--- type: "Article" title: "6 Best Bond 11+ Alternatives for 2026" description: "Bond 11+ is the cheap, trusted name, but its platform feels dated and real adaptivity costs extra. Here are 6 honest alternatives compared with June 2026 prices: CGP, Pip, Atom, BOFA, Exam Papers Plus and PiAcademy." resource: https://pip11plus.com/bond-alternatives tags: ["comparisons", "pip"] timestamp: 2026-10-13T19:50:09Z image: https://pip11plus.com/info-hub-cards/comparison-books-pip.jpg --- 🆚 Compare · prices checked June 2026 # The 6 best Bond 11+ alternatives ![Pip](https://pip11plus.com/media/pip-mark.png) **By the Pip team** Updated June 2026 **TL;DR** - Parents look past Bond for three reasons: a dated platform, adaptivity paywalled behind the CENTURY tiers (from **£20.66 a month**), and thin reviews (**2.2/5** from 11 on Trustpilot). - **Closest cheaper swap:** CGP, the same books-plus-online idea with a better free tier, around **£60 a year**. - **Best free and most modern:** Pip, unlimited adaptive daily practice in a real app. - **Most adaptive:** Atom Learning, at **£383.90 to £671.90 a year**. BOFA is the much cheaper adaptive option. - **Best for exam-realistic papers:** Exam Papers Plus. Bond is the UK's longest-running 11+ name and its books are a genuine classic. But parents keep looking around for the same three reasons: the online platform feels dated, true adaptivity is paywalled behind the pricier CENTURY tiers, and the public reviews are thin. Here are the six strongest alternatives, compared honestly, prices checked this month. **Short on time? The quick verdict:** - **Closest cheaper swap:** CGP, same books-plus-online idea with a better free tier, around £60 a year. - **Best free and most modern:** Pip, unlimited adaptive daily practice in a real app, free, with Pro mocks at £69.99 a year. - **Most adaptive (and most expensive):** Atom Learning, £383.90 to £671.90 a year billed annually. [Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/pip-11-practice/id6775690698) [Get it on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pip11plus.app) [Available at Amazon Appstore](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HKGJ4HTP) [See why Pip is on this list ↓](#pip) Full transparency: Pip is our own app, and it appears in this list. Everything we say about every tool here, including ours, is factual, sourced and checked this month, and we tell you exactly who each alternative suits better than us. That is the only way a comparison like this is worth your time. ## What Bond is (and why parents look around) Bond is the UK's longest-running 11+ brand, published by Oxford University Press (see our [Atom Learning vs Bond comparison](https://pip11plus.com/atom-vs-bond-vs-pip)), and for many families the age-banded books (Up to Speed, Assessment Papers, Stretch) are still the backbone of a prep plan. Bond Online adds a digital question bank with instant marking and progress reports, and the Premium Plus tier is the only ISEB-endorsed practice platform. So why look elsewhere? Three reasons recur. The basic platform interface feels dated next to newer apps. True adaptivity is paywalled: the cheap £7.50-a-month tier is essentially a digital workbook, and to get AI-personalised pathways you jump to the CENTURY-powered Premium (£20.66 a month) or Premium Plus (£28.99 a month), which also blurs what you are actually buying. And the public review base is thin, 2.2 out of 5 from just 11 Trustpilot reviews, with recurring login and billing complaints. None of that makes Bond bad; it makes the alternatives below worth ten minutes. ## 1 CGP 11+ Online Best books-plus-online combo on a budget ![CGP 11+ Online website homepage](https://pip11plus.com/competitor-shots/cgp.jpg) _CGP 11+ Online_ - **Price** £7.50 a month or £60 a year (checked on CGP's page this month). Books £6.95 to £16.95, most with free Online Editions. - **Free** Genuinely useful free layer: free online 10-minute tests and free downloadable practice papers in all four subjects. - **Subjects & boards** All four subjects, GL-focused, with the famous book range behind it. - **Platform** Web (plus the books) - **Reviews** No product-specific