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IXL vs Khan Academy vs Brighterly: Which one is better? (2025)

In the chase for math mastery, parents commonly wonder which platform is better: IXL vs Khan Academy. Or is it worth seeking some tailored alternatives like Brighterly to opt for more guided learning?

In this review, I’ll try to solve the dilemma and provide tips for choosing IXL vs Khan Academy or Brighterly.

In the chase for math mastery, parents commonly wonder which platform is better: IXL vs Khan Academy. Or is it worth seeking some tailored alternatives like Brighterly to opt for more guided learning?

In this review, I’ll try to solve the dilemma and provide tips for choosing IXL vs Khan Academy or Brighterly.

Key Points

• Brighterly provides tailored teaching with expert math tutors, tracking your kid’s progress and adjusting to their needs. It’s perfect for anyone!
• IXL is a subscription-based program containing step-by-step video lessons and built-in tests that allow kids to advance.
• Khan Academy is a free, open-source channel with varied materials and math tasks. It’s ideal as an extra study resource.

IXL vs Khan Academy vs Brighterly: Comparison

The main difference between IXL and Khan Academy and Brighterly is the platform format: IXL is subscription-based, Khan Academy is an open-source site, and Brighterly is a tutoring platform where you pay based on the number of pre-planned lessons.

But let me discuss the oppositions in more detail:

• Brighterly provides tailored teaching with expert math tutors, tracking your kid’s progress and adjusting to their needs. It’s perfect for anyone!
• IXL is a subscription-based program containing step-by-step video lessons and built-in tests that allow kids to advance.
• Khan Academy is a free, open-source channel with varied materials and math tasks. It’s ideal as an extra study resource.

IXL vs Khan Academy vs Brighterly: Comparison

The main difference between IXL and Khan Academy and Brighterly is the platform format: IXL is subscription-based, Khan Academy is an open-source site, and Brighterly is a tutoring platform where you pay based on the number of pre-planned lessons.

But let me discuss the oppositions in more detail:

	Brighterly	IXL	Khan Academy
Cost	Starting from $161 per month for two lessons/week	From $9.95 per month	All resources are free
K-12 Curriculum	✅	✅	✅
Aligned with Common Core	✅	✅	✅
Method of Learning	Personalized learning with a tutor	Pre-recorded lessons	Textual and video materials and tests
Subjects on Offer	Math-focused	Math, language studies, science, social studies	A huge variety
Personalized Approach	✅	✅	❌
Current Knowledge Diagnostics	✅	✅	❌
Progress Tracking	✅	✅	✅
Free Trial	Yes — a free demo lesson is available	Free trial for 30 days. You won’t spot a difference between IXL free vs paid versions.	All resources are completely free here
Trustpilot Ratings	4.7	1.7	3.4

As you can see, Brighterly has some distinct benefits for math learners, such as its student-focused approach, concentration on a single subject, and top user rating. 

What is a Brighterly math tutoring platform?

Brighterly is a math-specific tutoring platform centered around a personalized approach and tailored, tested learning for children in grades 1-8. The learning process here is guided by experienced Brighterly math tutors who carefully analyze and react to your kid’s style, priorities, and needs and are ready to change the approach and program accordingly.

What makes Brighterly stand out compared to IXL or Khan Academy?

Brighterly is a better choice than Khan Academy vs IXL because it teaches math in a highly personalized environment with a specific focus on what your child needs. On top of it, it features constant tracking of kids’ learning progress and feedback from tutors — an opportunity you won’t find at other competitors.

However, that’s the core. Brighterly has many other advantages.

Brighterly features

These are the Brighterly features that make it stand out compared to other similar websites:

1. Sophisticated process for selecting the top math tutors
2. 1:1 math tuition with a focus on your kid’s needs
3. A vast knowledge base with free resources

1. Sophisticated process for selecting the top math tutors

Just for your information: to become Brighterly teachers, people should undergo a stringent hiring process, so there are no random people here. On top of that, the platform conducts regular training for its staff to guarantee the highest performance and sufficiency in hard and soft skills. But here’s what it means for your kid.

First, they will work with the specific tutor who proves to be the best fit during the initial evaluation. Brighterly pays close attention to creating perfect student-teacher combos; excellent parent reviews showcase their success in this area. Now, back to the IXL vs Brighterly vs Khan Academy opposition — Brighterly is the only platform of the three to include a certified mentor in the process.

