This paper seeks to further explore the distribution of the real roots of random polynomials with non-centered coefficients. We focus on polynomials where the typical values of the coefficients have power growth and count the average number of real zeros. Almost all previous results require coefficients with zero mean, and it is non-trivial to extend these results to the general case. Our approach is based on a novel comparison principle that reduces the general situation to the mean-zero setting. As applications, we obtain new results for the Kac polynomials, hyperbolic random polynomials, their derivatives, and generalizations of these polynomials. The proof features new logarithmic integrability estimates for random polynomials (both local and global) and fairly sharp estimates for the local number of real zeros.