Counselly states on its site that its AI college counseling is free, as of July 2026.

Does Counselly work for master's applications?

Yes; it states it adapts to undergraduate or master's level and covers GRE, TOEFL, and IELTS.

Does Zyra offer test prep?

No. Zyra does not offer test preparation or test strategy today.

What is the best Counselly alternative for undergraduate applicants working with a counselor?

Zyra, because the counselor and student work in the same platform.

Updated July 2026

Counselly vs Zyra: An Honest Comparison

Counselly is a free AI college counselor that builds your profile from a short conversation, then guides you through schools, essays, tests, and deadlines. It covers undergraduate and master's applicants, which most rivals do not. Zyra is the platform your counselor works in, so the same work sits in front of a real person who knows you. Counselly is the better fit if you are applying alone. Zyra is the better fit if you have a counselor. Last updated July 2026.

See full comparison All comparisons

Feature

Counselly

Zyra

Real counselor reviews your work
Parent Portal into the same work
Whole application in one place
Nothing metered

At a glance

Counselly

Free AI college counselor (counselly.ai). Builds a student profile from a roughly five-minute conversation covering grades, test scores, interests, and goals, then returns a curated school list with acceptance likelihood, financial-aid potential, and fit. Guides essays, recommendations, test strategy, and deadlines; covers SAT, ACT, GRE, TOEFL, and IELTS; and adapts to undergraduate or master's level. Tracks deadlines, required documents, recommendation letters, and score submissions per programme. Source: counselly.ai, checked July 2026.

Zyra

Zyra is the platform your counselor works in. On every counselor plan, students and parents get unlimited access at no separate cost: AI University Search, AI Major Search, AI Career Search, AI Roadmaps, and an AI Essay Assistant, plus a Student Portal, a dedicated Parent Portal, task management, notes, and file storage. Nothing is metered, and the whole application lives in one place a real person is also watching.

Comparison table

Counselly and Zyra, side by side, verified July 2026.

Counselly vs Zyra feature and pricing comparison
Criteria	Counselly	Zyra
Best for	Undergrad and master's applicants applying alone	Students working with a counselor
Price	Free	Included on your counselor's plan
Free option	Yes, free with a five-minute start	Included with a counselor; no standalone student plan
Real counselor reviews your work	No, AI only	Yes, your own counselor
AI capabilities	Profile builder, curated school list, essay/rec/test guidance, deadline tracking	AI University, Major, and Career Search; AI Roadmaps; AI Essay Assistant
Essays	AI guidance	AI Essay Assistant plus a counselor who knows you
Test coverage	SAT, ACT, GRE, TOEFL, IELTS; undergrad and master's	Not offered (no test prep or strategy)
Parent access	No dedicated parent portal	Dedicated Parent Portal, unlimited parents

Where each wins

Where Counselly wins

Master's applicants, with GRE, TOEFL, and IELTS coverage that Zyra does not offer.
Test strategy, including which tests each school actually requires.
Free, with a five-minute start.

Where Zyra wins

Someone is accountable. An AI cannot be held to anything; a counselor can.
Built for a process across years.
Parents included properly through a Parent Portal.

Honest note

This page covers counselly.ai only. Other similarly named sites, such as getcounsely.com and counsellyedu.com, are different, unrelated businesses and are not described here.

Pricing

Counselly and Zyra price for different buyers — verified July 2026.

Counselly — published pricing

Source →

Free. Counselly states on counselly.ai that its AI college counseling is free, as of July 2026.

Zyra — how students get access

Zyra has no separate student subscription. Students and parents are included, unlimited, on the plan their counselor pays for (counselor plans start at $149/month). If you do not work with a counselor yet, the tool above is built for solo applicants.

Explore Zyra for students For counselors

Who should choose which

Applying alone, or applying to master's programmes, Counselly is a strong free choice with unusually broad test coverage. Working with a counselor, choose Zyra so the same work sits in front of a real person who knows you.

FAQ

Keep exploring

Sources

counselly.ai (checked July 2026)
Zyra product & pricing, July 2026

All comparisons Counselly alternatives See pricing comparison

This comparison is based on publicly available information from Counselly's website and cited third-party sources, verified as of July 2026. Counselly is a trademark of its respective owner. Zyra is independent and not affiliated with Counselly.