Compare learning apps for kids: the rubric
Peabody compares itself with other kids' learning apps on six fixed questions: cost, subjects and grades, how the page says it adapts, the evidence it shows, what the other product does that Peabody does not, and what Peabody does not do. Only public pages are used, nothing is scored, and the maker of one product writes this.
| Question we ask of every product | Why |
|---|---|
| What does a family pay to start? | Free, free with limits, or paid, as the page states it. |
| Which subjects and grades does the page list? | Scope: what a family can expect to find. |
| How does the page say it adapts? | In the product's own words, with a note when the page does not explain. |
| What evidence does the page show for itself? | Described, never turned into a score here. We do not repeat outcome figures a company publishes about itself. |
| What does it do that Peabody does not? | So a family can pick on fit, not on Peabody's page. |
| What does Peabody not do? | Said in the same table, for Peabody too. |
How we read
- Only public pages. Every fact about another product comes from its own site, linked, with the date we read it.
- No scores, no ranking. The rubric is questions, not points. A table cell is what the page says, or that it does not say.
- "Not stated" is not "no". A page that does not mention a price, an age range or a study is not claimed to lack one.
- No outcome figures. We do not repeat the results a company publishes about itself, and we do not publish results for Peabody that it has not measured.
- Peabody is held to the same questions, including the ones it comes out less well on.
- Corrections are dated: each page says when it was last checked.
The comparisons
- Games like Prodigy: a fair comparison: Games like Prodigy for math and reading, compared on cost, subjects, grades, how each says it adapts and the evidence its page shows. Read from each site's own pages.
- IXL alternatives for kids: a fair comparison: IXL alternatives compared on cost, subjects, grades, how each says it adapts and the evidence its page shows, read from each site's own pages.
- Free learning apps for kids: a fair comparison: Free learning apps for kids compared on what is free for a family, subjects, ages, how each says it adapts and what evidence its page shows. From each site's own pages.
What Peabody does not do
- It has no classroom or teacher product.
- It does not map lessons to state standards or produce a standards report.
- It cannot hear a child read, so it cannot measure fluency; it does not give a Lexile, a reading age or a grade equivalent.
- It has no written work, no test and no score that compares a child to others.
- It has not published an efficacy study.
- Its free period is promised only through the end of 2026.
- Its subjects are reading, math and a World of facts, not the full school day.
Who writes this
Peabody's founder, Aaron, with help from AI. These pages are written by the maker of one of the products compared, so read them with that in mind; every claim is linked so you can check it. Read more about what to look for in an AI learning tool and the evidence tiers cheat sheet.
Questions parents ask
Is this comparison fair?
It is written by the maker of Peabody, so it cannot be neutral. What it can be is checkable: a fixed set of questions, answered from each product's own page, with the link and the date, and Peabody's limits listed beside everyone else's.
Which one should I pick?
The one your child will open. Try two for a week. Peabody is free through the end of 2026, with no sign-up, so it costs nothing to try.
Checked against how Peabody works on 18 October 2026. Written with help from AI, from Peabody's own code and library. Peabody is a learning app, not an assessment: if you're worried about your child's learning, talk to their teacher.