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Top 7 Khan Academy Alternatives in 2025

Khan Academy is a great free educational platform for learning basic and advanced concepts in math and other academic subjects. However, it can’t always meet students’ specific needs, so, as a professional math tutor, I decided to take a deep dive into the best 7 Khan Academy alternatives, exploring their strengths, drawbacks, and more. 

Key Points

• Even though Khan Academy is 100% free, it doesn’t cater to most students’ needs –  such as live tutoring, personalized learning paths, and advanced progress tracking.
• Brighterly math tutoring platform is fully adapted for students’ needs and has the highest rating among the 7 platforms. 
• Time4Learning, Brighterly, and IXL are the best platforms for homeschoolers, while MathHelp and Coursera can be good supplements, and Kumon and i-Ready don’t really suit homeschool. 
• For math and STEM, Brighterly, IXL, and Coursera may be the best options. 

What are the reasons to consider Khan Academy alternatives?

Khan Academy is a free, nonprofit educational platform offering a wide range of educational materials across various academic subjects. Khan Academy’s main focus is on providing pre-recorded video lessons designed to support K-12 students, college-level learners, and some adult users. 

Here are a couple of things students (and parents) love about Khan Academy:

• 100% free
• Easy-to-use platform
• Strong educational content 
• Progress-at-your-own-pace style of learning 
• Suitable for school and college (unlike most websites like Khan Academy for college students)

Despite Khan Academy technically being a perfect choice for anyone, many students still decide to switch to websites like Khan Academy. Let’s explore some of the reasons for that below. 👇

Reasons to choose Khan Academy alternatives

• No interactivity 
• Focus on memorization 
• Not suitable for elementary school 

Reason for choosing a Khan Academy alternative #1: No interactivity 

Something that I noticed right away (and what might be the main reason for switching to alternatives to Khan Academy) is that Khan Academy offers little to no interactivity. All of the videos are pre-recorded, which means some students may find the content repetitive or not engaging enough to hold learners’ attention long-term. 

Reason for choosing a Khan Academy alternative #2: Focus on memorization 

Concept mastery is not something that is guaranteed from Khan Academy. The platform offers a memorize-your-way-to-mastery approach, which relies heavily on, you guessed it, memorization. 

This system can make students less inclined to actually learn the content since some of the question formatting can make students memorize the answers instead of knowing how to find the answers. 

 In this regard, you may search for a better option. Luckily, platforms like Khan Academy always have alternatives with other study approaches.

Reason for choosing a Khan Academy alternative #3: Not suitable for elementary school

The majority of the learning material on the platform is geared towards middle/high school grades. Following that, here’s another point to consider: even if you manage to find elementary-level educational content on Khan Academy, it probably won’t be an enjoyable (or at least effective) learning experience since it lacks those fun, interactive elements kids love so much. Other websites similar to Khan Academy may offer a more adaptable way to teach children. 

Pros and cons of Khan Academy

From my complete analysis, the main drawback of Khan Academy is that it lacks interactivity and engagement, especially for younger kids. Obviously,  it’s a trade-off many are willing to accept because the platform is free. 

Below, you can explore the top pros and cons of Khan Academy, gathered from reviews on Trustpilot and Reddit. 👇

Pros of Khan Academy	Cons of Khan Academy
Completely free	Repetitive style of learning
Helps with summer learning loss	Doesn’t suit elementary schoolers
Offers test prep	Lacks practice activities
	Overly punitive test design
	Doesn’t build real skills

What are the good alternatives to Khan Academy?

• Brighterly
• Coursera
• IXL
• Time4learning
• Mathhelp
• Kumon 
• i-Ready

Looking for websites like Khan Academy free? Let’s explore both free and paid platforms below. 👇

Khan Academy alternative #1: Brighterly

Brighterly is an online math tutoring platform that connects the United States K-9 students with expert math tutors. As one of the best Khan Academy competitors, Brighterly offers a fully personalized learning approach for each student based on the Common Core curriculum. 

