Online Homeschool Programs Compared: prices, grades and what each one is

People search for the best online homeschool curriculum. This page does not pick a winner. It puts five programs side by side using the publishers’ own pages, checked October 22, 2026.

Every card says researched. None of these programs is marked used. What those words mean.

On the table, Secular: yes means the publisher’s description does not present the program as faith-based. It is not a lesson-by-lesson audit. Varies means the site is a marketplace and teachers write their own classes.

At a glance

The visit button under each card goes to the publisher. If this site has an approved partnership for that company, the button is marked as an affiliate link. A partnership does not change the price in the table. Partners and the disclosure.

The program cards

Time4Learning

Time4Learning’s FAQ calls it a student-paced online curriculum for preschool through 12th grade, in language arts, math, science, social studies, and electives. It says the program is a curriculum, not a virtual school. There are no live teachers. Lessons are videos, interactive activities, and reading, with some optional offline work. Parents get planning tools, automated scores, and answer keys.

Price. The pricing page lists $39.95 per month for preschool through 5th grade, including up to seven courses and Time4MathFacts. Sixth through 12th grade is also $39.95 per month for seven courses. Extra courses in those grades are $5 each, per month, per student. Billing starts on registration and repeats every 30 days. The FAQ says parents must cancel through their Parent Dashboard, and that access then lasts until the end of that billing cycle.

An annual plan is advertised as 30 percent off, and a family plan as up to 25 percent off when you add students. The pricing page does not print the discounted dollar amounts. Read them at signup. Because the cycle is 30 days, twelve times $39.95 is not a quote for a calendar year.

The FAQ also lists an optional add-on, Spark Homework Helper, for middle and high school: $8.00 plus tax per month on a monthly membership, or $67.20 plus tax once for an annual membership. Payments for Spark are non-refundable once processed, the FAQ says.

What the membership covers. The FAQ says grades K–5 include four core subjects and Time4MathFacts, and grades 6–12 include four core subjects and three electives. Preschool is described as math, language arts, science, and social studies. You can change grade level or course from the parent dashboard. High school is organized by course. Time4Learning says it does not assign credits. The parent is the teacher of record.

What it does not do. Time4Learning says the curriculum does not issue a diploma or a transcript. It offers a transcript template the parent fills in. The FAQ says the curriculum is not accredited because it is a curriculum provider, not a school. Time4Learning also offers Brightspire Virtual School, a separate product. Brightspire’s own page calls it a Cognia-accredited private school for grades 6–12. The $39.95 membership on this page is not Brightspire, and Brightspire posts its own tuition. This page is not repeating Time4Learning’s comments about accreditation law in every state. Read your state page for that.

Time and devices. These are Time4Learning’s own estimates, not a stopwatch from this house. The FAQ says parents of K–2 students may spend 1–2 hours a day guiding lessons, parents of 3rd–8th about 30–60 minutes, and parents of high schoolers about 15–30 minutes on progress and assignments. It recommends a computer with a steady internet connection, a screen of at least 10 inches, and Chrome or Firefox. Android is not supported for grades K–5.

The FAQ says you can start mid-year and use quizzes to find a starting point. That is about placement inside Time4Learning. It is separate from your state’s filing date.

Outschool

Outschool’s homepage title says “Live Online Classes for Kids,” ages 3–18, and “140,000+ subjects.” That subject count is Outschool’s figure.

The terms of service describe a marketplace. Parents contract with teachers. Outschool says it does not create the classes. That is why the secular column says varies. A class list can include whatever a teacher offers. Read the class description before you enroll.

Price. There is no single class price that this page can print. Outschool’s payments article, updated May 4, 2026, says the total is the class price the teacher sets, plus any fees. The Marketplace Fee percentage is shown at checkout. When sales tax applies, it appears as a separate line item at checkout and on the receipt. Prices default to US dollars. Outschool also sells memberships, under separate terms updated February 3, 2025. Those terms say packages can have different prices and different credit allotments, and that a membership renews monthly until you cancel. This page does not print the package prices. Read the membership terms before you treat a class price as the only way to pay.

Use Outschool when you want a live teacher for one subject, a short course, or a class you would rather not teach. It is a weak fit when you want one login that covers math, reading, science, and history for the year. Pair it with a curriculum, a book list, or the free programs if those subjects still need a home.

