Mathletics motivates through competition — live speed races against other students worldwide. MathCraft motivates through story — an RPG adventure where maths is woven into quests. Mathletics has broader age coverage; MathCraft has deeper engagement and better parent tools.
| Feature | MathCraft | Mathletics |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | Free (beta) → £4.99 | ~£6.50 (est.) |
| Annual price | TBC | ~£78 (est.) |
| Free tier | Yes — free during beta | 30-day trial |
| Age range | 5–14 (Y1–Y9) | 5–16 (KS1–KS5) |
| Curriculum | UK National / White Rose Maths | Full UK, Australian, and US curricula |
| Adaptive engine | ✓ Spaced repetition + mastery tracking | Drill exercises plus live speed competitions against students worldwide |
| Platforms | Web (PWA — any device) | Web, iOS, Android |
| Offline mode | ✗ No (internet required) | ✗ No |
| AI tutoring | ✓ Merlin (Socratic, logged) | ✗ No |
| Parent dashboard | ✓ Curriculum heatmap + AI logs | Basic progress reports. Limited compared to DoodleMaths or MathCraft. Teacher tools are stronger than parent tools. |
| Ads / dark patterns | ✗ None | ✗ None |
Mathletics has genuine strengths that are worth acknowledging:
No app is perfect. These are the most common complaints from parents and reviews:
Mathletics uses competition (beating others) as its engagement core — the opposite of creative exploration. MathCraft embeds maths into quests with a persistent game world. Mathletics has broader age coverage but weaker parent tools and no adaptive engine. MathCraft offers AI tutoring and genuine stealth learning that Mathletics can't match.
Competitive children who are motivated by beating others in real-time maths races. Families wanting broad curriculum coverage.
Your child resists anything that feels like homework and needs genuine game engagement. You want UK curriculum alignment, adaptive practice, AI tutoring, and full parent visibility — all in a game they’ll actually ask to play.
Mathletics is better if your child thrives on competition and enjoys racing against peers. MathCraft is better if your child prefers creative play, storytelling, and building — or if competition causes anxiety. Both cover the UK primary curriculum.
Mathletics pricing is opaque — the UK site hides it behind account creation. Estimated at ~£78/year based on recent reviews. A free 30-day trial is available. MathCraft is free during beta, with a planned price of £4.99/month (~£60/year).
Mathletics is not truly adaptive — parents or teachers manually set year levels, and difficulty cannot be easily tailored to individual ability. MathCraft uses spaced repetition (SM-2) with mastery tracking that automatically adjusts to your child's level, stepping up or down based on performance.
Yes, Mathletics offers home subscriptions separate from school licences. MathCraft is also available directly to parents — no school connection needed.
Looking at more options? See our Best Alternatives to Mathletics guide.
Step-by-step lessons, worked examples, and adaptive practice — all wrapped in an adventure game your child will love.
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