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

IXL vs Khan Academy

IXL 4.3★ · Free + IAP 40
Winner Khan Academy
Khan Academy 4.6★ · Free + IAP 70

Khan Academy is the better choice for a free, comprehensive learning platform, despite some technical issues, while IXL is generally disliked by students due to its punitive scoring system.

Full reviews: IXL · Khan Academy

Khan Academy offers a wide range of subjects and is praised for its helpful videos and clear explanations, though it struggles with app stability and keyboard input. IXL, while offering diverse subjects, faces significant criticism from students for its frustrating and demotivating point system, often leading to stress and dislike.

Head to head

Features & Content Variety edge: Khan AcademyR11R23R30R39
IXL IXL offers a wide variety of subjects including Math, Science, Social Studies, English, and Spanish, which parents find useful for comprehensive learning R11R23. However, some users report that subjects like History are not available, and Spanish resources are hard to find R30R39.
Khan Academy Khan Academy is praised for its extensive content across various subjects, including math, science, and even algebra 2, with users appreciating the thorough and clear teaching . However, some users find it difficult to locate specific subjects or courses within the app .
Ease of Use & User Experience tieR3R4R6R7
IXL Many IXL users, especially students, find the app boring and frustrating due to its punitive point system, where getting a question wrong significantly reduces their score R4R6R7R9. There are also reports of glitches where correct answers are marked wrong R3.
Khan Academy Khan Academy is generally seen as easy to use with a good interface and clear teaching . However, users frequently report issues with the in-app keyboard, where it glitches or misinterprets input R61R66. Some also experience problems with videos not playing, frequent app crashes, and difficulty logging in or losing progress R61R69R70.
Learning Effectiveness edge: Khan AcademyR5R7R11R12
IXL While some parents and students find IXL helpful for learning and improving grades R5R11R12, a significant number of students express that they learn nothing or find the app unpurposeful . The harsh scoring system is often cited as demotivating and a source of stress and anxiety, hindering actual learning R7R18R21.
Khan Academy Khan Academy is highly praised for its effectiveness in helping users learn and prepare for school, with many finding the explanations clear and the format helpful . However, some users report that the app doesn't explain well or that their kids learned nothing . There are also instances where the app marks correct answers as wrong .
Price/Value edge: Khan AcademyR23R27R30R48
IXL IXL operates on a Free + IAP model, but many users express dissatisfaction with the cost, stating it's expensive (around £100 per month) and that the free tier offers limited learning R27R30R48. Some feel it's not worth the money given the frustrating user experience R23R27R48.
Khan Academy Khan Academy is free with IAP, and users frequently highlight its free nature as a major advantage, appreciating that it offers extensive content without ads or subscription pop-ups R116. This makes it a high-value option for many learners.
Reliability & Performance edge: IXLR3R6R9R13
IXL IXL users report occasional glitches, such as the app thinking answers are wrong when they are correct R3 and loading issues . The point system is a consistent source of frustration, with users feeling it's unfair and demotivating R6R9R13R18.
Khan Academy Khan Academy faces numerous reliability issues, including videos not playing, frequent app crashes, and lessons having incorrect solutions R61. Users also report problems with account creation and login R70, lost progress R69, and downloads not saving data . The in-app keyboard is a common point of frustration due to glitches and incorrect input R61R66.
Pick IXL if

Pick IXL if you are a parent looking for a wide variety of subjects for your child and believe a challenging, albeit punitive, scoring system will motivate them R23.

Pick Khan Academy if

Pick Khan Academy if you are looking for a free, comprehensive learning app with clear explanations and a wide range of subjects, and are willing to overlook occasional technical glitches and keyboard issues R116.

Evidence note: Many reviews for both apps are short and express strong, often emotional, opinions without much detail. The negative reviews for IXL heavily focus on the scoring system and its psychological impact on students, while Khan Academy's negative reviews are more about technical bugs and usability issues.

Frequently asked

Is IXL good for all subjects?
IXL offers a wide variety of subjects including Math, Science, Social Studies, English, and Spanish, and some parents find it useful for comprehensive learning R11R23. However, some users report that subjects like History are not available, and Spanish resources are hard to find R30R39.
Why do students dislike IXL?
Students frequently dislike IXL because of its punitive point system, where getting a single question wrong can significantly drop their score, leading to frustration, stress, and a feeling of being punished rather than learning R6R7R18R21.
Does Khan Academy have technical problems?
Yes, Khan Academy users frequently report technical problems including videos not playing, frequent app crashes, incorrect solutions in lessons, and glitches with the in-app keyboard R61R66. There are also issues with account login, lost progress, and content not loading or saving properly R69R70.
Is Khan Academy completely free?
Yes, Khan Academy is highlighted by users as being completely free, offering extensive educational content without ads or subscription pop-ups, making it a highly valued resource for learning R116.

