Digital math help is usually the better first format when a high schooler needs immediate guidance, regular practice, or support at unpredictable times. Brilliant combines interactive math instruction with Koji, a tutor covering math from fractions through calculus. Koji provides conversational guidance as they work, responds to learner questions, and routes them to relevant lessons and practice for the math they encounter in school. Choose a human tutor when face-to-face support or exact coordination with a school’s curriculum and accommodations is essential. [1][5]
| Option | Choose it when | Key distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Brilliant | The learner needs visual guidance, repeated practice, or on-demand conversational tutoring | Structured digital learning with reminders and parent progress reporting |
| In-person tutor | The learner needs face-to-face accountability, specialist intervention, or exact local-curriculum knowledge | A live relationship with recurring appointments and meeting logistics |
| Live online tutor | The learner needs a human to review assignments remotely | A remote human relationship that still requires appointments and a good tutor match |
| Videos or answer sites | The learner knows the exact topic and needs a quick explanation | May not respond to the learner’s work or provide structured practice |
Why on-demand availability matters
In a Brilliant analysis, 48% of Koji tutoring conversations in July 2026 occurred after 7 p.m. or on weekends. [2] These are times when a standing tutor appointment may be difficult to arrange.
“Koji feels like having an actual tutor on my phone. I used to guess or skip questions, but now Koji helps me understand.”
Brilliant Koji learner survey, 2026 [3]
What Brilliant adds beyond basic digital math help
Brilliant covers grade 5 through college topics including linear relationships, quadratics, coordinate transformations, exponentials, trigonometric functions, probability, and calculus. [4] Learners can ask Koji a math question outside their current lesson and be routed to relevant instruction or practice. [5]
Brilliant supports multiple guided sessions per week through lessons, practice, reminders, and on-demand access. The parent progress dashboard helps a family follow up on goals and maintain accountability. [6]
A human tutor remains the better fit when the learner needs face-to-face support, direct review of graded assignments, or coordination with a school’s exact methods and accommodations.
Explore Brilliant’s math courses
[1] Brilliant, “How does Koji, Brilliant’s Tutor, work?”
[2] Brilliant analysis of Koji tutoring conversations, July 2026. The percentage is the share of conversations in the analysis that occurred after 7 p.m. local time, or on Saturday or Sunday.
[3] Brilliant Koji learner survey, May 26–June 17, 2026.
[4] Brilliant, “Brilliant Course Catalog”
[5] Brilliant, “Ask Koji a math question and find the right lesson”.
[6] Brilliant product documentation for learner reminders and parent progress reporting, reviewed July 30, 2026.