IXL Review: Ratings, Pros and Cons vs Magrid for Young Learners

Quick answer: IXL is a learning platform for Pre-K to Grade 12 that reads questions aloud through Grade 2 and tracks progress with a 0–100 SmartScore. Magrid is a cognitive foundation method for children aged about 4 to 8: language-free learning with no text, no scores and short 10 to 15-minute sessions. IXL suits children who are already beginning to read; Magrid suits children who are not reading yet, whatever language they speak.

Continuing our series on leading maths learning programmes, today we look at IXL, one of the most widely used learning platforms in the world: by its own count, 18 million students use it. IXL covers maths, English, science and more, from Pre-K all the way to Grade 12, which makes it a familiar name in many schools and homes.

In this article, we compare IXL with Magrid, with a special focus on the youngest learners. What do the two have in common, where do they differ, and which one fits a child who is just starting out? Let’s take a look.

IXL vs Magrid at a glance

What IXL and Magrid have in common

Both IXL and Magrid are built for real classrooms, so they share several features that teachers value.

• Teacher control: Teachers decide what students work on and can adapt the path to each child.
• Progress tracking: Both give teachers clear reports to see how each student is doing and where they need help.
• Curriculum alignment: Both are mapped to widely used maths standards, so they fit into structured school programmes. See how Magrid aligns with major curricula.
• Works across devices: IXL runs on the web and in its mobile app. Magrid runs on Android and iOS tablets and on computers.
• Easy class setup: Schools can create classes and student accounts centrally. Magrid teachers and students can even log in by scanning a QR code, with no password to type. Find out more about using Magrid in the classroom.

Does IXL read questions aloud? Design for pre-readers

The biggest difference shows up the moment a child opens each programme. IXL serves students from Pre-K to Grade 12, so its design is built around written text. To help younger students, IXL reads questions and answer choices aloud through Grade 2 when a child clicks the blue speaker, and, according to IXL’s own guidance, teachers can extend that audio support to higher grades. IXL also adds audio to its maths explanations in Pre-K to Grade 2. IXL also reports that it is available in more than 120 languages, with audio in more than 80 of them, so students can see skills in their native language. That support is genuinely helpful, but the experience still starts from words, with audio and translation added on top.

Magrid starts from the other end. It was designed from day one for children who cannot read yet, so it uses no words at all, in any language. Every task is shown through animation: a hand demonstrates what to do, and the child simply follows. Navigation uses a few clear symbols, like arrows, a checkmark and a home icon, and the colours are calm and uncluttered. You can read more about Magrid’s learning approach.

The result is a screen that a four-year-old can understand on their own. That makes Magrid a natural fit for pre-readers, multilingual classrooms and children learning in a second language, and for children with hearing impairments or speech and language difficulties.

Which programmes train cognitive skills before maths?

IXL offers a large library of maths practice, from Pre-K through calculus. When a student gets a question wrong, IXL shows a step-by-step explanation of the right answer, so children can learn from their mistakes. It is a strong, well-organised way to practise content, and Common Sense Education describes its format as mostly drill and practice.

Magrid goes one layer deeper. Before children can calculate with confidence, they need the thinking skills that maths is built on: seeing shapes in the mind, rotating and folding them, spotting patterns, remembering what they saw, and coordinating hand and eye. Magrid trains these visual-spatial and cognitive skills directly, alongside number sense and early mathematics, through short, hands-on exercises.

This approach comes from over ten years of research led by the University of Luxembourg, with partner universities in Germany, France and Portugal. The first peer-reviewed study of Magrid was published in 2018 in the International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, followed by doctoral research on its learning analytics at the University of Luxembourg. In the empirical studies run in Luxembourg preschools and reported in that paper and the doctoral thesis, children who trained with Magrid performed significantly better on several measures of early mathematical ability, even though Magrid itself uses no language. Today Magrid is used by more than 60,000 children in over 1,000 schools across 15 countries, and has been part of national education policy in Luxembourg since 2020. Explore the research and evidence behind it.

Scores and mistakes: IXL SmartScore vs a pressure-free start

The two programmes take very different views on scores. IXL uses its SmartScore, a number from 0 to 100 that goes up with correct answers and down with incorrect ones. From 90, in what IXL calls the Challenge Zone, correct answers add only 1 to 2 points while incorrect answers take away 3 to 8, so students must answer consistently to reach mastery, according to IXL’s own SmartScore guide. IXL presents this as a deliberate, mastery-based design.

Magrid has no scores for children to chase and no points to lose. Instead of points, badges or leaderboards, children simply get a cheerful sound and a friendly animation when they finish a set of exercises. A mistake is just part of learning: the child tries again and moves forward at their own pace. Progress is still measured carefully, but behind the scenes, through built-in assessments at the start, middle and end of the programme that teachers can see in their reports.

For young children, and especially for children who feel anxious or are easily overwhelmed, this calm, pressure-free approach keeps the focus on thinking rather than on the score. It is one reason Magrid is used in inclusive and special education settings. Sessions of 10 to 15 minutes are short enough to sit comfortably within WHO guidance on screen time for young children, which keeps learning healthy and balanced.

IXL reviews and ratings: what reviewers say

Independent reviewers give IXL real credit. Common Sense Education highlights the real-time diagnostic data that gives teachers a personalised list of skills to practise for each student, and notes that its breadth of content helps teachers differentiate. Common Sense Media, which rates IXL as suitable for ages 5 and up, calls it a comprehensive learning resource, while noting that the practice-and-drill approach may not thrill some children and that some may feel they need to get every answer right. Parent reviewers on the same site also point to the scoring system as a source of frustration.

IXL pros and cons at a glance

Magrid earns strong marks too. The Educational App Store, whose reviewers are qualified teachers and parents, rates Magrid 5 out of 5 and has certified it. Teachers often tell us how well it supports independent learning, even for very young children and children with special educational needs, and how calm and focused children are while using it.

The most common request we hear is for more content for older children. That work is under way, and new content is released only once it has been tested to meet Magrid’s educational and scientific standards.

IXL or Magrid: which fits a young learner?

IXL is a powerful, well-established learning platform. Its huge library spans subjects and grades all the way up to calculus, and its reports give teachers detailed insight. For students who already read confidently and enjoy structured practice, it is a solid choice.

Magrid is foundational learning infrastructure for a different moment: the very start of a child’s learning journey, when the foundations matter most. Children aged about 4 to 8, and older children with special educational needs, can use it on their own from the first day, whatever language they speak and whether or not they can read. It trains the visual-spatial and cognitive skills that maths, and much more, is built on, without scores, pressure or penalties, and it is backed by peer-reviewed research.

So if you are supporting a young learner who needs a calm, intuitive and inclusive start, Magrid may be exactly the head start they need. Find out more about what Magrid is and how it works, start a free trial, or see how Magrid compares with Mathletics.

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