SparkNotes and LitCharts are platforms that offer literary guides and explanations. If you’re a student, they can be incredibly useful in helping you understand the existing literature.
But what if you are not a literature student but studying something such as biology or even computer science? Which site would be better for you?
In this review, I will be comparing SparkNotes and LitCharts side by side. I will be delving into the pros and cons of each and why you might want to choose one over the other.
Let’s get into it.
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Quick Summary
LitCharts is superior to SparkNotes for the following reasons:
- Its unique approach of side-by-side breakdowns and color coding makes it easier to retain information.
- It has a wider range of titles than SparkNotes.
- There is a citation generator offered on the site, saving you time and effort when citing works.
- Modern English translations of Shakespeare are provided for free.
- For teachers, there are guides for every title, while SparkNotes only offers limited options.
However, if you are looking for study guides on topics apart from literature, you will find SparkNotes better, as LitCharts lacks such guides.
SparkNotes vs LitCharts: Overview
Believe it or not, SparkNotes and LitCharts were created by the same people. However, SparkNotes was sold a long time ago; it is no longer owned by its original founders.
SparkNotes started as a site created by a few Harvard students in 1991 as a collection of study guides for select subjects such as poetry and literature, later expanding to a wide range of other subjects.
These Harvard students were merely 22 years old, but their goal was to create an alternative to CliffsNotes, which is a popular series of study guides that was founded in 1958.
Just two years later, in 2001, they sold the site to Barnes & Noble.
Some years after creating SparkNotes, the creators went on to build LitCharts, although the site was dormant, without much work being put into it for a long time. As organic demand increased despite a lack of marketing, they realized its potential and built it up.
LitCharts was designed to have a better and improved approach to explaining literature. In this review, we’ll take a closer look at the two to see which one is superior.
LitCharts vs SparkNotes: Approach
SparkNotes, like CliffsNotes and most other popular study and literature guides, takes a very standard approach to explaining literature.
You will see long blocks of text from the literature, followed by long explanations. This is the traditional way of doing things, and while it works for many people, some people find it confusing and difficult to follow.
For example, let’s take a look at Shakespeare’s famous play, Macbeth. SparkNotes summarizes Act 1, Scenes 1-4 in one go:
Whereas, LitCharts breaks down each scene at a time. Not only that, but it pairs each act with a short analysis of the scene, helping you get deeper literary insights that will help you strengthen your analysis skills when perusing future texts.
You will notice some other differences as well. Look at the screenshot above: Do you notice the “Active Themes” icons?
LitCharts takes a unique approach to literary analysis. For each text, it provides color-coded icons, with each theme taking on a new color.
Throughout the text, LitCharts will use the color-coded icons to help you identify themes when they crop up. As you can see, in Act 1, Scene 1 of Macbeth, the two active themes are “Fate” and “Nature and the Unnatural.”
Being able to quickly identify themes is a plus for LitCharts, giving it a point over SparkNotes.
Under that, quotes and literary devices are listed as well. Although cropped out of the screenshot, there is also a link to a quiz, with which you can quiz yourself on the particular chapter or scene you just read.
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Of course, SparkNotes also provides a breakdown of themes, literary devices, characters, and more. It also provides quizzes with which you can test your knowledge and understanding of the text.
These are accessible from the menu above the text and from the sidebar, as shown in the screenshot below. However, as you will see, the breakdowns of themes, quizzes, literary devices, and other breakdowns are provided all in one go for the entire play:
So, if you really wanted to compare each section of the text to a particular analysis, whether of literary devices or extracted quotes, you would have to have several browser tabs open and switch back and forth.
Otherwise, you would read the entire text and then the analysis. The problem with this approach is that by the time you reach the analysis, you may have forgotten certain aspects of the text.
It can be challenging to correlate between the explanations and the text with the approach that SparkNotes takes. While SparkNotes may work just fine for you, I find that LitCharts works considerably better for me.
