Comparison

Brilliant vs Laracasts Courses

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Brilliant

This app offers a personalized learning experience for math and coding, acting as a virtual tutor. It guides users through problems, fostering understanding and problem-solving skills with expert-crafted content. Suitable for learners from grade 5 through college and beyond.

Highlights
  • Personalized one-on-one learning
  • Interactive problem-solving guidance
  • Expert-crafted curriculum
  • Adaptive learning system
  • Builds critical thinking skills
  • Covers math, coding, science, and more
Features
Read full description

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/

About

Laracasts Courses

Access thousands of expert-led video lessons on modern web development, including Laravel, PHP, JavaScript, and AI. Track your progress, learn on the go with background audio, and explore curated series. Free episodes are available without an account.

Highlights
  • Thousands of video lessons
  • Laravel, PHP, JavaScript, AI topics
  • Track learning progress
  • Background audio playback
  • Dedicated AI Hub
  • Curated series browsing
Features
Read full description

Laracasts brings the web's best screencasts for modern web development straight to your iPhone. Watch thousands of expert-led video lessons - from Laravel, PHP, and JavaScript to AI, testing, and deployment - wherever you go. Browse curated series, track your learning progress, and pick up right where you left off with background audio playback. Whether you're a beginner writing your first route or a senior engineer leveling up on advanced AI workflows, Laracasts has a path for you. Features: - Stream thousands of video lessons on Laravel, PHP, Vue.js, and more - Browse by topic, series, or instructor - Track your watch progress and resume where you left off - Background audio playback for on-the-go learning - Dedicated AI Hub for AI-focused courses and resources - Clean, dark-themed interface built for focused learning - Free episodes available without an account.

Screenshots

Brilliant4 screens
Laracasts Courses4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Laracasts Courses at none against Brilliant's 10. Laracasts Courses also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (100% vs 79%). Brilliant's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (33K vs 5). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Brilliant sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Laracasts Courses asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Brilliant holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Brilliant has 33K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 79% of Brilliant's written reviews are positive against 100% of Laracasts Courses's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brilliant ships an update weekly, Laracasts Courses every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Brilliant versus Laracasts Courses: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrilliantLaracasts Courses
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (33K ratings) — better4.4 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews78.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings33K — better5
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#73 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size104 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrilliant.orgJeffrey Way

Customer experience

Brilliant

All ratings33,328 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral2.3%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews3,673 reviews
Positive78.9%
Neutral7.7%
Negative13.4%

Laracasts Courses

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

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
Show 1 more
  • More courses in other scientific fields

Laracasts Courses

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Brilliant

Subscriptions10
  • Brilliant Premium - Personal stats & exclusive problems$19.991 Month
  • Brilliant Premium: Fun, challenging problems in math and science by experts$24.991 Month
  • Brilliant Premium$24.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • Brilliant Premium with Tutor$30.001 Month
  • Brilliant Premium: Fun, challenging problems in math and science by experts$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 Premium with Tutor7 Days trial$191.991 Year
None

Laracasts Courses

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Brilliant free?
Brilliant is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Laracasts Courses free?
Laracasts Courses is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Brilliant or Laracasts Courses?
Brilliant is rated higher. Brilliant averages 4.7 out of 5 from 33K ratings, while Laracasts Courses averages 4.4 from 5 ratings.
Do Brilliant or Laracasts Courses have ads?
Brilliant shows ads; Laracasts Courses does not.
Which is updated more often, Brilliant or Laracasts Courses?
Brilliant ships an update weekly, and Laracasts Courses every 6 weeks. Most recently, Brilliant was updated on November 4, 2026 and Laracasts Courses on October 31, 2026.

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