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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Khan Academy vs Elevate

Khan Academy 4.6★ · Free + IAP 60
Winner Elevate
Elevate 4.8★ · Free + IAP 85

Elevate is the better choice for brain training and cognitive skill improvement due to its engaging games and consistent positive impact on users, while Khan Academy struggles with app stability and content issues.

Full reviews: Khan Academy · Elevate

Elevate offers a more polished and effective brain training experience, with users consistently reporting improved cognitive skills through its varied and challenging games. Khan Academy, despite its educational content, is plagued by frequent app crashes, incorrect answers, and frustrating user interface issues.

Head to head

Features and Content edge: ElevateR6R21R23R36
Khan Academy Khan Academy offers a wide range of educational content across various subjects, with users appreciating its thorough teaching and organized material R36. However, some users find it difficult to locate specific subjects for homework R21 and desire more engaging, game-like elements in lessons R23. There are also complaints about content not being available on the app, requiring users to open a browser R39, and a lack of new content R6.
Elevate Elevate focuses on brain training games designed to improve memory, math, speaking, and writing skills . Users praise the variety of games and how they challenge different areas of the brain . However, some long-term users note that the content can become repetitive and needs updating , and there are requests for more specific math games like multiplication .
Ease of Use and Reliability edge: ElevateR1R6R9R10
Khan Academy Khan Academy users report significant issues with app stability, including frequent crashes, videos not playing, and glitches requiring restarts R1. The in-app keyboard is a common source of frustration, with incorrect number inputs and difficulty typing exponents R1R6. Account login and progress tracking are also problematic, with users losing progress or being unable to sign in R9R10R13. Some mobile users experience issues with answers not fully displaying and downloaded videos being fuzzy .
Elevate Elevate generally offers a smooth user experience, with many users enjoying its daily routine and engaging format . However, some users report inconsistent scoring and issues with ads interrupting gameplay . There are also specific complaints about sound issues after updates , bugs in certain games like 'Grow' , and the app not working on certain devices .
Accuracy and Educational Value edge: ElevateR1R3R11R14
Khan Academy Khan Academy is praised for helping students learn and improve their grades R11R14R36. However, a significant concern is the presence of incorrect solutions and glitches in lessons, with users reporting wrong answers for math problems even when their teachers confirm correctness R1R3R22R35. Some users also feel the explanations are unclear or that they don't learn anything .
Elevate Elevate users consistently report improvements in their cognitive functions, including mental math, vocabulary, writing, and speaking skills . The app is seen as a valuable tool for maintaining and sharpening the brain . However, there is one report of the app giving incorrect answers for some math questions .
Price and Value edge: Khan AcademyR39R56R61R63
Khan Academy Khan Academy is largely free, with users appreciating the absence of ads or subscription pop-ups R56. This makes it a valuable resource for accessible education R56. However, some recent updates have made the app less user-friendly, pushing users to online content and diminishing its value R39.
Elevate Elevate is a freemium app, but many users express frustration with the aggressive paywall R61R64. The free version is heavily limited, offering only a few daily challenges and bombarding users with pop-ups to subscribe R64R84R85. While some find the premium worth the money for the benefits it provides , others feel it is overpriced . There are also significant complaints about billing issues, including being charged after deleting the app or during free trials, and difficulty cancelling subscriptions R63R79R88R97.
Support and User Experience tieR9R10R13R27
Khan Academy Khan Academy users report issues with account management, including lost progress and login problems, suggesting a lack of effective support for these issues R9R10R13. The app's recent changes and updates have been met with negative feedback, making it less user-friendly and efficient R27R39.
Elevate Elevate has mixed reviews regarding support. One user reported quick and effective customer service for a billing issue, resulting in a refund . However, other users have experienced significant billing problems, difficulty cancelling subscriptions, and unhelpful responses from support when the app wasn't working R63R79R88R97. The app's aggressive reminders and difficulty deleting it also contribute to a negative user experience for some .
Pick Khan Academy if

you need a completely free educational resource for academic subjects, are willing to tolerate app glitches and UI frustrations, and prefer a traditional learning format over brain games R56R1.

Pick Elevate if

you are looking for an engaging brain training app to improve cognitive skills like mental math, vocabulary, and memory, and are willing to pay for a premium subscription to access all features .

Evidence note: Khan Academy's reviews show a strong dichotomy between users who find it highly beneficial for learning and those who are extremely frustrated with technical issues and content accuracy. Elevate's negative reviews are predominantly focused on its aggressive paywall and billing issues, rather than the core functionality or effectiveness of its brain training games.