My brain simply works better with its approach, taking the text and analyzing it side by side, one part at a time. I believe many other students would feel the same, although the merits of either approach could be argued.
There are some other features that are unique to LitCharts’s approach. For example, it has a “theme wheel,” with which you can easily identify which themes are present in which chapters or scenes of a text.
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I find the theme wheel to be a bit of a gimmick and not that helpful for me personally, but it is something that SparkNotes doesn’t offer.
Another thing going for LitCharts is the ability to sort quotes by scenes, characters, themes, and literary devices. Perhaps you want to filter for quotes related to the theme of ambition or the literary device hyperbole.
You can do that in LitCharts, as shown in the screenshot below, but you can’t do it in SparkNotes.
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I actually find this feature pretty useful; a lot more than the theme wheel!
That doesn’t mean that SparkNotes has nothing going for it. For example, one thing that SparkNotes has, which I couldn’t find in LitCharts, is a series of questions and answers for the text.
Yes, LitCharts has quizzes, but this is something different. Accessible from the menu above the text in SparkNotes, as shown in the screenshot below, they allow you to quickly access answers to questions you may have about the text.
Not every question you have will be answered here, but the most common ones will be.
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We’ve covered a lot in this section, so let’s break things down a bit.
To summarize:
- SparkNotes takes a traditional approach, with analysis of texts, including literary devices and themes, being provided all in one go, in large blocks.
- SparkNotes has FAQs about each text, which can be useful.
On the other hand:
- LitCharts takes a more modern approach, breaking down the analysis for each section individually, allowing for a more profound understanding of the text.
- LitCharts also uses unique methods such as color-coded themes, a theme wheel, and the ability to filter for quotes to help you better understand what is going on.
Personally, I prefer the LitCharts approach.
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SparkNotes vs LitCharts: Other Subjects
What if literature is not your field of study? Can you find study guides on other subjects?
Let’s find out.
SparkNotes
SparkNotes has study guides on various other subjects, including:
However, these study guides can be a hit and miss. For example, I found the math section pretty comprehensive, covering a wide range of topics.
On the other hand, the computer science section was lacking. It covered C++ fundamentals but not Java fundamentals, for example.
SparkNotes provides various introductory guides to programming, but I wouldn’t say it provides study guides on everything you need for computer science.
LitCharts
LitCharts focuses mostly on literature (it’s in its name!). I couldn’t find guides on other topics, such as math.
LitCharts or SparkNotes: Premium Plans
Both LitCharts and SparkNotes are free to use but also offer a premium tier. Let’s explore the premium tier of each platform and see how they measure up.
SparkNotes
SparkNotes was entirely free for most of its existence, but in 2022, it started charging for a new premium service called SparkNotes Plus.
For texts, Plus gives you helpful study materials such as:
- Flashcards.
- Line-by-line “No Fear” modern English translations of Old English texts.
- Mastery Quizzes, which are more in depth than the standard quizzes.
- Graphic Novels, which include graphic depictions and illustrations of popular texts; many people find that visual learning helps them better retain things in their memory.
- Visual summaries of text explanations provided in the form of infographics.
- Audio recordings of Shakespeare’s plays.
In addition, it provides some of the following other helpful tools:
- The ability to highlight portions of the text from within the mobile app or desktop site and take notes, which are all accessible from your dashboard
- Interactive lessons and multiple-choice tests to help you prepare for AP exams
- An ad-free experience
Currently, AP exam prep lessons are provided for AP English Language and AP English Literature.
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Pricing
Currently, SparkNotes Plus costs $4.99/month or $24.99/year, tax not included. If you are signing up with other students, you can get a group discount.
See the SparkNotes Plus page for updated pricing information.
LitCharts
LitCharts also has a premium tier, called A+.
Before going into what it offers, it’s worth noting that on LitCharts, you can access modern English translations of Shakepsearp’s Old English texts on the free plan, without upgrading.
