Short answer: Both serve Bangladesh’s Qawmi-madrasa market. Sabaq’s biggest strength is recognition and a claimed large user base ; iilmaa’s strength is depth — per-Juz/Surah Hifz tracking, Dars-e-Nizami syllabus, Zakat/Waqf funds and a Hijri calendar on a full platform, with public pricing (from ৳1,500/month) and a 14-day free trial. Demo both before buying — this page makes that comparison easy.
Transparency: written by the iilmaa team. All Sabaq facts come from their public claims — verify them in a demo.
Side-by-side
| Aspect | iilmaa | Sabaq |
|---|---|---|
| Hifz tracking | Per-Juz/Surah sabaq-sabqi-manzil-daur, Tajweed 1–5 scoring, Khatm-e-Quran → Ijazah | |
| Kitab / Dars-e-Nizami + Salla | ✔ book-based progression | |
| Zakat/Lillah/Waqf funds | ✔ separate funds + donor database | |
| Hijri calendar | ✔ | |
| Alia board formats | ✔ both Qawmi + Alia | |
| Offline app | ✔ attendance-fees-marks offline, auto sync | |
| bKash/Nagad auto-receipts | ✔ built-in gateway | |
| School side (SSC/HSC, payroll, library, hostel) | ✔ 25+ modules | |
| Public pricing | ৳1,500/mo (Gold), ৳4,000/mo (Diamond) | |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card | |
| Track record | new (2026) | claims 700+ institutions |
The Hifz department: where the difference shows
A madrasa’s heart is its Hifz department. Give both vendors the same demo task: “Record today’s sabaq, sabqi and manzil for 3 Hifz students, then show me a month-end report of whose manzil is weak.” Whatever system does this smoothly is real Hifz tracking. In iilmaa it is per-Juz/Surah with Tajweed scored 1–5 and mistake classification; Sabaq’s depth here is — ask them to run the same task live.
Fees, payments and offline
- Payments: iilmaa’s gateway is built in — guardians pay an invoice link via bKash/Nagad; the ledger entry and PDF receipt generate automatically. Sabaq’s payment flow: .
- Offline: iilmaa’s app works without internet (auto-sync) — critical for remote madrasas. Sabaq claims mobile usability ; mobile browsing and true offline are different things — test it.
- Transparent pricing: iilmaa’s price list is public (see it), SMS credits included in plans. When comparing, build a 3-year total for Sabaq too, including SMS/app/support costs .
When each one fits
- Sabaq may fit if the reassurance of a big known name is your top priority and their demo proves the Hifz and fee workflows for you.
- iilmaa fits if you want Hifz-first depth, dual-board support, madrasha fund accounting, public pricing and an offline app together — and want to test with your own data on a 14-day free trial.
iilmaa vs Sabaq FAQ
Is iilmaa also for Qawmi madrasas like Sabaq? Yes — plus Alia board formats, the school/coaching side, and multi-branch in Diamond, so one system covers all units of a larger institution.
How do the prices differ? iilmaa starts at Gold ৳1,500/month; Sabaq’s pricing: . Compare 3-year totals (hosting, updates, app, SMS, support).
Will data migration be painful? iilmaa offers Excel/CSV import plus free setup help (first day’s work running in 30 minutes). Export your data from the old system and test it during the trial.
Fastest way to decide? Take both demos and run the same 5 tasks in each: Hifz entry, attendance, a partial fee payment, a report, an export. The difference will be obvious.