TED Talks vs Brilliant
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TED Talks
Access thousands of inspiring and informative videos on a wide range of topics. Get personalized recommendations, watch with subtitles in over 100 languages, and download content for offline viewing. Stay curious and informed with this educational resource.
- Personalized recommendations
- Subtitles in over 100 languages
- Browse by topic or curator picks
- Stream to Apple TV with AirPlay
- Download videos for offline viewing
- Watchlist for later
- Surprise Me! feature
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Get personalized recommendations that match your unique interests, or browse TED’s library of thousands of inspiring, informative, transformational videos for free. Features on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch: ・Sign in to get personalized recommendations and sync videos across all your devices ・Watch videos with subtitles in over 100 languages ・Check out the newest and trending videos, browse by topic, or select from our curators’ picks ・Stream videos to your Apple TV with AirPlay ・Download videos to watch offline ・Add talks your list to watch later ・Toggle between dark mode or light modes ・Get instant inspiration with the “Surprise Me!” feature Get the TED app to stay curious, informed and inspired.
Brilliant
Master math and computer science through interactive, visual lessons. This app focuses on active problem-solving and personalized practice to build critical thinking and STEM skills. Ideal for students and lifelong learners seeking to deepen their understanding and confidence.
- Interactive problem-solving lessons
- Personalized practice sets
- Visual explanations of concepts
- Expert-crafted STEM courses
- Real-time feedback
- Builds critical thinking skills
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Brilliant is a superintelligent tutor for math and coding. Our team of experts from MIT and Harvard has built a world-class personalized learning system. For students from grade 5 to college and beyond – you work through problems with a tutor that sees where you’re stuck, can sketch right on your screen, asks the right questions, and guides you to real a-ha moments. Forget memorizing formulas. Brilliant is designed to build real understanding and help you excel. It’s there when you need it, adapts to how you think, and makes learning feel like a fun challenge instead of a chore. Master everything from foundational math and algebra to college-level calculus, Python, computer science, AI, neural networks, algorithms, data analysis, physics, and more. Join over 10 million people using Brilliant to reach their learning goals. WHY BRILLIANT WORKS - One-on-one learning for all Private tutoring is the most effective way to learn, but it’s expensive, hard to schedule, and out of reach for most families. Brilliant’s tutor works with you one-on-one, every single day, for a fraction of the cost. No scheduling. No waiting. Just learning. - Like someone sitting next to you Brilliant’s tutor can see what’s on your screen and react in real time, from highlighting parts of a problem to creating visualizations that bring hard concepts to life. - Expert-crafted curriculum Every course is crafted by our team of human experts from top institutions around the world. And with new and updated courses added every month, there’s always something new to explore. - Learning that adapts to you Brilliant’s tutor personalizes your experience in real time, adjusting to your skill level, filling gaps before they become problems, and helping you build confidence as you go. - Build true problem-solving skills Brilliant doesn’t give you answers. It guides you through problems and to your own a-ha moments. So while you’re learning, you’re also building critical thinking and analytical skills – and having fun. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING “Koji doesn’t judge. It feels like talking to the most patient teacher.” — Alan “Going through a lesson with Koji is more active, interactive, and guided than traditional learning.” — Lory “She read the problem out loud and figured it out on her own — ‘Oh! I know! Never mind, Mom, I got it!’ I'm seeing those breakthroughs more often.” — Arianne Send feedback to ios@brilliant.org. LIKE US: https://facebook.com/brilliantorg FOLLOW US: https://x.com/brilliantorg Privacy Policy: https://brilliant.org/privacy_policy/ Terms of Use: https://brilliant.org/terms-of-use/
Screenshots
Verdict
TED Talks and Brilliant both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 79% of Brilliant's written reviews are positive against 44% of TED Talks's. Brilliant also leads on chart position (#85 vs unranked) and update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). TED Talks's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 19) and ads (none vs shown). On price, rating, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Brilliant sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. TED Talks asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for TED Talks against 4.7 for Brilliant. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10K and 33K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 44% of TED Talks's written reviews are positive against 79% of Brilliant's.
TED Talks ships an update fortnightly, Brilliant weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TED Talks | Brilliant |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (10K ratings) | 4.7 (33K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 43.7% of reviews | 79.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 10K | 33K — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #85 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 178 MB | 104 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TED Conferences LLC | Brilliant.org |
Customer experience
TED Talks
Brilliant
User reviews
TED Talks
From 10K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great content
- 👍 Inspiring and thought-provoking
- 📚 Variety of topics
- 🎧 Convenient for listening on the go
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and unstable
- 🔍 Poor search functionality
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🔇 Audio/video playback issues
- 📥 Download feature not working as expected
Brilliant
From 33K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Quick exercises, fast improvement
- 👍 Engaging and easy learning
- 👍 Effective learning of complex topics
- 👍 Intuitive and challenging but not intimidating
- 👍 Wonderful learning tool
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches
- 🔍 Limited variety of learning methods
- 🔍 Limited course selection
- 🔍 Inconsistent explanations and unclear wording
Bugs and requests
TED Talks
Reported bugs
5 issues- App crashes frequently
- Videos fail to load or play
- Saved talks disappear from user's list
- Syncing issues with user accounts
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to create and manage playlists
- Implement background audio playback
- Improve Chromecast support
- Add more customization options (e.g., video playback speed, dark mode)
- Enhance discoverability of new and relevant content
Brilliant
Reported bugs
4 issues- Progress not saving correctly
- Explanations not loading properly
- Home page not loading
- Difficulty cancelling subscription
Requested features
6 requests- Dark mode option
- Offline mode
- Spaced repetition practice
- Ability to bookmark/save difficult problems
- More detailed explanations
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- More courses in other scientific fields
In-app purchases
TED Talks
No in-app purchases
Brilliant
- Brilliant Premium - Personal stats & exclusive problems$19.991 Month
- Brilliant Premium: Fun, challenging problems in math and science by experts2 variants$24.991 Month
- Brilliant Premium$24.991 Month
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- Brilliant Premium with Tutor$30.001 Month
- Brilliant Premium: Fun, challenging problems in math and science by experts$74.991 Year
- Brilliant Premium: Fun, challenging problems in math and science by experts$96.991 Year
- Brilliant Premium: Fun, challenging problems in math and science by experts$111.991 Year
- Brilliant Premium$111.991 Year
- Brilliant Premium: Fun, challenging problems in math and science by experts2 variants$119.991 Year
- Brilliant Premium$127.991 Year
- Brilliant Premium7 Days trial$127.991 Year
- Brilliant Premium: Fun, challenging problems in math and science by experts$149.991 Year
- Brilliant Premium7 Days trial$149.991 Year
- Brilliant Premium7 Days trial$159.991 Year
- Brilliant Premium with Tutor7 Days trial$167.991 Year
- Brilliant Premium with Tutor7 Days trial$191.991 Year









