- Khan Academy is free and explains things well, but it follows a US curriculum and does not target UK exams.
- Pip is the best alternative for KS2 SATs and the 11+ in Years 3 to 6: free, with Pro at £9.99 a month or £69.99 a year.
- For a short daily UK maths routine, try DoodleMaths; for a paid library from Reception to Year 13, IXL.
- Free options include Prodigy Math, an EdPlace free account and Pip's free tier. Prices checked 6 October 2026.
What is the best Khan Academy alternative?
Pip is the best alternative for a UK child in Years 3 to 6 heading for KS2 SATs or the 11+. Khan Academy is free and explains things well, but it isn't built around UK year groups or exams.
- KS2 SATs or 11+ (Years 3 to 6): Pip
- Short daily UK maths routine: DoodleMaths
- Paid library, Reception to Year 13: IXL
- Several UK subjects through secondary: CENTURY
- Free: Prodigy Math, EdPlace free account or Pip's free tier
Our connection: Pip publishes this guide and ranks itself first, because it is the one built for UK exam practice. Khan Academy stays a strong free supplement, and we say so below.
Prices and facts were checked from each provider's own pages on 6 October 2026, with exceptions marked as unverified. This is an editorial comparison, not a hands-on test, and names and logos belong to their owners.
What does Khan Academy do, and why look for an alternative?
Khan Academy is a free, nonprofit learning site with video lessons, exercises and mastery progress, mainly in maths and science. Khan Academy Kids is a free early-learning app for ages 2 to 8.
Families look elsewhere for a UK curriculum, practice shaped like the 11+ or SATs, a readiness score, or more teaching and review. Our full Khan Academy review has the detail.
How do the 7 Khan Academy alternatives compare?
Here's the short version, with prices checked on 6 October 2026.
| Alternative | Best for | Price | Works on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pip 11+ Practice | KS2 SATs and 11+, Years 3 to 6 | Free; Pro £9.99 a month or £69.99 a year | iOS, Android, Amazon only |
| DoodleMaths | Daily UK maths and English habit | £7.99 a month or £69.99 a year (one child) | Phone, tablet, laptop, desktop |
| IXL | Topic practice, Reception to Year 13 | £7.99, £12.99 or £15.99 (period unconfirmed) | Web and mobile apps |
| CENTURY | English, maths and science through secondary | £12.49 a month or £99.92 a year | Web browser |
| Atom Learning | Target-school 11+ and GCSE prep with mocks | From £39.99 a month | Web |
| EdPlace | Marked activities, KS1 to GCSE | Free (5 a month); £17.99 a month | Web |
| Prodigy Math | Game-based maths | Free; optional membership | Web and apps |
Which Khan Academy alternative is right for your child?
It depends on your child's goal, and each one below has a best-for line. Pip is first because it's built for the 11+ and KS2 SATs, which Khan Academy doesn't target.
Pip 11+ Practice: Best Khan Academy alternative for KS2 SATs and the 11+ in Years 3 to 6
Pip is built for UK exam preparation, which Khan Academy is not. It gets a child in Years 3 to 6 ready for the 11+, KS2 SATs, or both, with 11+ Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning in one app.
Khan Academy is free and explains things well, so many families keep it alongside Pip. Pip adds UK exam-style practice, a score that tracks readiness, and review that decides what to practise next.
Pip adapts the question level inside every skill, chooses the next skill from the child's gaps, and brings mastered skills back for review at the right time. When a child is stuck it offers to go back a step to a building-block skill, then returns them to the one they came from, so stepping back never feels like being sent down a level.
It teaches as well as tests: Pip Teaches lessons (Pro) are short interactive whiteboard lessons that show the method first. Pip Score gives a clear target of 90 with zones, and flags rushing.
The coach gives method hints without revealing the answer, and Ask Pip explains a wrong answer step by step. Boss battles, coins, Pip's Den and the Learning Grove make children want to open it.
- Price (checked 6 Oct 2026)
- Free download with adaptive practice and review. Pip Pro: £9.99 a month or £69.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial.
- Worth knowing
- Pip runs on iPhone, iPad, Android and Amazon Fire tablets only. There is no desktop or web version yet, so it suits a child who practises on a phone or tablet.
DoodleMaths: Best for a short daily UK maths routine
DoodleMaths is an adaptive, UK-curriculum practice app that responds to a child's answers. Its Proxima technology builds personalised programmes, it is aligned to EYFS, KS1, KS2 and KS3, and its sister apps add English (DoodleEnglish), spelling (DoodleSpell) and times tables (DoodleTables).
Khan Academy is a library a child browses, while DoodleMaths hands them a short daily programme. That suits you if a steady maths habit matters most.
It works on tablets, phones, laptops and desktops, and offline.
- Price (checked 6 Oct 2026)
- App Store listing: single child £7.99 a month or £69.99 a year; family (up to 5 children) £12.99 a month or £119.99 a year. 7-day free trial.
- Worth knowing
- Maths-led, with no 11+ exam-style papers or reasoning papers.
IXL: Best paid library for topic-by-topic practice from Reception to Year 13
IXL is a subscription practice site with more than 8,000 skills in maths, English and science, from Reception to Year 13. It has a Real-Time Diagnostic, personalised recommendations and an England curriculum skill plan.
It's the closest paid match for how families use Khan Academy: pick a topic, practise it, move on. IXL adds a UK skill plan and parent analytics, but Khan Academy is free.
