➗ Math apps and platforms
NRICH
By University of Cambridge (NRICH, Faculty of Education and Centre for Mathematical Sciences). Visit NRICH
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
NRICH is a free website of math problems, games and investigations from the University of Cambridge, organized by age from early years to post-16 and by topic. Children try open-ended puzzles and multi-step problems that reward reasoning over speed, and many tasks include teacher notes, hints and published student solutions. There are pages for students, teachers and parents. It follows the English school system's stages, so U.S. families will need to map grades.
Our take: A great free source of puzzles for curious kids and the adults who work with them; children who need step-by-step practice will want a structured program alongside it.
Checked in a browser
A browser check on 2026-10-25: what loads, the ads and trackers we saw, and what a child meets first. Not a hands-on test.
| Child safety: 4 out of 5 | No ads or chat; a few links to social media. |
|---|---|
| Data: 4 out of 5 | Only Matomo, a privacy-light analytics service, loaded, and no cookies were set. |
| Ease: 3 out of 5 | Clear cards for Students and Parents, but a cookie banner and teacher-first wording mean a child needs help. |
| Cost honesty: 5 out of 5 | Free and open to all; no upgrade prompt. |
What we found
- Contacted 4 outside sites; the only analytics was matomo.cloud.
- 0 cookies set before the cookie banner was answered.
- The cookie banner offers a clear 'Deny all' button.
- Page text: resources are 'free to use for teachers, students and parents'.
From the test: A free, low-tracking math problem site from the University of Cambridge, best used with a grown-up or teacher.
| Ages it suits | about 3-18 (early years to post-16) |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | No minimum age for browsing. Users aged 16 or under must have a parent's or guardian's permission before submitting anything, such as a solution, to the site. (terms) |
| Price | Free. Free (Oct 2026); paid webinars and professional development are offered for teachers. |
| Works on | Web |
| Account | No account needed |
| Ads | None |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | No AI. |
What's good
- Free with no account or ads
- Rich problems that build reasoning
- Covers ages 3 to 18
- Parent pages explain how to help
Watch for
- English school stages, not U.S. grades
- Little hand-holding for a child working alone
- Uses Google Analytics
Data and privacy
The privacy page says the site logs standard request data such as IP address and uses cookies and Google Analytics to study site use. No account is needed to use the problems. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
NRICH links its own research papers on projects such as parental involvement in math and challenging high attainers; no independent study of the site's effect on learning was found.
In the Big Index
Alternatives to NRICH
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ABCmouse
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ABCya
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Handy for quick grade-level practice in class or at home; skip if you want an ad-free experience without paying.
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Adventure Academy
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Good for kids who love online games and need a nudge toward school subjects; families wanting no social contact should set chat to off or choose a solo app.
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ALEKS
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A rigorous, mastery-based option for motivated older students or homeschoolers; younger or easily bored kids may prefer something more playful.
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AoPS Online
Art of Problem Solving (AoPS Incorporated) · ages grades 5-12 (about 10-18)
A strong fit for a child who loves hard math and wants contest prep; a child who is behind in math needs something gentler.
Where these facts come from
- https://nrich.maths.org/
- https://nrich.maths.org/terms-and-conditions
- https://nrich.maths.org/privacy
- https://nrich.maths.org/impact-stories
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.