Brighterly’s math program is 100% adapted and custom-designed to close students’ earning gaps, and improve critical thinking & problem-solving, fostering a positive learning environment. Furthermore, the platform’s programs are constantly being updated by the best educators with research-based study resources, data, and STEM learning techniques.

In short, unlike Khan Academy, Brighterly connects you with a real, top-notch tutor for one-on-one lessons. Brighterly educators always make the learning process more fun and effective with their personalized approach.

Khan Academy vs Brighterly: Comparison

Khan Academy vs Brighterly: Comparative factors	Khan Academy	Brighterly
Focus on	Math and a wide range of academic subjects	Math & Reading for children and teenagers
Approach to learning	Independent study	Study with top-notch tutors and independent learning with worksheets and free math tests from Brighterly tutors
Price	For free	All worksheets and tests are absolutely free! Training with tutors is paid.
Support	Limited support	Live support
Students’ age	All age groups	Grades K-9

More Brighterly’s features:

• Interactive math & reading lessons that will interest both kids and teens.
• Personalized math & reading curricula based on your child’s goals and abilities.
• Feedback from a tutor with learning progress reports.
• Brighterly tutor will help with achieving math goals, completing homework, and gaining confidence in your kid’s abilities.
• Free worksheets for Kindergarten and Pre-K, and 1-9 grades. 

Brighterly cost

Unlike Khan Academy math worksheets (which are practically nonexistent), Brighterly offers free worksheets and academic resources for self-learning. Brighterly math worksheets are designed by the platform’s best educators and provide step-by-step practice problems and real-world examples to simplify tough concepts (and can also be used during a math class!).

Brighterly also connects students with really expert tutors to have 1:1 math lessons, and all of that for an affordable price beginning at $17.40/lesson. This is quite budget-friendly compared to competitors on the market. For instance, according to my research, the standard tutoring rate for math tutors around the US is between $20 and $80. 

Khan Academy alternative #2: Coursera

Looking for Khan Academy alternatives free? Coursera is also one of the top websites similar to Khan Academy. This platform offers courses from the world’s leading universities and companies. The platform is perfect for improving your skills in academic subjects and beyond. Besides Math and Logic, there are such topics as Data Science, Business, Computer Science, Information Technology, etc. Coursera is a good alternative to Khan Academy for those who are looking for more professional courses for their child or even for themselves.

Khan Academy vs Coursera: Comparison 

Khan Academy vs Coursera: Comparative factors	Khan Academy	Coursera
Focus on	A variety of subjects: Math, Health and Medicine, Computing, Reading and Language Arts, Science, etc.	Pro courses and specializations: Math and Logic, Data Science, Business, Computer Science, Information Technology, etc.
Approach to learning	Independent study	Courses are taught by university professors
Certification	Not available	Paid certification is offered
Price	For free	Here, free and paid courses are available, but certification is always paid
Students’ age	All age groups	The courses are suitable for high school students who are preparing for college or for middle school students who want to prepare for high school. These courses are not suitable for younger students.

Now, let’s take a look at more benefits of Coursera so that you understand whether this option is appropriate for your child’s education.

More Coursera’s features:

• A wide range of courses from Math to Physical Science and Engineering.
• Professional certificates and networking with top universities

Coursera price:

Gain new knowledge. Average time commitment 4-12 hours. The cost starts at Free. Master a specific skill. Average time commitment 1-3 months. The cost starts at $49 per month.

Khan Academy alternative #3: IXL

IXL is a learning platform for math, language, science, and social studies that offers a comprehensive approach to learning with adaptive questions and exercises. As an alternative to Khan Academy, IXL helps students improve their academic skills through individualized practice and feedback.

Is Khan Academy better than IXL?

Yes, for some, IXL may indeed be a better alternative to Khan Academy, just as Khan Academy may be a better option than IXL. Each of the platforms mentioned in this article deserves attention and has its own list of students who are happy to study on it. But the question is, what exactly is the best thing about IXL?

