability and fit.
• College Confidential: College Confidential combines college search tools with a large student and parent community, offering peer insights and college comparison features that overlap with DecidED's student-facing comparison and decision support.
• College Aid Pro: College Aid Pro is a financial aid counseling platform for advisors and families focused on award letter analysis and FAFSA optimization. It directly competes with DecidED's award letter parsing and advisor dashboard.
• Tuition Fit: Tuition Fit is a free platform that lets students compare financial aid award letters from multiple colleges and view net price data — essentially the same core use case as DecidED's award letter translation and college affordability comparison.
• College Board (BigFuture): College Board's BigFuture is a free college and career planning platform helping students compare colleges, explore careers, and understand financial aid. It directly competes with DecidED on college comparison and fit-factor features, and benefits from far greater brand recognition and resources.
• Scholly: Scholly is a scholarship search and matching platform helping students find and apply for scholarships. It is adjacent to DecidED's financial aid analysis focus and competes for the same college-bound student audience.
• Cappex: Cappex is a college search and matching platform that helps students find colleges based on fit factors and merit-based scholarships. Its features closely align with DecidED's college matching and affordability comparison model.
• Fastweb: Fastweb is one of the largest free scholarship search engines and college planning resources, providing financial aid and college information that overlaps with DecidED's affordability and fit factor content.
• Peterson's: Peterson's provides college search, test prep, and financial aid information including scholarship databases. It is a longstanding incumbent in the college planning space with comparable features to DecidED's affordability and fit comparison.

Broad incumbents

• College Navigator (NCES): Operated by the National Center for Education Statistics, College Navigator is a free federal tool offering college search, cost, and financial aid data. It provides baseline competition for DecidED without the personalized award letter parsing layer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DecidED