Reading Eggs

Reading Eggs is early reading, plus math on the plan described here. The US pricing page lists the programs by age:

• Reading Eggs Junior, ages 2–4
• Reading Eggs, ages 3–7
• Fast Phonics, ages 5–10
• Reading Eggspress, ages 7–13
• Mathseeds, ages 3–9, on the math plan

Price. The combined reading-and-math plan is $13.99 a month, or $99.99 a year (the page shows that as $8.33 a month). It includes the reading and math programs for up to four children. Homeschool Max is a separate plan at $41.90 a month or $299 a year, also for up to four children. The page says Max adds assignment tools, more detailed reports, a read-aloud recording feature, and a teacher toolkit. The page’s reading-program list includes 692 interactive lessons, 716 printable worksheets, and 4,000+ books. Mathseeds, on that page, is 200 interactive lessons and 280 printable worksheets.

Subscriptions renew unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the next bill, from My Account. The page also offers 30 days of free access and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Read the current terms on the pricing page before you rely on either.

Printed workbooks on the same page are $19.95 each. Book packs are listed separately. The subscription price is the online plan, not those paper extras.

Reading Eggs is a strong match for a child learning to read or building early math, inside the age bands above. It is a weak match as the only curriculum for a 4th grader who also needs history and science, or for a high school course list. Eggspress, on the publisher’s page, goes to age 13 and focuses on comprehension, spelling, and grammar.

Night Zookeeper

Night Zookeeper’s parents page calls it an award-winning reading and writing program for ages 6–12, covering spelling, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary. The page says children can use it on their own, that a parent dashboard shows writing and tutor feedback, and that the environment is ad-free and moderated. It says there is no open chat, and a tutor reviews writing before it is published. The publisher describes it as a full reading and writing curriculum in story form. Children write stories, reports, poems, and other forms.

Price. The support page lists $14.99 a month, $36.99 paid quarterly ($12.33 a month), and $119.90 paid yearly ($9.99 a month). The US prices loaded by the plan-chooser page match those amounts for one child: $14.99 a month, $36.99 for three months, and $119.90 for a year. Adding children changes the total. The parents page says you can add up to three children at checkout, with the total shown there, and that a discount applies as you add children. Prices depend on the currency you select. Read the checkout number in that currency.

The parents page says you can cancel during the 7-day trial and your card is not charged. It suggests at least 30 minutes a week, and a few hours a week if you want the wider set of activities.

Night Zookeeper fits a child in that age range who will do the writing on a tablet, computer, or the iOS app the parents page mentions. It does not cover math, science, or history. Those subjects still need a plan. Free math and a free full curriculum are the other half of that decision.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy’s homeschool help article, updated September 1, 2026, says the articles, videos, exercises, quizzes, and tests are free. Topics named on that page include science, English language arts, math, grammar, art history, computer programming, economics, AP prep, and SAT prep. Parent accounts are free. You can let a child work through a course, or assign specific items and read reports.

For a child under 7, or for foundational skills, the article points you to Khan Academy Kids. It also mentions weekly planners for ages 2–8, and it uses “Get Ready for 3rd Grade” as an example of a course challenge. The article says neither Khan Academy nor Khan Academy Kids is an accredited school, and work there does not count toward a formal diploma or degree.

The same article mentions Khanmigo, a separate AI tutor. A price for Khanmigo was not on that page. Check Khan Academy’s Khanmigo pages before you add it.

Khan Academy is the free option in this comparison. It is a course library with parent tools. It is not a 180-day package that names every subject of a school year and hands you the records. If you want that shape for $0, read the free curriculum guide, especially Easy Peasy. If you want one paid login for the core subjects, Time4Learning is the program in this list built that way.

Which job are you hiring it to do?

• One login for the core subjects, preschool through 12th grade: Time4Learning. Budget $39.95 every 30 days until you see the annual or family offer at signup.
• A live teacher for a subject you will not teach: one or two Outschool classes. The payments article shows the Marketplace Fee percentage at checkout, and sales tax as its own line when tax applies. A membership, if you use one, has a separate price.
• A child learning to read, or early math: Reading Eggs, and Mathseeds if you take the combined plan. Stay inside the age bands on the pricing page.
• Writing, ages 6–12, with someone else responding to the writing: Night Zookeeper. Math and science still need a home.
• Free practice across many courses: Khan Academy, plus your state page for anything the courses do not record for you.

You can combine two of these for two jobs. A Time4Learning login plus one Outschool class is a different budget from Khan Academy plus Night Zookeeper. Add only the rows you will use. The first-month cost table uses these same prices.

Questions to settle before you subscribe