Besides, the tutor takes enough time to analyze specific cases of each student and define the cause of math-related issues. For example, the story of when the teacher helped with a new class adaptation and overcoming math fear is a real fact. If we transition this to IXL vs Brighterly, we’ll see that the former only lists a sequence of tests without a full situation analysis and understanding of the emotional component behind it.

Finally, Brighterly math tutors are also known for their pride in their work and approach. And as always, motivated teachers mean half of success.

2. 1:1 math tuition with a focus on your kid’s needs

Gamification is the secret element of Brighterly’s learning potion that helps kids excel. However, how tutors use this approach is equally important. Here’s what you should know:

• All lessons are conducted in a 1:1 format, meaning that all attention is devoted only to your kid to create a stress-free atmosphere.
• After signing up, your child will be asked to complete a math test. Based on the results, a tutor will then develop a specific Brighterly math program. But a sweet part comes: they keep adjusting and altering it as the kid’s needs or preferences change. It’s a never-ending process, so to speak.
• All Brighterly study plans are STEM-focused, putting the practical application of the acquired knowledge as the core component.
• The program here aligns with the Common Core criteria and also fits perfectly for proper exam prep like that for the SAT.

3. A vast knowledge base with free resources

Brighterly is a rare find among paid learning resources, as it provides lots of worksheets and practical tasks for free! Here’s what is included:

• Free Brighterly math worksheets — handy and colorful collections of tasks for anyone from kindergarteners to 8th graders. They cover practically any topic and come in a convenient printable format with answers — just what the doctor prescribed for home self-learn. 
• Brighterly math practice tests — these are usually included at the end of Brighterly theoretical sections. Here’s an example:

The specific task above verifies kids’ proficiency in geometry. Broadly speaking, these tests are self-checks on whether children need further learning. Just ask them to click on the answer, and they will immediately see the right one highlighted.

Brighterly Math tutoring platform benefits: according to user’s reviews

According to the user reviews, Brighterly poses some clear benefits:

• Expert teachers
• Boosted progress
• Reasonable price

Expert teachers

Brighterly math tutors are most complimented on resources like Trustpilot. It’s what Altan Khendup mentioned about one of them, “The Brighterly teacher, Ms. Naqsh, has been OUTSTANDING! She engages and adapts and educates in such a wonderful manner with our son, and it shows in how he addresses homework and problems.”

Now, take this one from Carlo B. from Canada: “Teacher Camille is wonderful with my daughter. She makes math fun and engaging in a way that keeps my daughter eagerly working and learning for a 45-minute session.”

Boosted progress

Brighterly math tutoring platform aims to help kids progress in the subject, which is the point it manages perfectly. Danilo Campos Santos says, “My son went on to get an A+ thanks to the teacher in this program.”

The secret? Kannan reveals it in his comment: “My nine-year-old loves the bi-weekly classes so much that he is insisting on having three-week sessions. It is tailored to the child’s level, which makes it so worth it. This keeps them curious and engaged.”

Reasonable price

Prices at Brighterly are both flexible and reasonable, so it’s no surprise that Trustpilot contains numeric mentions of this. Here’s one good comment from Stein: “I highly recommend them, I bought a package and got a good price.”

Brighterly cost

Brighterly Math tutoring platform pricing is flexible and can fit any budget. To adjust, you can book one to three lessons per week (the more you choose, the better price conditions you get). You can also pre-book lessons for 1 month, 3, 6, or 12 months with the ability to pause your subscription anytime. These are the plans to choose from:

1. 1 month plan — $124 for 1 lesson/week, $211 for 2 lessons/week, $298 for 3 lessons/week
2. 3 months plan — $118/month for 1 lesson/week, $198/month for 2 lessons/week, $279/month for 3 lessons/week
3. 6 months plan — $112/month for 1 lesson/week, $186/month for 2 lessons/week, $268/month for 3 lessons/week
4. 12 months plan — $105/month for 1 lesson/week, $161/month for 2 lessons/week, $234/month for 3 lessons/week

With all of the above plans (excluding the subscription for one month), you’ll get the following benefits:

• Progress reports
• 24/7 support
• Lesson recording
• Ability to save unused lessons on your balance.

IXL features

Best for: practicing and reviewing past topics.