Trustpilot; CGP's book reputation speaks for itself. - **Watch out** Not adaptive, and there is no mock-exam service or deep analytics - it is honest drilling, not a coach. CGP is the most natural like-for-like swap from Bond: the same trusted-books-plus-online model, a similarly low price, and a genuinely better free layer (free online 10-minute tests and free papers in all four subjects, no paywall). If what you liked about Bond was the structured, affordable, GL-style drilling, CGP gives you that with a fresher free tier and the famous book range behind it. It is not adaptive either, but as a cleaner, cheaper version of the same idea it is the obvious first stop. ## 2 Pip: 11+ PracticeOUR APP Best free tier, and the best value Pro ![Real Pip app screens: the Non-Verbal Reasoning skill list with the 3D Lab, a 3D nets-and-cubes question, and the Number codes game](https://pip11plus.com/app-shots/pip-app-trio.jpg) _Inside Pip: the Non-Verbal Reasoning skill tree with the 3D Lab (Pro), a 3D nets-and-cubes question, and the Number codes game._ - **Price** **Free** for unlimited daily practice. Pip Pro is £9.99 a month or £69.99 a year (about £5.83 a month) with a 7-day free trial. - **What free gets you** Unlimited adaptive questions across Maths, English, VR and NVR, five question formats, instant explanations, streaks and leagues, multiple child profiles, no ads, no sign-up, zero data collection. Plus the free printable papers, vocabulary flashcards and the grammar-school catchment checker on this site. - **What Pro adds** Full timed mock papers in all four subjects with instant marking, answer review and topic breakdowns, the Word Quest vocabulary booster, and 3D and spatial Non-Verbal Reasoning practice. - **Subjects & boards** All four 11+ subjects in the standard GL-style multiple-choice formats, generated fresh daily so children never memorise a fixed bank. - **Platform** iOS and Android (App Store and Google Play), plus free practice and printables in any browser. - **Honesty corner** Pip is newer than the big names, so it does not have years of Trustpilot history yet. That is the full list of caveats. Bond's most common complaint is its dated, web-only platform, and its true adaptivity sits behind the £20+ CENTURY tiers. Pip answers both for nothing: daily adaptive practice in all four subjects, free, in a real iOS and Android app built for the way children actually study, short bursts on a phone, no account, no ads, zero data collection. The Non-Verbal Reasoning is the part parents notice, every figure machine-verified to have one defensible answer, including 3D and spatial types. When you want exam rehearsal, Pro adds full timed mocks and the Word Quest vocabulary booster for £69.99 a year, less than a single hour of tutoring. If you are weighing live maths help against books and apps, our guide to [Synthesis Tutor alternatives](https://pip11plus.com/synthesis-tutor-alternatives) covers seven options priced for UK families. [Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/pip-11-practice/id6775690698) [Get it on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pip11plus.app) [Available at Amazon Appstore](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HKGJ4HTP) [Or start with a free printable paper →](https://pip11plus.com/11-plus-non-verbal-reasoning-papers) ## 3 Atom Learning Best for data-heavy, plan-everything prep ![Atom Learning website homepage](https://pip11plus.com/competitor-shots/atom-learning.jpg) _Atom Learning_ - **Price** Exam Prep £59.99 a month; mock tests need Exam Prep Plus at £69.99 a month (£671.90 a year on annual billing, which saves 20%). - **Free** 5-day full-access trial, no card needed. Free for Pupil Premium children, which deserves real credit. - **Subjects & boards** English, Maths, Science, VR, NVR; GL, Cambridge-style, ISEB, CSSE, CAT4 and consortium formats. 