Brilliant Verdict (2026)

The scorecard

Why B: Excellent interactive teaching and responsive support, but $240 a year up front, a terms-of-use clause making charges nonrefundable and frequent renewal complaints keep it out of BUY.

Overall is the weighted mean of the five rows, adjusted by a small slug-seeded offset so that brands never line up in a false staircase, and capped at 9.8. Full working on the Methodology page (v2.1).

Findings in brief

1. Premium lists at $20 a month for an individual and $40 a month for a six-seat Family plan, both billed as one annual payment.
2. The free tier allows two ‘keys’ a day, each unlocking one concept, forces topics in order and shows occasional ads; Premium removes all three limits.
3. Brilliant’s terms say charges are nonrefundable except where the law requires; a self-serve refund button appears in settings only for some web subscriptions.
4. Koji, the built-in tutor, is AI built partly on a third-party model; Premium gets unlimited use and free users a limited preview.
5. Trustpilot rates it 4.2 from about three thousand reviews; praise centres on fast support and complaints on annual renewals that caught people out.
6. Trials are occasional promotions rather than a standing offer, and they require a card and convert to paid Premium automatically.

Range overview

Brilliant is a San Francisco company that teaches math, computer science, science and data analysis through short interactive lessons in which you manipulate a diagram or write a line of code before any explanation appears. The catalogue is more than 40 courses, from algebra and logic to Python, probability and regression. Its about page says Algebra is now fully covered, with Geometry, Probability and Calculus next. A tutor called Koji watches your on-screen work and nudges rather than solves. The free tier is rationed; Premium is sold to individuals and families, with gift and group options and free classroom access for eligible K-12 teachers. It suits self-motivated adults, older students and homeschoolers who want reasoning practice, not exam prep.

Product by product

5 items. Each chip is a per-product call and can differ from the brand verdict.

Premium (Individual) CONSIDER

Listed at $20 a month, billed as one annual payment, which makes it $240 a year with an advertised 33 percent saving over monthly billing. It unlocks every course, removes the two-a-day key limit and the ads, lets you jump to any concept, and gives unlimited access to the Koji tutor. The teaching is the best in this format, and the problem-first design suits people who learn by doing. The weakness is the commitment: it is a year paid up front, refunds are discretionary, and the price sits well above most learning apps.

StrengthInteractive, problem-first lessons with unlimited AI tutoring

WeaknessA year paid up front; refunds are at Brilliant’s discretion

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Family plan BUY

Six seats for $40 a month billed annually, so each seat costs a third of an individual plan if you fill them. Every member gets their own Premium account; the buyer administers billing and takes one seat. Children under 13 can join without an email once a parent consents, which matters for homeschoolers. The help page says the plan is fixed at six seats, so a full house means removing someone before adding someone new, and invitees cannot already hold an active Premium subscription. For two or more learners it is clearly the better buy.

StrengthSix accounts for twice the price of one

WeaknessFixed at six seats; existing Premium members cannot simply join

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Free plan CONSIDER

Free accounts get two keys a day, each opening one concept or practice set, with keys resetting at midnight local time. Topics must be worked through in order, there are occasional ads between concepts, and Koji is a limited preview. Streaks, XP and leagues are included. It costs nothing and is enough to judge whether the problem-first style works for you. As a long-term plan it is frustrating: two concepts a day is slow progress, and the inability to skip ahead punishes anyone who already knows the early material.

StrengthReal lessons at no cost, with streaks and leagues

WeaknessTwo concepts a day and no skipping ahead

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Koji tutor CONSIDER

Koji is the tutor built into Premium lessons. Brilliant says it can see what is on your screen, guides step by step rather than giving answers, and is built in part on a third-party AI model with Brilliant’s own behaviour on top. The company claims it is exceedingly unlikely to make a math mistake. Coverage spans nearly all math and coding topics. It has no separate price; it comes with Premium. It is useful for adults stuck without a teacher. The weakness is the third-party model, which the help page does not name, and that you can mute it entirely.

StrengthHints, not answers; sees your work in context

WeaknessUnderlying third-party model not named; unavailable in classroom access

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Brilliant for Educators BUY

Eligible K-12 teachers and their students can get classroom access free, with the full catalogue, no daily key limits and no ads. The help center has articles on rolling it out to a school or district. It is the best deal Brilliant offers and the one to try first if you teach. The catch is that classroom access does not include Koji, so the AI tutor that anchors the consumer pitch is missing. Eligibility checks apply, and the help pages do not say whether access continues for students outside class time.

StrengthFull catalogue free for eligible teachers and students

WeaknessNo Koji tutor; eligibility rules apply

Check at Brilliant

Policies at a glance

Values are short phrases taken from the brand's own pages at the time of the last update. "Not stated" means the desk could not find the policy in writing.

Caveats

• The most frequent complaint on Trustpilot is an annual renewal or trial conversion that the customer forgot, followed by a refused refund; one reviewer called the zero grace period consumer-unfriendly.
• Brilliant’s terms make charges nonrefundable except as the law requires. The ‘Request a refund’ button only appears for some web purchases, and app-store buyers must ask Apple or Google.
• Disputing a charge with your bank locks the payment and, per Brilliant, can take up to 60 days to resolve; try the refund route first.
• Prices are set by region, and the annual figure is shown as a monthly rate; the total charged is twelve times what the page headlines.

Sentiment from reviews

Trustpilot gives Brilliant a ‘Great’ 4.2 from around three thousand reviews, with most reviews at five stars and a sizeable one-star minority. The positive reviews are unusually likely to praise customer service: quick replies, account problems fixed and some refunds granted. Learners describe the lessons as engaging, and parents mention children using it happily.

The negative reviews are mostly about money: annual renewals people forgot, trials that converted to a year’s charge, and refunds refused. A smaller group says some lessons are shallow and more puzzle than education. On the App Store it holds 4.7 from tens of thousands of ratings; recent critics there want a way to review finished material, note that some courses have disappeared, and find it costly next to free alternatives.

Compare against

The verdict

What we read

• Read the brilliant.org Premium page in October 2026 for US prices and billing terms, plus a regional version showing rupee pricing.
• Read Brilliant help center articles on pricing, free versus Premium, trials, family plans, refunds, cancellation and Koji in October 2026.
• Read Brilliant’s about page in October 2026 for company focus, accreditation and the course roadmap.

Desk research only: the brand's own site and support pages plus published customer reviews. Nothing was purchased or tested by this site. Scored under Methodology v2.1.