On this page
- Why do families look for IXL alternatives?
- Which IXL alternatives are worth considering?
- Khan Academy: the free alternative
- Zearn: free lessons with visual models
- Prodigy: for children bored by question sets
- Beast Academy Online: for advanced children
- Kumon: for routine and accountability
- Live tutoring: for a child who is stuck
- How do you choose?
- What to do next
Short answer
The best IXL alternative depends on why IXL is not working. For free practice, try Khan Academy or Zearn. For a child bored by question sets, Prodigy's game is free for math, with optional memberships. For an advanced child, Beast Academy Online starts at $100 a year. For routine and accountability, Kumon adds an instructor. If your child is stuck rather than unmotivated, a live one-to-one tutor, such as TaleemSquare from $85 a month, can teach the missing skills.
Key takeaways
- Match the alternative to the problem: cost, boredom, challenge, routine or understanding.
- Khan Academy and Zearn are free; Prodigy's math game is free with paid extras.
- Beast Academy Online suits advanced children aged about 6 to 13, from $100 a year.
- A child who is stuck needs teaching, not a different practice app.
An alternative to consider: TaleemSquare
- Format
- Live one-to-one math lessons online
- Price
- From $85 a month for 2 classes a week (about $10.63 a class)
- Fees and contract
- No registration fee, no contract, cancel any month
- First step
- Free 45-minute assessment, then a 4-class money-back promise
How we wrote this
TaleemSquare offers live one-to-one tutoring, so we compete with some options on this list, and we include ourselves where we fit. Prices come from each provider's own page or the sources listed at the end, checked in October 2026.
IXL is popular because it is cheap, broad and closely tied to school topics: $9.95 to $19.95 a month for a US family, with practice from pre-K math to calculus. But families leave it for predictable reasons. Some children find endless question sets boring. Some guess their way through. Some need more challenge. And some are stuck in a way more practice cannot fix.
The right alternative depends on which of those is true for your child.
Why do families look for IXL alternatives?
The common reasons are:
- Boredom. Question after question feels like homework, and motivation fades.
- Guessing. A child who does not understand clicks until the SmartScore stops dropping.
- Too easy or too narrow. Strong students want harder, more creative problems.
- No accountability. Nobody outside the family checks the work.
- Real gaps. The child is stuck, and practice alone does not explain why.
Which IXL alternatives are worth considering?
| Option | Format | Price | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Khan Academy | Videos and practice | Free | Cost is the issue and your child is self-motivated |
| Zearn | Video lessons and visual practice, K to 8 | Free | You want lessons, not just questions |
| Prodigy | Math game, grades 1 to 8 | Free; memberships from $58.95 a year | Your child is bored by question sets |
| Beast Academy Online | Challenging lessons and puzzles, ages 6 to 13 | From $100 a year | Your child is advanced and wants a challenge |
| Kumon | Worksheets with center visits | About $150 to $200 per subject a month | Routine and accountability are missing |
| TaleemSquare | Live one-to-one tutoring | From $85 a month | Your child is stuck and needs teaching |
Khan Academy: the free alternative
Khan Academy is a nonprofit, and its lessons and practice are free. It covers math by grade and course, with videos that explain each skill before the practice. It works best for children who will log in on their own or with a parent setting a daily goal. Read Kumon vs Khan Academy to see how it compares with a paid program.
Zearn: free lessons with visual models
Zearn is a nonprofit K to 8 math platform that teaches through pictures, visual models and real-life examples, and it is free for families. Unlike IXL, each topic starts with a short lesson, so it suits children who need to see why a method works before they practice it.
Prodigy: for children bored by question sets
Prodigy wraps math practice in a fantasy game for grades 1 to 8. Its math and English content are free; paid memberships, from $58.95 a year or more on monthly billing, add extras such as more game items, science content and progress goals for parents. It can win back a reluctant child, but watch that the game is not taking more time than the math.
Beast Academy Online: for advanced children
Beast Academy, from Art of Problem Solving, is a challenging elementary curriculum for children aged about 6 to 13, with comic-style lessons and harder problems. Online access starts at $100 a year. It suits children who find school math easy and enjoy puzzles. It is not designed for catching up.
Kumon: for routine and accountability
Kumon replaces self-directed clicking with daily worksheets and twice-weekly center visits, where an instructor checks the work. It costs much more, about $150 to $200 per subject a month in the US. See IXL vs Kumon for a full comparison.
Live tutoring: for a child who is stuck
If your child keeps getting the same skills wrong, the problem is understanding, and no practice app will fix it. A live one-to-one tutor can find the gap, explain it in different ways and check understanding as they go. TaleemSquare offers 45-minute online math tutoring lessons from $85 a month for two a week, after a free assessment. Families in the UK can see prices in pounds on our online maths tutoring UK page.
How do you choose?
- Name the problem. Cost, boredom, challenge, routine or understanding.
- Try free first if the problem is cost or boredom.
- Pay for structure only if your child needs someone outside the family to check work.
- Choose teaching if your child is stuck on the same skills for weeks.
Before you cancel IXL, see how to cancel IXL, including its 30-day refund window.
What to do next
- Use IXL's diagnostic or our free math test to see where your child stands.
- Pick one alternative and give it a month with a daily routine.
- If your child needs teaching, book a free 45-minute math assessment with TaleemSquare.
Sources
- 1.IXL, Family membership pricing US prices, subjects and grade ranges. Checked Oct 2026.
- 2.Khan Academy blog, Did you know Khan Academy is a nonprofit? Nonprofit status and free access. Checked Oct 2026.
- 3.Prodigy, Math memberships Free math and English content, membership tiers and prices, automatic renewal. Checked Oct 2026.
- 4.Beast Academy Online Ages 6 to 13, levels and starting price. Checked Oct 2026.
- 5.Zearn Math Free K to 8 math platform from a nonprofit. Checked Oct 2026.
- 6.Tutors.com, How much does Kumon cost? Reported US Kumon price range.
Written and fact-checked by the TaleemSquare Editorial Team
We research every figure against the provider's own pages or independent sources, list them above, and update posts when prices or policies change. See our editorial process and teaching method.