Khan Academy vs IXL: Comparison

Khan Academy vs IXL: Comparative factors	Khan Academy	IXL
Focus on	A variety of subjects: Math, Health and Medicine, Computing, Reading and Language Arts, Science, etc.	Math, Language arts, Science, Social studies, Spanish, etc.
Approach to learning	Independent study	Students from Pre-K to 12th grade can take free tests on hundreds of math topics. Other features available are 3 membership types – Families, Classrooms, School, and districts.
Price	Completely free of charge	Paid
Students’ age	All age groups	Students from Pre-K to 12th grade

Let’s now dive into a few more important details about IXL that set the learning platform apart from the competition.

Other IXL features:

• Personalized learning with questions that change depending on the student’s answers
• Kids and teens can take free tests on hundreds of mathematics topics.

 

• If you choose the Families subscription, you get access to more than 17k math topics and other subjects available on the platform.
• The platform offers an analysis of your child’s knowledge level using special tests. This way, IXL can direct your child to the topics they are ready to learn next.
• Dozens of fun games, hundreds of video tutorials, and real-time communication with IXL managers are available.

Price of one of the best alternatives to Khan Academy – IXL:

Families – Memberships start at only $9.95/month Classrooms – Starting at $349 per year School and districts – upon request

Khan Academy alternative #4: Time4Learning

 

Time4Learning (T4L) is a homeschooling learning platform for children from preschool to high school. It is an interactive platform with a variety of subjects for learning – language arts, math (basic topics, algebra, geometry, trigonometry), etc. A student can log in to Time4Learning at any convenient time, find the subjects assigned by the teacher, and track their progress. There are many tasks for each subject, knowledge tests, and assessments. 

Khan Academy vs Time4Learning: Comparison

Khan Academy vs Time4Learning: Comparative factors	Khan Academy	T4L
Focus on	A variety of subjects: Math, Health and Medicine, Computing, Reading and Language arts, Science, etc.	A variety of subjects: Math, Science, Language arts, Social Studies, Electives.
Approach to learning	Independent study	Perfect for homeschooling. Learning with a teacher
Interactivity	Videos and interactive exercises	High interactivity with animation and graphics
Price	Completely free of charge	Paid
Students’ age	All age groups	Grades PreK – 5, and Middle & High School

Time4Learning features:

• Parents can have their own access to the platform to track their child’s progress.
• Thanks to the special lesson planning feature, your child’s homeschool teacher can arrange the topics in the order that is good for your child and control which topics have been covered. This way, the student will not miss any important topics and will always have a structured lesson schedule.
• The platform allows you to customize the child’s progress assessment. This is very important for homeschooling. The teacher can create individual reports based on the indicators they need.

Price of one of the alternatives to Khan Academy – Time4Learning:

Elementary – Grades PreK – 5: $29.95 per student/month. Middle & High School – Grades 6 – 12: $39.95 per student/month.

Khan Academy alternative #5: Mathhelp

Mathhelp.com is a learning platform that contains lessons that will be useful for those who want to improve their math skills and prepare for standardized math tests. The resource is also useful for teachers to create the perfect program for their students. There are even separate blocks for Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, etc. This platform provides free text-based lessons and tutorials that help students with learning basic and advanced math concepts. 

Khan Academy vs MathHelp: Why is the Khan Academy alternative better?

Khan Academy vs Mathhelp: Comparative factors	Khan Academy	Mathhelp
Focus on	A variety of subjects: Math, Health and Medicine, Computing, Reading and Language arts, Science, etc.	Total focus on math (no distraction from other unnecessary topics if you are looking for only math resources)
Approach to learning	Independent study	Independent study
Interactivity	Videos and interactive exercises	Focus on theoretical materials
Price	Completely free of charge	Paid
Students’ age	All age groups	K-12, College

Mathhelp features:

• This site contains many resources that will definitely help your high schooler prepare for Standardized Tests (AccuPlacer, ALEKS, ASVAB, and more).
• There are short videos for all basic and advanced math concepts with explanations of the topics.
• When you purchase full access to one course, you can change courses for free. Changing courses is free of cost and has no limit.
• The student can print/export their performance data/their grades for the course they are using.

Price of one of the alternatives to Khan Academy – Mathhelp:

Get a one-year subscription for only $159.99 for a limited time with access for one student. Each additional student is only $50.