These are the features of the IXL platform:

• IXL’s studying process occurs through a series of pre-recorded lessons. Regular knowledge checks allow for adjusting the program depending on how well a child progresses.
• It strongly emphasizes the opportunity to improve knowledge in several subjects simultaneously.
• The lessons mainly contain reading sections (the read-aloud feature is available) and some interactive tasks. This approach may seem somewhat restrictive, forcing learners to look for programs similar to IXL.
• A learning plan is created through on-site diagnostics, highlighting any problem knowledge gaps and growth points and allowing analyzing them through a convenient dashboard.

IXL pros and cons: according to user’s reviews

Based on the IXL reviews, you can expect these pros and cons on the platform.

Benefits of IXL for math learning	What is the disadvantage of IXL?
✅ Assessment of the current knowledge level ✅ Tailored recommendations that help to advance in the subject ✅ Real-time progress reports that allow you to understand your child’s performance	❌ Repetitive practice and memorization instead of understanding ❌ A one-size-fit-all solution, which is a bad choice for individualized learning ❌ Lack of tailored feedback, so it will hardly suit low-performance students

How much is an IXL subscription?

The IXL cost will first seem more affordable than that at Brighterly. However, we must highlight this: Brighterly’s price tag is justified by the human element it implements. At the same time, IXL works as a collection of automated tasks without proper feedback. IXL subscription cost is perfect for those who are on the budget, though:

• Single subject plan is worth $9.95/month for math learners only.
• The combo package is worth $15.95/month, which allows one to study both math and language arts.
• Cure subjects plan is worth $19.95/month and fits those who want to start learning all of these: math, language arts, science, and social studies.

Is Khan Academy better than IXL?

Everything depends on the learning style. The former best suits visual learners, while the latter caters to auditory learners. So, should you choose IXL or Khan Academy? The answer: listen to your kid’s needs.

But wait — there are some peculiarities that learners adore at Khan Academy.

Khan Academy features

Best for: those seeking extra practice, not the all-in-one learning resource.

The common question parents ask is “Is Khan Academy good?”. Indeed, it is for some learners and purposes! Let’s get a deeper look into the platform’s features:

• All resources here are free, which is a huge plus. However, the site can hardly be used as a solo learning resource, as it doesn’t provide relevant feedback. Still, it’s good as a supplementary.
• Khan Academy teaches kids through videos, often containing voice layovers for better memorization.
• The website is suitable for learning numeric subjects, including math, of course, science, computing, life skills, economics, arts, and much more. It breaks information into manageable chunks, allowing kids to advance steadily through topics.
• Khan Academy doesn’t have a diagnostic test, so your child should have specific topics in mind that need improvement. Nevertheless, the resource offers management tools like goal setting and custom assignments. Still, in the Khan Academy vs Brighterly opposition, the latter is an undisputable winner in terms of personalization.

Advantages and disadvantages of Khan Academy

Sure, Khan Academy membership has its pros and cons. Here are the things to know beforehand.

Main benefits of Khan Academy	What are the disadvantages of Khan Academy?
✅ Covers a massive number of subjects and so will eventually suit practically anyone ✅ Completely free in use ✅ Provides well-organized and structured lessons, which makes learning easier	❌ Sometimes, lessons are featured in the text format only ❌ Won’t suit you as a finished learning resource ❌ No personalized feedback provided, which is a stressful point

Khan Academy pricing

Khan Academy is free on desktop, tablet, and iOS/Android apps. Learn without boundaries — possible at Khan!

Conclusion: which is better — Brighterly, IXL or Khan Academy?

So, which one should you select: IXL vs Brighterly vs Khan Academy? Obviously, your final choice should depend on your needs and budget. But let us give you some clues:

• If you care about the cheapest cost, try IXL or Khan Academy.
• If you want a supplementary after-school resource for your kid’s math learning, opt for the IXL Khan Academy combo.
• But if you want your kid to study with a customized program that accounts for all their needs and contains detailed teacher feedback, the best choice is the Brighterly Math tutoring platform. 

Want to see how things work here? Book your free demo lesson today and test all the pros!

Comparing other platforms

Looking for some other math learning opportunities? Good news! I have some other in-depth reviews to help with your search. Please find them below:

• Top 5 Khan Academy Alternatives
• Best Online Learning Platforms
• Varsity Tutors vs Brighterly
• 10 Best Online Tutoring Platforms