Plusy vs IXL: which is worth it for your child?

Pick IXL if you want one membership that covers math, English and more across many grades, or if your child's school uses it. Pick Plusy if what you need is arithmetic for a child aged 6 to 12, with missed questions coming back instead of a score going down, for one $29 payment.

10 minute read · Updated October 9, 2026

Plusy is our app, so read this with that in mind. IXL covers far more than Plusy ever will, and this page says so plainly. Everything about IXL below is as listed on its own site, blog or App Store page on 5 October 2026.

At a glance

What is the difference between Plusy and IXL?

IXL is a very large library: skills for every grade from PreK to 12, in math, English, science, social studies and Spanish, practiced one skill at a time. Plusy is small and specific: whole-number arithmetic and fractions for ages 6 to 12, practiced in short rounds or on lists made from your child's own homework.

IXL's math page lists skills for each grade from PreK through calculus, and its App Store page mentions more than 4,500 video tutorials and games for younger grades. A child picks a skill, answers questions, and watches a score for that skill rise toward 100.

Plusy has five roads: addition, subtraction, times tables, division and fractions. Fractions go up to mixed numbers, with no multiplying or dividing fractions. There are no decimals, geometry or word problems, and no other subjects. Inside whole-number arithmetic it goes all the way to four-digit sums, long multiplication and long division, set out in columns. How roads and worlds work.

Is IXL free?

Only a little. IXL's App Store page says a child can practice 10 questions each day for free, and a membership opens the rest. IXL is a paid membership for families. We could not read its family price table on 5 October 2026, so this page prints no web price: it is on its site.

What we could read is the App Store page, which lists in-app purchases of $19.99 for math and English, $19.99 for math, English and science, and $23.95 for all subjects. Prices inside the App Store can differ from the prices on IXL's own website, so compare both before buying.

Plusy is free to start in a different way. Every road, world and game is open on a free account. A round uses one heart, wrong answers cost nothing extra, and hearts come back on their own over time and with a new day. Tests, replays and the matching game use no heart. How hearts work.

What does each cost over a year?

Plusy costs $0, or $29 once if you unlock it, with no renewal in the second year or after. IXL is a membership that is paid for as long as you use it, and the price depends on how many subjects you choose. Its current family prices are on its site.

The fair way to compare is by what you would use. If your child will practice English and science on IXL as well as math, a membership is buying a great deal more than Plusy offers. If the need is times tables and written methods, a membership to every subject may be more than you need.

Plusy's payment is called Unlock Plusy. It removes the heart limit and gives up to 50 worksheet scans and 50 AI lists a month. It opens no extra content, because nothing is locked on a free account, and it covers one child's account. What the unlock gives.

Is IXL worth it?

IXL is worth it for a family that will use its breadth: several subjects, several grades, or a child whose school already sets IXL skills. It is harder to justify for one narrow need, such as learning the times tables, and some parents report that its scoring stresses their child.

Common Sense Media's review praises IXL's wide curriculum, the detailed feedback after an incorrect answer and the tracking tools for parents. It also cautions that the drill format can leave some children focused on getting every answer right. Reviews from parents and children on that page, and on the App Store, often mention the score dropping after a mistake.

Other families describe the opposite: children who like the variety and the awards. Temperament matters here. A child who shrugs off a falling number will get a lot from IXL. A child who is upset each time the score drops may need a different shape of practice, or an adult nearby.

What does each app do after a wrong answer?

IXL shows the correct answer with a guided walkthrough of the solution, lowers the SmartScore for that skill and makes the next questions easier, as its blog describes. Plusy shows the answer, one line on what went wrong, and a trick, then asks the missed question again once later in the same round.

IXL explains that SmartScore is not a percentage. It rises with correct answers and falls with incorrect ones. IXL describes 80 as proficient, 90 as the start of a harder Challenge Zone, and 100 as mastery. The walkthrough after a miss is a real strength: every wrong answer comes with teaching.

Plusy has no score that falls. A round ends with how many were right first time, and a missed question tagged Try again has already come back by then. On a column question Plusy reads your child's own working and names the slip, such as a forgotten borrow. What happens after a wrong answer.

Can either app practice my child's own homework?

Plusy can, within arithmetic. A grown-up takes a photo of the worksheet, types the questions or describes the topic, and Plusy makes a practice list and works out every answer itself. Turning a child's own worksheet into practice is not listed on IXL's site, which organizes practice by its own skills and grade levels.

Where a school uses IXL, the teacher's chosen skills are the homework, and IXL is the place to do them. Where the homework is a paper worksheet of sums, Plusy's Scan a worksheet reads printed or handwritten questions. A free account gets one scan and one AI list a day, and typing a list has no daily limit. Scan a worksheet.

A limit to know: Plusy lists hold one-step questions on whole numbers, and fraction questions up to mixed numbers. Decimals, word problems and multiplying or dividing fractions on a worksheet are skipped, and the screen says why.

Which is better for times tables and written methods?

Both cover them. IXL's math page lists multiplication skills by grade, including multiplying two-digit numbers. Plusy is built around them: one times table at a time from 1 to 12 with a test for each, then long multiplication and long division in columns, with the whole fact said aloud after each basic fact and help one step at a time.

We did not check how IXL lays out long multiplication or long division on screen, so this page makes no claim about it.

What IXL does better

• It covers nearly everything. Math from PreK to calculus, plus English, science, social studies and Spanish. Plusy covers whole-number arithmetic and fractions up to mixed numbers.
• It lasts for years. One membership can follow a child from the first grades to the end of high school. Plusy is for ages 6 to 12.
• It teaches after every miss. A guided walkthrough of the solution, and video tutorials for math and English.
• It matches school. Skills are arranged by grade. Its App Store page says it is trusted by over 1 million educators and parents and used by over 17 million learners. Plusy has no classes and no teacher dashboard.
• It reports to parents. IXL has analytics for families. Plusy's grown-ups area shows one line naming the kind of mistake your child is practicing, and no report.
• It measures mastery of each skill. For a parent who wants a number per skill, SmartScore gives one.

What Plusy does better

• Missed questions come back; no score drops. A mistake costs nothing extra and is asked again before the round ends.
• One price, once. $29 with no renewal, where IXL is a membership.
• More is free. Every road, world and game is open on a free account, within its hearts.
• This week's worksheet becomes the practice. Scan, type or describe it, and add a countdown to the test. See get ready for a test.
• It names the slip. On a column question, Plusy reads your child's working and says what went wrong in one sentence.
• It is simple for a young child to run alone. Short rounds, and the road decides what comes next.

Who should pick which?

• The school sets IXL skills as homework: IXL.
• You want math and English, or more, in one place: IXL.
• Your child is older than 12, or needs decimals, geometry or multiplying and dividing fractions: IXL.
• You want detailed reports on every skill: IXL.
• You have several children and want reports on each: IXL. A Plusy account holds one child.
• The need is arithmetic at ages 6 to 12: Plusy.
• A falling score upsets your child: Plusy.
• You would rather pay once than keep a membership: Plusy.
• You want to practice the exact questions on a worksheet: Plusy.

Can you use both?

Yes. If school provides IXL, keep it for assigned skills and for subjects Plusy does not touch. Plusy fits beside it for the parts of arithmetic that need many low-pressure repetitions: a times table, carrying and borrowing, long division, or the worksheet for Friday's test.

Plusy is free to start in any browser: Start free. If neither is quite right, see our guide to math apps for kids and the list of math apps without a subscription.

Plusy is not affiliated with IXL or IXL Learning. Product names belong to their owners. Prices and features were checked on 5 October 2026 and change, so check each app's own site before you buy.

Questions

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