Khan Academy (Free; Khanmigo $4/mo) review 2027

What problem does Khan Academy solve, and who is it for?

Khan Academy teaches the thing the homework is testing, which is why teachers graded it highest and why it is first. It will not do your problem set; that is the point. That single sentence is the whole product: free video lessons and practice from arithmetic to AP calculus, with an AI tutor that refuses to just give the answer. It is still right for every student, first.

The benefits follow from that stance. Teachers graded its explanations highest for calculus and chemistry. Khanmigo guides through the steps instead of handing over the answer. It is free, nonprofit, no ads, and it pairs mastery practice with instant feedback. If what you want is a finished answer to copy, this is the wrong tool. If what you want is to be able to do the next problem yourself, it is the one to open first.

How did it score 8.8?

We scored Khan Academy across five criteria, each with its own maximum.

• Answer quality — 27 of 30. Correctness and explanation of our 30 test questions, graded blind by two teachers.
• Coverage — 15 of 20. Subjects, textbook editions, grade levels and how often our questions already had an answer.
• Study tools — 16 of 20. Flashcards, practice tests, step-by-step solvers, writing feedback, tutoring access.
• Learning & integrity — 10 of 10. Whether the tool teaches the method rather than hands over the answer, and its honour-code policies.
• Value — 20 of 20. Monthly price and what the free tier gives.

The pattern is clear: it loses points on coverage and study tools, and gives nothing away on integrity or value.

What does it do better than anything else we tested?

Two things stand out. First, the teaching. Our teacher grade came in at 92/100, the highest in the test, and the blind graders singled out calculus and chemistry explanations. Second, the price of entry: the free tier gives everything, and Khanmigo is $4/mo on top. Mastery practice with instant feedback means you find out you are wrong while it still matters, and Khanmigo guides through the steps instead of handing over the answer.

How does the technology work?

Khanmigo is a Socratic AI tutor. Socratic means it asks questions rather than supplying answers: when you are stuck, it prompts you toward the next step and lets you take it. That is a deliberate design choice, not a limitation of the model, and it is why the tool scores full marks for learning and integrity. The rest of the platform is built the same way — video lessons, then practice, then feedback, with the AI sitting alongside the practice rather than replacing it.

What do you actually get?

The spec sheet is short and honest. Price: free, with Khanmigo at $4/mo. Free tier: yes. Levels: K–12, early college, SAT/MCAT/LSAT. Subjects: math, science, economics, humanities, computing. Live tutors: no, it is an AI tutor. Textbook solutions: no. AI assistant: Khanmigo, Socratic — guides, does not answer. Apps: iOS, Android, web.

How does it compare with the rivals we tested?

Quizlet (8.2, $7.99) is the flashcard app everyone already uses, with Learn mode, practice tests and 500 million study sets, plus AI that turns notes into cards. It has a free tier with ads, covers all levels and subjects through user-made sets, and includes textbook solutions on Plus. Khan Academy is ahead on answer quality and integrity, behind on textbook solutions and breadth of ready-made sets.

Chegg Study (7.9, $15.95) offers step-by-step solutions for 9,000+ textbooks and expert answers to your own questions — the most complete answers in our test, and the ones to use carefully. It covers high school and college across STEM, business and humanities, with an AI assistant backed by expert verification. Khan Academy is ahead on teaching method and price, behind on textbook coverage.

Photomath (7.7, free, Plus $9.99/mo) is the best step-by-step math explainer we tested, owned by Google since 2023, covering arithmetic to calculus. It is math only, with no live tutors and textbook solutions on Plus. Khan Academy is ahead on subject range and integrity, behind on camera-first math solving.

Wyzant (8.0, from about $35/hr) is one-to-one tutoring in 300+ subjects, the only service where our essay questions got real feedback. It has no free tier and no AI assistant. Khan Academy is ahead on price and self-study, behind on human feedback for essays.

Course Hero (7.1, $9.95) is a library of student-uploaded course notes and study guides plus textbook solutions and AI, broad, uneven, and cheap on the annual plan. It is college-level with a limited free tier. Khan Academy is ahead on levels and teaching quality, behind on uploaded course material.

Where does it fall short?

Coverage is the real loss: no textbook-specific solutions, and humanities and essay help is thin. None of that is hidden — it is the trade for a tool that will not simply do the work for you.

Is it worth the price?

Free, with Khanmigo at $4/mo, and a full free tier. Nothing in the test beats that on value, which is why it took all 20 points there.

Who should buy it?

Every student, first. If you want the method taught rather than the answer handed over, start here and add a textbook-solution service only if your course requires one.