Best Apps for Homeschooling

What separates the best homeschool apps?

Score and price tell you most of it. Khan Academy Kids sits at 9.1 and costs nothing, with no ads and no in-app purchases. Khan Academy scores 8.7, also free, and runs from kindergarten to calculus. Reading Eggs also scores 8.7 at $12.99 a month, or $89.99 a year. IXL is 8.4 at $9.95. Education.com is 7.6 at $15.99.

The split is teaching versus practice. Khan Academy Kids and Khan Academy teach, then check. IXL is practice questions, not teaching, so a child who does not understand a topic needs help elsewhere. Reading Eggs sits in the middle: structured phonics with a placement test, plus a library of 3,000+ e-books levelled to the child.

Age range matters too. Khan Academy Kids stops at second grade. Khan Academy goes to AP and SAT. IXL covers every K–12 subject, mapped to each US state's standards by grade. Education.com covers Pre-K to 8th grade with 37,000 printable worksheets.

What should you check before buying?

Look at how each app scores on learning, engagement, parent tools, safety and ads, and value. Then match that to your child.

• Engagement: IXL was the least fun app in the test; the 10-year-old needed prompting. Khan Academy is not designed to be fun either, and younger kids need a parent alongside.
• Parent tools: IXL reports show exactly which standard needs work. Khan Academy Kids parent reports are simpler than IXL's.
• Safety and ads: Khan Academy Kids and Khan Academy are free, nonprofit and ad-free.
• Value: Reading Eggs has the longest free trial here at 30 days. Education.com's free tier gives a few downloads a month.
• Subject gaps: Khan Academy's reading and writing coverage is thinner than math. Reading Eggs reward games can take over a session if unmanaged.

Khan Academy Kids

For ages 2–8 who need a free, ad-free start. Our 6-year-old chose it unprompted on 11 of 14 days.

Khan Academy

For older students through AP and SAT who want video lessons then mastery practice.

Reading Eggs

For a child learning to read. It took our 6-year-old from sounding out to reading short books in two weeks.

IXL

For a parent who wants standards-aligned practice and detailed reports. Our 10-year-old moved up two grade levels in fractions.

Education.com

For a family that prints. It is a resource library more than an app the child uses alone, and the premium price is high for a family that only prints.

Khan Academy Kids suits ages 2–8 who need a free, ad-free start, while Khan Academy carries older students through AP and SAT. Reading Eggs fits a child learning to read, and IXL fits a parent who wants standards-aligned practice with detailed reports. Education.com is for families who print worksheets.