Khan Academy alternative #6: Kumon

Kumon is a popular after-school tutoring program that follows the Kumon Method (developed in the 1950s). The platform is designed for K-12 students and offers the development of both math and reading skills through a structured approach and drilling exercises. Kumon offers both in-person and online learning options, with some centers operating locally. This is one of the websites like Khan Academy for math, specifically.

Khan Academy vs Kumon: Comparison 

Other sites like Khan Academy: Comparative factors	Khan Academy	Kumon
Focus on	A variety of subjects: Math, Health and Medicine, Computing, Reading and Language Arts, Science, etc.	Math, Reading
Approach to learning	Independent study	On-site and online 1:1 sessions Self-learning focus + small-step worksheets
Certification	Not available	Available for both math and reading
Price	For free	On average, $165 (though, it can be much higher depending on the area of living)
Students’ age	All age groups	K-12

Let’s explore more of Kumon’s features. 👇

More Kumon’s features:

• Daily worksheets – children complete homework during the week: daily small-step worksheet assignments (typically 15–30 minutes/day per subject). It helps build healthy study habits. Kumon is generally similar to Khan Academy, but it differs in this regard. 
• Kumon’s program focuses on mastering basic skills like quick and accurate math calculations (a.k.a drilling exercises) before moving to the next levels. 
• The platform emphasizes self-learning (as most sites like Khan Academy) and places great importance on encouraging students to discover how to solve problems independently. 

Price of one of the other websites like Khan Academy  – Kumon:

According to Kumon’s official website, pricing plans start at about $165 per subject per month.  The Kumon cost per year can reach up to $1,800.

Khan Academy alternative #7: i-Ready

i-Ready is one of the sites similar to Khan Academy – it’s an online learning platform for students from pre-school to 12th grade. i-Ready services include diagnostic assessments with personalized online instruction to support student learning and progress tracking.

Khan Academy vs i-Ready: Comparison 

Websites like Khan Academy for kids: Comparative factors	Khan Academy	i-Ready
Focus on	A variety of subjects: Math, Health and Medicine, Computing, Reading and Language Arts, Science, etc.	Core academic subjects: primarily Math and Reading
Approach to learning	Independent study	Diagnostic assessments + personalized instruction
Certification	Not such available	Service available
Price	For free	School subscriptions; parent licenses start at $9/month or $89/year
Students’ age	All age groups	K-8

Here are some of the iReady core features. 👇

More i-Ready’s features:

• i-Ready, a website like Khan Academy, offers adaptive diagnostic assessments that help pinpoint a student’s exact learning level
• i-Ready tutoring involves utilizing diagnostic assessments with personalized online instruction to support students’ learning, unlike other websites like Khan Academy for elementary students.

Price of one of the Khan Academy similar websites  – i-Ready:

i-Ready Personalized Instruction is primarily offered to schools and districts; Individual licenses cost $34.25 per student per subject.

Reviews on websites like Khan Academy for math learning

• Brighterly reviews on Trustpilot
• Coursera reviews on Trustpilot
• IXL reviews on Trustpilot
• Time4Learning reviews on Trustpilot
• Mathhelp reviews on Trustpilot
• Kumon reviews on Trustpilot
• i-Ready reviews on Trustpilot

Let’s examine some of the reviews of Khan Academy alternatives on Reddit and Trustpilot.

Khan Academy alternative #1: Brighterly on Trustpilot

• “The lessons are fun and engaging while also being very educational.”
• “The teacher made the effort to put my son at ease for the first lesson, which really helped his anxiety level about the subject.”
• “Our experience with Brighterly has been good. It’s easy to schedule classes & teacher we got is very polite & sincere.”
• “The online tools used during class are kids friendly & helpful.”
• “I would recommend to others as this is one-on-one with a live tutor.”

What do users of the educational platform not like?

• “It’s a bit pricey but it’s well worth it.”

Khan Academy alternative #2: Coursera on Trustpilot

• “I think Coursera programs are simple but really enjoyable and educational.”
• “When you complete your course, you will also be given a Certificate of achievement.”
• “Great free courses. I joined some free courses and had what I needed.”
• “Great app and great free courses! Thank you for this product!”