90,000+ questions. - **Platform** Web only - no iOS or Android app. - **Reviews** Trustpilot around 4.4/5 from 1,300+ reviews. Praise for support and results; recurring complaints about price and cancellation friction. - **Watch out** It is the most expensive mainstream option by far, and some parents report the real exam felt harder than Atom's questions. If the thing you actually wanted from Bond's Premium tiers was real adaptivity, Atom does it more completely: a 90,000+ question bank, weekly plans mapped to your target schools, and mock tests on the top tier. It costs far more (£383.90 to £671.90 a year billed annually) and is web-only, so go in clear-eyed, but for data-hungry households it is the most complete adaptive engine in the category. 🆓 TRY THIS TODAY ### Reasoning practice that feels like a game This is the Number codes game, one of dozens of skills inside Pip: crack which digit stands for which letter, then earn XP for speed. Word Quest does the same for vocabulary, the biggest single lever in verbal reasoning, and the 3D Lab (Pro) lets children spin real solids with a finger. Start with the free flashcards on this site, then let the app take over the daily reps. [Free Year 5 flashcards](https://pip11plus.com/11-plus-vocabulary-year-5) [All free tools](https://pip11plus.com/tools) ![The Number codes game in the Pip app: match jumbled number codes to the words TARS, ARTS, RATS and STAR](https://pip11plus.com/app-shots/pip-app-codes.jpg) ## 4 BOFA 11+ Best low-cost adaptive testing loop ![BOFA 11+ website homepage](https://pip11plus.com/competitor-shots/bofa.jpg) _BOFA 11+_ - **Price** £9.50 a month rolling, or fixed terms: £40 for 6 months (+1 free) and £70 for 12 months (+3 free). - **Free** 7-day full-access trial plus demo tests without payment details. - **Subjects & boards** English, Maths, VR, NVR for ages 7 to 11; board-agnostic with GL and CEM-style coverage. - **Platform** Web only - **Reviews** No meaningful Trustpilot footprint; long-standing quiet reputation on parent forums. - **Watch out** The interface is plain and there is little gamification, so self-motivated children get the most from it. BOFA gives you Bond's adaptivity without Bond's CENTURY price tag: its test-teach-retest loop redrills every wrong answer until it sticks, for £70 across 15 months. The interface is plain and there is no gamification, but as cheap, genuine spaced-repetition practice it quietly outperforms a basic Bond Online subscription. ## 5 Exam Papers Plus (+ Pretest Plus) Best school-specific practice papers ![Exam Papers Plus (+ Pretest Plus) website homepage](https://pip11plus.com/competitor-shots/exam-papers-plus.jpg) _Exam Papers Plus (+ Pretest Plus)_ - **Price** Pay per pack: typical 11+ packs £20 to £30 with 2-year access; school and region bundles run to £85+ (Kent) and beyond. Sister site Pretest Plus sells ISEB, CAT4 and Cambridge Select online tests in bundles (the 15-test ISEB bundle saves £257). - **Free** Sample content only. - **Subjects & boards** GL, CEM-style, ISEB, CSSE and named-school packs, with video solutions on many products. - **Platform** Downloadable PDFs + online tests via Pretest Plus - **Reviews** Trustpilot 4.9/5 from about 1,560 reviews - the strongest score in the category. - **Watch out** Costs stack up quickly across packs, and PDFs are not adaptive; this is rehearsal material, not daily practice. When prep shifts from daily practice to dress rehearsal, Exam Papers Plus is the specialist Bond never quite becomes: school-specific and region-specific papers with video solutions and a 4.9/5 Trustpilot from about 1,560 reviews. Pair it with a cheaper daily tool and you get the best of both, steady practice plus realistic, marked-style rehearsal. ## 6 PiAcademy Best worked solutions per pound ![PiAcademy website homepage](https://pip11plus.com/competitor-shots/piacademy.jpg) _PiAcademy_ - **Price** One-off 12-month packs rather than subscriptions, e.g. the 11+ SPaG and vocabulary pack at £59; marketing quotes pennies per paper. - **Free** A large free hub of past papers with answers. - **Subjects & boards** Board-agnostic paper library: 230+ 11+ maths papers and 100+ English papers, all with step-by-step solutions. - **Platform** PDF downloads - **Reviews** Trustpilot around 5/5 from roughly 100 reviews (always cite the count: it is a small sample). - **Watch out** Static PDFs with no marking or adaptivity, and the perpetual was-price discounts make real prices hard to read. PiAcademy