- Price (checked 6 Oct 2026)
- Family membership page lists single subject £7.99, combo package £12.99 and all access £15.99. The billing period was not stated in the data we could read, so confirm it at checkout.
- Worth knowing
- No dedicated 11+ or KS2 SATs programme is described on its UK homepage. Read our IXL review.
CENTURY: Best for UK English, maths and science beyond Year 6
CENTURY is a web-based platform for English, maths and science from primary through Key Stage 3 and GCSE. It finds gaps and recommends short micro-lessons made of videos, slides and questions, with a progress dashboard for parents.
It runs in a browser on phones, tablets and computers.
If you like Khan Academy because one account covers several subjects, CENTURY gives you that breadth with a UK curriculum, and it lists 11+ courses too. Check what a home plan includes before you subscribe.
- Price (checked 6 Oct 2026)
- CENTURY Core: £12.49 a month per learner, or £99.92 a year (£8.33 a month). 7-day free trial.
- Worth knowing
- 11+ courses are listed separately; check what each plan includes.
Atom Learning: Best for target-school 11+ and GCSE preparation online
Atom Learning is a web-based platform for 11+ entrance exams and GCSEs, with plans for English, maths and science (EMS), Exam Prep, and Exam Prep Plus, which adds unlimited mock tests with detailed feedback and printable papers.
It's a strong choice if you have a named target school and want a structured online programme with mock papers. It's a different product from Khan Academy, with guided exam preparation instead of a free library of lessons.
- Price (checked 6 Oct 2026)
- EMS £39.99 a month (£31.99 on annual billing); Exam Prep £59.99 a month (£47.99 annual); Exam Prep Plus £69.99 a month (£55.99 annual). Annual billing saves 20%.
- Worth knowing
- Mock tests are included from Exam Prep Plus.
EdPlace: Best for marked UK activities from KS1 to GCSE
EdPlace offers activities, automatic marking and progress tracking in English, maths and science from Key Stage 1 to GCSE, with 11+ preparation in its paid plans. It is built around a large bank of practice activities.
The free account lets you try the style before paying, with up to 5 activities a month for one student.
- Price (checked 6 Oct 2026)
- Free account (5 activities a month); Monthly Individual £17.99; Monthly Family £24.99; annual plans £134 (single subject), £200 (core subjects, including 11+) or £280 (all subjects) per year.
- Worth knowing
- The free plan is limited to 5 activities a month.
Prodigy Math: Best free option for children who need a game to practise maths
Prodigy Math puts maths questions inside a fantasy role-playing game, for Grades 1 to 8. The educational content is free, with an optional paid membership for extra game features.
If a child will happily play but resists worksheets, the game wrapper can get more questions answered. It's maths only and not an exam-preparation tool.
- Price (checked 6 Oct 2026)
- Free to play; paid membership available (we did not capture the price).
- Worth knowing
- Maths only; no 11+ reasoning or English.
How should you choose between them?
Choose by goal first. For the 11+ or KS2 SATs, pick Pip if your child is on a phone or tablet, or Atom Learning for an online programme with full mocks.
For a steady maths habit pick DoodleMaths, and for several subjects through secondary school pick CENTURY.
You don't have to drop Khan Academy. It stays free for explanations alongside one UK practice app.
Most apps have a free trial or free tier, so try one for a week and see whether your child opens it unprompted.
Khan Academy alternatives: questions parents ask
What is the best alternative to Khan Academy in the UK?
For a child in Years 3 to 6 preparing for KS2 SATs or the 11+, Pip is the best alternative, because it is built for UK exam practice. DoodleMaths is the closest for a short daily UK maths routine, and CENTURY suits a family that wants several subjects through secondary school.
We publish Pip, so to be clear: Khan Academy is free and explains things well. Many families use it alongside a UK practice app.
Is Khan Academy free in the UK?
Yes. Khan Academy is a nonprofit and its learning content is free, and Khan Academy Kids is described as 100% free with no ads and no subscriptions.
We could not load Khan Academy's main-site pricing page on 6 October 2026, so we rely on its Kids page and secondary sources for the main site.
Is Khan Academy good for the 11+ or KS2 SATs?
Khan Academy isn't built for UK exams. Its content follows a US curriculum, and we found no 11+ style papers or UK verbal and non-verbal reasoning in it.
For the 11+ or KS2 SATs, look at Pip, Atom Learning, CENTURY or EdPlace. Check the exact papers and formats your child will sit.
Is Khanmigo available in the UK?
Reports say the Khanmigo AI tutor needs an account holder aged 18 or over with a US billing address, so UK families can't buy it. We could not confirm this directly from Khan Academy, so check its site before you plan around it.
A free version for teachers is reported in more than 180 countries, which we also could not verify.
Is there a free alternative to Khan Academy?
Yes. Prodigy Math's educational content is free to play, EdPlace has a free account limited to 5 activities a month, and Pip is free to download with adaptive practice and review.
Pip Pro is an optional upgrade at £9.99 a month or £69.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial.
Does Pip work on a computer?
No. Pip runs on iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, and Amazon Fire tablets.
There is no desktop or web version yet, so if your child needs a computer, DoodleMaths, CENTURY, Atom Learning or EdPlace all work in a browser.
The Pip team builds Pip, the 11+ and KS2 practice app for children in years three to six. We write these guides from real exam formats and past papers.