A+ gives you access to:
- PDF downloads of almost 2,000 texts as well as PDF downloads of the modern English translation of Shakespeare’s texts.
- Detailed quote explanations.
- Definitions, examples, and PDF downloads of over 130 literary devices.
- Teacher editions for every title.
- Line by line explanations for poems.
- Advanced search capabilities and the ability to compare themes across different literary works.
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Pricing
A+ is pricier than SparkNotes Plus. It costs just $9.95/month or $59.40/year, with discounts provided for group purchases.
My thoughts: It’s difficult to compare the two premium plans because they offer very different things. If you want advanced search capabilities, teacher editions, and PDF downloads, LitCharts A+ is better, but SparkNotes Plus offers flashcards, graphics, AP test prep, infographics, and a lot more.
Personally, when it comes to premium plans, I believe SparkNotes Plus offers better value for students. Not only is it cheaper than LitCharts A+, but it offers a lot more for your money, at least in terms of usefulness.
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SparkNotes or LitCharts: Which Is Better for Teachers?
SparkNotes
SparkNotes offers resources for teachers, but it won’t be cheap. It only has a limited selection of titles available, with others available for preorder (but they are not out yet).
In addition, you must buy the teacher’s guide for each title separately.
LitCharts
LitCharts, on the other hand, provides a teacher’s edition for every title it covers. Not only that, but as mentioned, all the teacher’s guides are available with a single monthly subscription with A+.
SparkNotes Pros and Cons
Pros
- There are study guides for subjects other than literature.
- SparkNotes Plus is cheaper and offers better value for money than LitCharts A+.
- You can prepare for AP exams with SparkNotes Plus.
- Audio recordings of plays are available with Plus, something that LitCharts doesn’t offer.
Cons
- It has fewer works available than LitCharts.
- Only a few teacher’s guides are currently available.
- Each teacher’s guide must be purchased separately.
- The approach it takes can be difficult for some students to follow.
LitCharts Pros and Cons
Pros
- It has many more texts than SparkNotes.
- It uses a better approach to learning, with side-by-side explanations and unique methods such as theme color coding.
- Teacher’s guides are available for every single title and included in a monthly subscription.
- LitCharts has a citation generator to generate citations automatically, something that SparkNotes doesn’t offer.
- PDF downloads of texts and explanations are available on the premium plan.
- Modern translations of Shakespeare are available for free, while SparkNotes charges for them.
Cons
- LitCharts A+ is more expensive than SparkNotes Plus
- A+ doesn’t offer features such as flashcards, graphics, infographics, and AP test prep.
- There are no study guides on topics such as computer science or math.
SparkNotes vs LitCharts: Comparison Table
| SparkNotes | LitCharts | |
|---|---|---|
| Texts Available | 700+ | 3,000+ |
| PDF Downloads | ✗ | ✓ (Not Free) |
| Teacher’s Guides | Limited | For Every Title Covered |
| FlashCards | ✓ (Not Free) | ✗ |
| Graphics and Infographics | ✓ (Not Free) | ✗ |
| AP Test Prep | ✓ (Not Free) | ✗ |
| Study Guides on Other Subjects | ✓ (Not Free) | ✗ |
Wrapping It Up
As you can see, both SparkNotes and LitCharts have their pros and cons. Choosing between the two can be hard, and although they were built by the same people, they are very different.
I recommend LitCharts, not only because it has a wider range of titles but also because I feel that its approach is a modern solution that works for modern students. The CliffsNotes style used by SparkNotes can be difficult for young teens, accustomed to internet content, to follow.
On the other hand, if you are willing to pay a premium for study help, I would say that SparkNotes is preferred.
I would then stay with the free version of LitCharts while using SparkNotes Plus for available titles. SparkNotes Plus offers very helpful study materials, including flashcards and infographics, as well as note-taking capabilities and AP test prep.
LitCharts’ free version, combined with SparkNotes Plus, make a powerful combination. But, if you can’t afford to pay, stick with LitCharts rather than using SparkNotes.
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