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. [R11] IXL 5/5 · US Kerri-Ann will talking about IXL: IXL is really fun. It helps other people learn it even helps me learn it’s the best learning app ever and I want everyone to try it cause it’s good. It could help people if they’re struggling in math Spanish and stuff reading language arts but all you need is IXL learn everything over and over again and then you can make some progress. This is why you want to try
  2. [R23] IXL 5/5 · US IXL is a must-get.: Amazing for doing a wide variety of stuff. From Math to Science to Social Studies to English. If you are getting this for your kid, with parental experience, IXL will not be a waste of your money.
  3. [R30] IXL 3/5 · GB It only has maths and English: I had a history test but I thought this might help cuz it’s a learning app but when I tried it doesn’t have it and it’s soo expensive like guests don’t get much to learn and it says it has Spanish resources but try searching it up and they say they can’t find what we’re looking for so it u want math and English only download it but other than that don’t . :(
  4. [R39] IXL 3/5 · GB Only 3 subjects: Need more subjects only maths and English and science 😤😤😤😭😭😭😞🙂‍↔️🙂‍↔️🙂‍↔️😞😞😞
  5. [R3] IXL 3/5 · US Glitching Problems: This is good for learning, but sometimes when I go to this app and I do sixth grade math the thing latterly glitches and thinks I’m wrong. But, it’s still a good App for math. Honestly I think it’s just me.
  6. [R4] IXL 1/5 · US It’s freaking boring: It is the most boring, boring, boring thing ever
  7. [R6] IXL 3/5 · US Takes away too many points: I’ve been studying with my dad every day. I like this app. i’ve been learning a lot, but the thing that I don’t like is that it takes a way too many points. Sometimes it takes away 5,10 or even 15 please fix this and I agree in AaronYol it is NOT FUN thanks for the app. That’s a learning education. But please make it less more points If you do it wrong, like at least do
  8. [R7] IXL 1/5 · US I feel bad for whoever made this app: This app punishes you it’s a bad example and it sucks whoever made this It’s so dumb and stupid. I hate them.
  9. [R5] IXL 5/5 · US It is great.: Vary useful over the summer
  10. [R12] IXL 3/5 · US IXL: I don’t really like math, but this is good math and I don’t really like school. This is good. I like it.
  11. [R27] IXL 3/5 · GB Good but Not impressed: This is a good app but I don’t wanna pay cuz I’m looking forward to studying for Sats but it pays to go allll the way! I understand that this is how you guys make money but just not the money for me as I can use different apps for free ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ I hope you understand 😉˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊
  12. [R48] IXL 3/5 · GB It’s a good app in some areas, but… 😕: First of all, let’s start with the PRICE. Not much people can really spend their money 💸 on an app that costs £100 (more or less) per month! But aside that, it’s an okay app that has many learning concepts and features, even fun maths games too! It has English and Maths, and also breaks down all topics into year groups, eg. Year 1 - Year 13! But a main downsi
  13. [R9] IXL 3/5 · US It works well, but it has some things that need to be better: First, yes all the material is very helpful but if you want someone to actually keep going and not cheat maybe you should fix how it takes way more points when we get a question wrong than when we get it right.
  14. [R13] IXL 1/5 · US Rahhh: Fix ur point system
  15. [R18] IXL 3/5 · US things that NEED to be changed: this app is ok. it’s good for learning, but why the heck do you drop lower when you get something wrong? that discourages students like me. it takes longer to finish the ixl. JUST KEEP THE STUDENT IN THE SAME SPOT DONT MOVE THEM DOWN!!!!
  16. [R21] IXL 3/5 · US Rager Learning App: This app frustrates me a lot because every time you get something wrong, you get 5-15 points off and each time you get one correct you get 10 at first in the beginning for about 5 times until 53 and then you only get 1-3 points for each you get correct. The app is a great learning app for kids and all people and i would recommend this learning app for people who likes to rage😅😅
  17. [R61] 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.
  18. [R66] 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
  19. [R69] 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!!
  20. [R70] 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.
  21. [R116] 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.

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