Khan Academy vs Brilliant
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
Khan Academy is the better app overall, scoring 9.2 to 8.6. Khan Academy wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Brilliant on 2.
Students, parents and adults who want free, structured school-level lessons
Curious adults and teens who want to understand math and science by solving problems
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Khan Academy | Brilliant |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Learning | Learning |
| Category rank | #1 of 8 | #4 of 8 |
| Developer | Khan Academy | Brilliant.org |
| Pricing | Free | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
Strengths and weaknesses
Khan Academy
- Core lessons and practice are free, with no ads
- Practice adapts to what you have and haven't mastered
- Excellent for school math, from basics to calculus
- School-style format can drag for adult learners
- Arts and humanities coverage is thinner than math and science
Khan Academy is the best free learning resource you can install. Clear videos and mastery-based practice cover math from arithmetic to calculus, plus science, economics, grammar and computing. It is run by a nonprofit, so there are no ads and no core lessons behind a paywall. The catch is a school-like format that can feel dry for adults. Get it for yourself or your kids.
Full Khan Academy review
Brilliant
- Learn-by-doing lessons build intuition, not rote memory
- Beautiful design makes hard topics approachable
- Lessons are short enough for a daily habit
- Free plan is capped at a couple of lessons a day
- No certificates and little help for school exams
Brilliant teaches math, science, data and coding by making you solve things, not watch things. Each lesson is a short run of interactive puzzles that build real intuition, and the design is excellent. The free plan caps you at a couple of lessons a day with ads, so Premium is where it makes sense. Get it if you learn by doing. Skip it if you need exam prep or credentials.
Full Brilliant review
