AI Tutors (2026): 10 Tools for Students, Schools and Courses

Good tutoring has always been about patience: explaining the same idea a third way, spotting where someone went wrong and asking the next question instead of handing over the answer. That's exactly what the better AI tutors try to copy.

They don't replace a great teacher, but they can fill the gaps between lessons. The tools below are listed alphabetically and in no particular order, and each description comes from the provider's own website, read this week. For help choosing a human tutor too, my guide on how to choose the right tutor for your child is a good companion.

AI tutors side by side

I checked the free plan column on each provider's own website, as of Oct 2026. Yes means the site names the tool, an account or a plan or version of it as free. Trial only means a time-limited trial. Not stated means the pages I read named neither, even where there's a button inviting you to start, so check the provider's own page before you sign up.

Tool	Type	Good for	Free plan
Brisk	AI tools for teachers with a student tutor	Teachers giving pupils a safe AI helper	Yes
Coursebox	AI course platform with a tutor	Course creators and trainers	Not stated
Flint	AI tutor and activities for schools	A tutor that knows the class	Yes
Khanmigo	Khan Academy's AI tutor and teaching assistant	Learning built on Khan Academy	Not stated
MagicSchool	AI platform for schools and students	District-approved AI for pupils	Not stated
Studdy	AI tutor app	Uploading notes and textbook problems	Not stated
StudyMonkey	AI homework helper and tutor	Step-by-step help across subjects	Yes
Synthesis Tutor	Adaptive maths tutor for children	Pupils aged eight to fourteen	Trial only
Toddle	School LMS with AI tutors	IB and K12 schools on one system	Not stated
Tutor AI	Personal AI tutor	Custom courses on any topic	Yes

Ten AI tutors to try

Brisk

Best for: Teachers who already use Brisk for planning and want safe, interactive AI for students that knows their curriculum.

Coursebox

Best for: Course creators and trainers who want an AI tutor trained on their own content to answer learners at any hour in many languages.

Flint

Best for: Schools and teachers who want to build, assign and monitor AI activities, with a tutor that knows the class it's helping.

Khanmigo

Best for: Families and teachers who trust Khan Academy and want its AI tutor and teaching assistant for maths, science and writing practice.

MagicSchool

Best for: Schools that want students to explore and create with AI tools their teachers can see and manage across the whole district.

Studdy

Best for: University and high school students who want to upload notes, textbooks or homework problems and get one-to-one help instantly.

StudyMonkey

Best for: Secondary students who want step-by-step explanations in maths, science, history and computer science rather than bare answers.

Synthesis Tutor

Best for: Parents of children aged eight to fourteen who want an adaptive tutor that keeps them from falling behind in maths.

Toddle

Best for: IB and K12 schools that want AI tutors inside the learning platform that already handles planning and grading.

Tutor AI

Best for: Self-learners who want a personalised learning path and instant courses on any subject, with homework questions explained step by step.

Which tutor matches the learner

• Children who need maths support: Synthesis Tutor.
• Students uploading their own notes: Studdy.
• A whole school or district: MagicSchool.
• Learners on an online course: Coursebox.
• Adults teaching themselves something new: Tutor AI.

What the Department for Education says

The UK Department for Education says that if it's used safely, effectively and with the right infrastructure in place, AI can support every child to achieve at school and college. It's encouraging, but the condition at the start of that sentence carries a lot of weight.

For parents, safely means knowing who can see a child's questions, whether the tutor is built for their age and whether it explains or simply hands over answers. For schools, it means tools that teachers can see, manage and switch off if they need to.

Home tutors, school platforms and course tutors

Home tutors are apps a student or parent signs up for directly. They're quick to start and usually cover maths, science and writing, with step-by-step explanations rather than bare answers when they're set up well.

School platforms put the tutor inside tools teachers already use, so the class's work and the tutor's help are visible in one place. Course tutors are different again: a trainer or creator uploads their own material, and the tutor answers learners using that content.

Six questions before a child uses one

1. Is it designed for the child's age?
2. Does it explain steps or just give answers?
3. Can a parent or teacher see the conversations?
4. What happens to the child's data?
5. Does it match the curriculum they're following?
6. How will you check it's helping?

For another widely used homework app, see what Photomath includes for free.

Habits that make AI tutoring work

• Ask for hints first. Save the full answer for checking.
• Explain it back. If you can teach it, you've learned it.
• Check facts against class notes. AI can be confidently wrong.
• Keep sessions short. Twenty focused minutes beat an hour of drifting.

Tutor apps for homework often come with limits, so see how much of Gauth is free.

Signs an AI tutor isn't helping

• Grades stay flat after several weeks.
• The student copies answers without reading them.
• Explanations don't match what's taught in class.
• Sessions turn into chatting rather than learning.

Do you make AI tutoring or learning tools? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.

My plain advice on AI tutors

Choose by who's learning and who needs to keep an eye on it. A young child needs a tutor built for their age with a parent dashboard, while a university student can get a lot from uploading notes and asking for explanations.

Whichever you pick, judge it on understanding, not finished homework. If a student can explain the topic after a session, it's working. For prompts that turn a general chatbot into a study partner, my guide to AI writing tools that help students study smarter has ideas.

Frequently asked questions

What is an AI tutor?

A tool that uses AI to explain topics, work through problems and answer questions, adapting to how the learner is doing.

Is there a free AI tutor?

Several tools on this list name a free option on their own site, so check the free plan column.

Can an AI tutor replace a human tutor?

It can fill the gaps between lessons, but a good human tutor still spots problems an app can miss.

Are AI tutors safe for children?

Look for tools built for their age, with parent or teacher oversight and clear data policies.

Do AI tutors just give students the answers?

The better ones guide students through each step instead, so check how a tool behaves before relying on it.

Which subjects can AI tutors help with?

Most cover maths, science and writing, and some cover almost any subject you upload notes for.