Frequently asked

Is Khan Academy truly free?
Yes, Khan Academy is a free educational app with no ads or subscription pop-ups, making its content accessible without cost R56.
Does Elevate offer a free version?
Elevate has a free version, but it is heavily limited to only a few daily challenges, with most of the app's 40+ games and features locked behind a premium subscription R64R84R85.
Do users report issues with incorrect answers in either app?
Yes, Khan Academy users frequently report incorrect solutions and glitches in lessons, particularly for math problems, even when their answers are confirmed correct by teachers R1R3R22R35. Elevate has one report of the app giving incorrect answers for some math questions .
Are there problems with cancelling Elevate subscriptions?
Yes, several Elevate users report significant issues with cancelling free trials or subscriptions, leading to unexpected charges and difficulty managing their accounts R63R79R88R97.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R6] Khan Academy 3/5 · US keybord ragebait: the keyboard is absolute ragebait it thinks 2 = 1 and 7 = 9 the keyboard is the most annoying form of ragebait Hope to see more content too My parents make me do this a million times a day and learning is not fun and you cannot learn anything Unpurposeful app = this Ragebait app = this Uidfciugreifugiuefrgiufre
  2. [R21] Khan Academy 3/5 · GB Ok until subject: I love khan academy, and it’s great until you need a specific subject then… not that great. For me I was trying to get khan academy to explain something for my homework, but I just couldn’t find the exact thing I needed. So it’s great and all if you don’t need a specific subject question and are fine with just following their ways.
  3. [R23] Khan Academy 4/5 · US Let’s talk: It’s good and educational but can you add some play or something and also can you make the lessons more fun cus they get boring on the third lesson so can you please add a bit of play and fun and can you make the videos better and fun please but out of everything it’s pretty great
  4. [R36] Khan Academy 5/5 · US Really helpful: Literally have never seen an app do so well at helping with courses I’m going to high school and wanted to get ready this is already really cool wish I found it sooner
  5. [R1] Khan Academy 1/5 · US Needs more work: Videos sometimes do not play, app crashes frequently and lessons also very frequently have incorrect solutions and glitches requiring you to restart the lesson. Typing using the in-app keyboard is also very finnicky, creating and logging into accounts do not work well, and things taught in the videos aren't in the lessons after.
  6. [R9] Khan Academy 3/5 · US Khan academy: It was OK but it never showed me where I left off in the unit so I ended up retaking a whole unit over again!!
  7. [R10] Khan Academy 1/5 · US Fix this!: I had an account for a couple months and I made 5 accounts because of this problem!when I'm signing in my account it's saying "you password or username is incorrect" even though i know it is! Looks like I have to make another 2 accounts.
  8. [R3] Khan Academy 3/5 · US This is not math: They said 12 equals 10
  9. [R11] Khan Academy 5/5 · US Good app: My son is getting ready for fourth grade and he has learned so much on khan academy what he learns on this app will surely help him later
  10. [R14] Khan Academy 5/5 · US Tuff: Peak bro helps me maintain my 99.99% in math
  11. [R39] Khan Academy 1/5 · US THIS IS A NON WORKING APP: Since update i cannot access anything because the app keeps taking the user out of the app into online content. Defeating the whole purpose of this app. It no longer works efficiently. Want donations Khan Academy?? You need to revamp and fix this app. No longer user friendly. Sad. Deleting app.
  12. [R56] Khan Academy 5/5 · US Khan academy: It’s an awesome educational app. It has very descriptive videos and it’s free no ads no pop-ups for “ get your subscription”. If you’re looking for an educational app, I recommend this.
  13. [R61] Elevate 1/5 · US Class warfare: Great app for folks with disposable income. Here what apps like this teach parents and kids. “want to help your kids teach them to wait tables and mop floors for people who can afford the luxury of apps like this”
  14. [R63] Elevate 3/5 · US Cannot contact: I received a free trial and started to play a couple games. The games that I played were pretty fun. I just didn’t like it enough to pay the full price. So I decided after a day to delete the app. Usually I can delete an app and then go to my apple settings and opt out of the free trial. But I couldn’t find it in my settings for some reason. Then after a couple weeks, my card was c
  15. [R13] Khan Academy 2/5 · US Khan academy deleted all of my progress: So I just came back to do khan academy and I see a screen telling me to sign up even though I was at the end of 4th grade. Khan academy should see what happened. Now all of my progress is gone and I was on my last unit in 4th grade
  16. [R27] Khan Academy 1/5 · US Stupid change does not allow anyone to continue access: The irrelevant confirmation has no appropriate choices, and disrupted the continued education. It’s quite frustrating and stupid change
  17. [R64] Elevate 1/5 · US all paid content: everything shown in ads is paid content, free version of the app is just bombardment with pop ups asking you to pay them on a subscription basis in order to access 95% of the app
  18. [R84] Elevate 3/5 · US Good..... But just one thing: This is an amazing app and it does help my vocabulary. But it limits you soo much if you don't pay money. Its like you do the lesson and after that everything is locked down exept one thing that is nothing compared to all the others. It says 40 plus games but you have to pay for all of them. So basically please unlock more things and I will be happier.
  19. [R85] Elevate 1/5 · US MUST pay: Nothing to do accept the three little daily challenges if you dont buy the premium.
  20. [R22] Khan Academy 2/5 · US They need to learn their math: Bro so I was doing this for online school right and I was doing this question abt rounding and it said it was wrong but ts was right and I asked my teacher she was like it’s right and gave me a low score
  21. [R35] Khan Academy 2/5 · US Review: 2 stars, The reason why I’m rating it 2 stars is because my daughter was doing math. Equivalent fractions to be exact. And she got the correct answer, she put in 6/8 in a fraction way (khan academy has those fraction tools). And she got it wrong 😑, she tried and tried but khan academy kept on saying wrong, wrong, and wrong.she came and showed me and I was sure it was the correct answer so
  22. [R79] Elevate 2/5 · US Don’t get free trial unless you know how to end it: I can’t end my free trial and it keeps charging me money but it never gave me a option to end it
  23. [R88] Elevate 1/5 · US Complete scam: They charged me twice and won’t refund my money. Apple isn’t helping. The app is redundant and not challenging. This is a waste of time and they don’t care about their consumers, just the one-and-done (excuse me, two-and-done) profit. DON’T DO IT.
  24. [R97] Elevate 1/5 · US horrible billing problems: it never emailed me to end my subscription and continue to charge me multiple times and when i went to press manage subscription it told me to contact customer service and i’m still waiting to hear back

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store