Brilliant vs PhET Interactive Simulations

Brilliant is an interactive STEM learning service with courses in math, coding, data science, science, technology, and AI. Learners work through problems, explore visual models, and receive immediate feedback. Most courses include Koji, a digital tutor that guides learners through reasoning step by step. Free accounts can access all courses but are limited to two lessons per day in sequence, see occasional ads, and receive only a limited Koji preview. Premium adds unlimited lessons and practice, the option to jump to any lesson, an ad-free experience, and full Koji access. Individual Premium is listed at $20 a year, billed as one payment and renewed annually; Family Premium is $40 a year, also billed as one payment and renewed annually, with six seats included. Eligible K–12 teachers and their students may receive free Premium through an application-reviewed educator program. That program supports Google Classroom roster syncing and lesson sharing. Its reports show lesson completion, time spent, course progress, and completion dates, but not answer-level correctness or formal grades. Brilliant runs on Android, iOS, and web, and lessons require an internet connection and cannot be downloaded.

PhET Interactive Simulations provides interactive science and mathematics simulations for students from preschool through university. Its design emphasizes scientific inquiry, visual mental models, multiple representations, real-world connections, and flexible classroom use; the simulations include virtual experiments and guided lessons. PhET says simulations are evaluated for educational effectiveness through student interviews and classroom observation. All are open source, and they are written in HTML5, with some legacy simulations in Java or Flash. They can run online or be downloaded. Android and iOS apps include HTML5 simulations and translations for offline use and automatically download new HTML5 simulations. A desktop app provides HTML5 and Java simulations and translations for offline use on Windows and macOS. The service is available on the web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and select Chromebooks. Android browser-based HTML5 simulations and Linux are not officially supported. The free simulations plan is available to students and teachers. Commercial use requires a license from the University of Colorado Boulder.