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 pre-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.