What do users of the educational platform not like?

• “I gave it 4 stars because you can’t choose a course, pay the money, and enroll immediately. You will need to apply and then be admitted to the specific program, which is kinda frustrating.”
• “If you want the certificate, you need to pay more, if you need the best courses – you pay more. I can say it is expensive, but not bad for the start.”

Khan Academy alternative #3: IXL on Trustpilot

• “Myself and my children absolutely love it. That’s my 4-year-old, 11-year-old and 12-year-old. It’s straightforward to understand and use. Been using it for around 7 months now and it’s improved their confidence in themselves and their abilities in English and math.”
• “Sends weekly progress updates/reviews to our emails”
• “So comprehensive, incredibly detailed results-based progression and such good value for money.”

What do users of the educational platform not like?

• “The kickback or reduction in points for wrong answers is too harsh and quite counterproductive.”

Khan Academy alternative #4: Time4learning on Trustpilot

• “My autistic son is very happy doing your activities. We no longer have to ask him to do his school work instead he is always doing his “time4learning”
• “I would recommend T4L to everyone who would like to homeschool their child. My son scored high on both the college placement test as well as the military placement test (ASVAB).”
• “I especially appreciate the activity planner because it allows me to schedule their assignments for the day, week, month, and year.”
• “The way they do math step-by-step my granddaughter is understanding things that she didn’t get in the last couple of years.”

What do users of the educational platform not like?

• “When you get to 5th grade Time4Learning incorporates Edgunity into their curriculum and Edgunity is the 2nd worst rated online curriculum at 1.6 stars and drives students crazy across the nation.”
• “Program is great! The records get deleted way too quickly. Even so-called archives get deleted!”

Khan Academy alternative #5: Mathhelp on Trustpilot

• “The learning modules were very user-friendly!”
• “I passed my ALEKS placement exam the first time around with the score I needed to place into STAT 1040 for my degree!”
• “I really appreciated the use of the resource and would recommend it to anyone who needs a refresher in basic math skills.”

What do users of the educational platform not like?

• “When you get a question wrong, you can bet on it not telling you anything about the right way to solve the question, because apparently that was too much to ask from a study tool.“

Khan Academy alternative #6: Kumon on Trustpilot

• “Very helpful. Give you lots of practice to learn maths skills.”
• “The help and support both my kids have received have shown them how hard work pays off. They are both excelling in maths, and my 13-year-old has just started English on his own accord.”

What do users of Kumon not like?

• “We found that the teachers didn’t have a personalized approach to children, very much get in and get out.”
• “Poor evaluation of how well a student is doing based on the ability to complete task in a set period of time and not taking into account if the student or children are actually able to complete the work given to them.”

Khan Academy alternative #7: i-Ready on Trustpilot

i-Ready has no positive reviews on Trustpilot, with an average rating of 1.5.

What do users of i-Ready not like?

• “I-Ready is just a learning tool that a lot of schools use, but it basically sucks. long unnecessary explanations, slow learning process and can’t even run on Chromebooks! It lags horribly.”
• “i-Ready is not a good math learning tool. You don’t really learn anything, it provides no calculator, doesn’t bother to make things simpler, and in recent times it doesn’t even allow you to name the cupcakes in that one Learning Game!”

The best Khan Academy competitors: Conclusion 

If you’re wondering, “What is better than Khan Academy?”, and googling for “Khan Academy alternative free”, here’s my ranking:

Brighterly, Coursera, IXL, Time4Learning, and MathHelp are the best alternatives to Khan Academy. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, but among users, Brighterly received the highest rating, which is 4.7.

If it’s essential for your child to master basic or advanced math concepts, and you’re looking for resources, a math tutor, and a learning platform to organize everything, then book your first free demo lesson at Brighterly.

Related articles

Want to explore more comparison articles? Here are a couple of useful Khan Academy benchmarking articles. 👇

• What is better: IXL vs Khan Academy vs Brighterly?
• Kumon vs Khan Academy: Comparison 2025
• Khan Academy reviews 2025