is the budget paper library: hundreds of 11+ papers with step-by-step worked solutions, sold as one-off packs rather than a subscription. For families who learn by working through a paper with the answer method beside them, it teaches better than a bare Bond mock, just know it is static PDFs with no marking or adaptivity. ## Side by side All prices re-checked on the official sites in June 2026; Trustpilot scores include review counts because a 2.2 from 11 reviews and a 4.9 from 1,560 are not the same kind of evidence. | Tool | Price (checked June 2026) | Free | Platform | Trustpilot | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | CGP 11+ Online | £7.50/mo · £60/yr | Free 10-minute tests + papers | Web + books | n/a (shop-wide) | | **Pip: 11+ Practice** | **Free** · Pro £9.99/mo or £69.99/yr | Everything daily is free; 7-day Pro trial | iOS & Android apps + web tools | New app - no review history yet | | Atom Learning | £39.99 to £69.99/mo (annual saves 20%) | 5-day trial, no card; free for Pupil Premium | Web | ~4.4/5 (1,300+) | | BOFA 11+ | £9.50/mo · £70/12mo+3 free | 7-day trial + demo tests | Web | No profile | | Exam Papers Plus | Packs £20 to £30; bundles £85+ | Samples | PDF + online (Pretest Plus) | 4.9/5 (~1,560) | | PiAcademy | One-off packs, e.g. £59 | Free past-paper hub | PDF | 5/5 (~100) | ## Start free in the next five minutes Whichever platform you end up choosing, these three things are free right now and useful with any of them. ### 📄 Free 24-question NVR paper Exam-difficulty figures with a full worked answer key. No email, no sign-up, just the PDF. [Download free](https://pip11plus.com/11-plus-non-verbal-reasoning-papers) ### 🖨️ Papers in all four subjects English, Maths, VR and NVR practice papers, each with worked answers, printed at home in minutes. [Browse printables](https://pip11plus.com/11-plus-printables) ### 📱 Unlimited daily practice Pip generates fresh adaptive questions every day, free, with no ads and no account. [Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/pip-11-practice/id6775690698) [Get it on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pip11plus.app) [Available at Amazon Appstore](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HKGJ4HTP) ## Questions parents ask **What is the best alternative to Bond 11+?** It depends what you want to fix. For a cheaper like-for-like with a better free tier, CGP. For a free, modern app instead of a dated web platform, Pip. For genuine adaptivity if budget allows, Atom or, much cheaper, BOFA. For exam-realistic papers, Exam Papers Plus. **Is there a free alternative to Bond Online?** Yes. Pip's daily practice is completely free, with free printable papers in all four subjects on the same site. CGP also offers free online 10-minute tests and free papers, and GL Assessment publishes free official familiarisation papers. **Why does Bond Online cost more for the adaptive version?** Bond's basic £7.50-a-month plan is a digital question bank, not adaptive. The AI-personalised pathways are powered by CENTURY and sold as Premium (from £20.66 a month) and the ISEB-endorsed Premium Plus (from £28.99 a month). If adaptivity is the goal, compare those tiers, not the headline price. **Does Bond have a mobile app?** Bond Online runs in a web browser on computer or mobile, but there is no dedicated native app experience. If you specifically want a phone or tablet app built for short daily sessions, Pip is the native-app option here. ## Keep comparing [The 7 best 11+ appsCompare 7 apps →](https://pip11plus.com/best-11-plus-apps) [The 7 best free 11+ resourcesPrep for free first →](https://pip11plus.com/best-free-11-plus-resources) [7 best AlphaTest alternativesRead the comparison →](https://pip11plus.com/alphatest-alternatives) [5 best Atom Learning alternativesRead the comparison →](https://pip11plus.com/atom-learning-alternatives) [5 best ExamHappy alternativesRead the comparison →](https://pip11plus.com/examhappy-alternatives) [6 best CGP 11+ alternativesRead the comparison →](https://pip11plus.com/cgp-alternatives) [5 best 11 Plus Lifeline alternativesRead the comparison →](https://pip11plus.com/11-plus-lifeline-alternatives)