Ilmino vs CENTURY Tech

CENTURY Tech and Ilmino both use artificial intelligence to personalise learning, but they solve different problems in the classroom. CENTURY is an established, cross-sector adaptive learning platform that builds pathways through curriculum micro-lessons based on each learner's strengths, gaps and misconceptions, and it carries real institutional credibility and mature analytics. Ilmino is a current, reasoning-focused AI practice and assessment environment for students and schools: it marks exam-board-aligned questions against mark schemes, analyses how a learner worked, and recommends what to practise next. For school leaders and teachers, the choice is between a mature adaptive micro-lesson pathway and a working-aware AI assessment platform that runs alongside your teaching.

Ilmino is developed by ILM AI. This comparison is based on publicly available information and is intended to help learners, families and institutions understand the differences between the platforms.

Ilmino vs CENTURY Tech: quick answer

CENTURY Tech is a mature, cross-sector adaptive learning platform with established institutional credibility, well suited to schools and colleges that want ready-made personalised pathways through curriculum content. Ilmino is a current AI practice and assessment platform that marks typed and handwritten working against mark schemes, identifies method marks and misconceptions, runs full timed exam modes and interactive STEM simulations, and personalises with Bayesian recommendations inside a customisable dashboard. Choose CENTURY for established adaptive micro-lessons; choose Ilmino for exam-board-aligned AI marking, working-step feedback and a school-controlled environment.

Quick comparison

Prices change often; confirm on the provider's official pricing page.

What Ilmino offers

Ilmino is the AI learning platform that understands how students work, not only the final answers they give. A learner practises exam-board-aligned questions by subject, topic and difficulty, answers by typing or by writing on an interactive canvas, and receives instant AI marking mapped to exam-board question styles and mark schemes. Ilmino's working-step analysis evaluates the intermediate steps in a solution, so feedback reflects the method a student used and awards credit where a mark scheme would, rather than only checking whether the final number is right. Ilmino combines Bayesian personalisation, exam-board-aligned AI practice, mark-scheme feedback, working-step analysis and interactive simulations within a customisable learning environment.

The core loop is concrete and current: a learner opens Practice Mode, attempts questions, shows their working, gets instant mark-scheme-aligned feedback that identifies where marks were lost and which misconception caused it, receives a Bayesian recommendation for what to practise next, and goes again. The majority of Practice Mode is free, with quick practice, standard tests and full timed exam modes for building exam stamina. Progress feeds a revision planner, goals and sub-goals, streaks and progress tracking, and interactive STEM simulations help learners see a concept rather than only read it.

For school leaders and teachers, Ilmino for Institution is the school-controlled learning and management platform that sits behind the student experience: curriculum spaces, assignments and tests, AI marking with teacher review, connected teacher and parent dashboards, strengths and weaknesses analytics, and transparent AI usage so a school can see how AI is being used rather than treat it as an opaque feature. Ilmino's initial focus is UK GCSE and A-Level, with KS3, IGCSE and wider subjects planned, so it does not claim full curriculum coverage today. Raphael is a separate advanced visual teaching agent, covered below.

What CENTURY Tech offers

CENTURY Tech is an AI-powered assessment, teaching and learning platform used across schools, colleges, further education, home learning and international education. It is a genuinely established, cross-sector product, and it deserves credit for that maturity and institutional credibility. According to CENTURY, the platform builds adaptive learning pathways based on each learner's strengths, gaps and misconceptions, and delivers content through in-house and teacher-created micro-lessons, combining short explanatory content with self-marking questions that update the pathway as a learner progresses.

CENTURY reports that teachers receive analytics and intervention data to spot where a class or individual is struggling, which is a mature and well-regarded part of its offering. It supports institutional settings across schools, colleges, FE and international education, and there is a parent and home-learning subscription for families. This established analytics layer and cross-sector track record are real strengths that a school can rely on today. Ilmino, by contrast, has no published efficacy studies, and it would be wrong to imply otherwise. If your priority is a proven adaptive pathway with an existing institutional footprint, CENTURY is a serious and credible option. Prices and product details should be confirmed on CENTURY's official pricing page, as they change often.

Key differences

Adaptive micro-lesson pathways vs working-aware assessment

CENTURY's model is an adaptive pathway: from a learner's performance, the platform recommends which micro-lesson comes next, taking planning off a teacher's plate. Ilmino's centre of gravity is assessment of the work itself. Ilmino does more than generate questions. It marks against exam expectations, explains where marks were lost, analyses how the learner worked and recommends what to practise next. For exam-heavy subjects like maths and science, where examiners award method marks, that difference changes the kind of feedback a student receives.

Answers and pathway progress vs method and misconception

CENTURY's self-marking questions and pathway progress focus on answers and the route through content. Ilmino's marking reads intermediate steps, awards credit for method, and names the misconception behind a lost mark. Both platforms identify misconceptions, but Ilmino does so from the learner's actual working rather than only from which question was answered correctly.

School-controlled environment and transparent AI

Ilmino for Institution is a school-controlled learning and management platform: schools shape their own curriculum spaces, assignments and tests, with AI the institution controls and transparent AI usage and cost. CENTURY delivers a platform-defined adaptive route with mature teacher analytics. Both serve institutions well; they differ in how much the school shapes the AI and the content around its own workflows.

Practice, assessment and feedback

Assessment is where the two platforms diverge most, and where school leaders and teachers will feel the difference day to day. CENTURY's self-marking questions are efficient and immediate, and they feed the adaptive engine cleanly, which is exactly what a guided micro-lesson pathway needs.

Ilmino leans into higher-stakes, exam-shaped practice. Quick practice, standard tests and full timed exam modes mirror real papers, and instant AI marking is mapped to exam-board question styles and mark schemes. The distinctive layer is working-step analysis: typed and handwritten answers are both supported through the interactive canvas, and the system evaluates the reasoning between the first line and the final answer. It identifies method marks, flags the specific misconception behind an error, and explains where the method broke down, so feedback looks more like a teacher's annotations than a right-or-wrong tick. Ilmino's marking is AI-supported rather than infallible, so a confidence score and teacher review matter for high-stakes use, and both are built into the institutional workflow. For a closer look at exam-practice depth, our Ilmino vs Sparx Maths comparison is a useful companion read.

Personalisation and Bayesian recommendations

Personalisation is core to both platforms, and both are current, working capabilities. CENTURY's adaptive pathways recommend the next micro-lesson from a learner's performance across strengths, gaps and misconceptions. Ilmino personalises with Bayesian recommendations: it models what a learner has mastered and where they are shaky, then recommends the next topic and the next question accordingly, alongside strengths and weaknesses analysis, personalised learning journeys, revision planning, goals and sub-goals, and progress tracking.

The practical difference is what each engine reasons over. CENTURY's recommendations flow largely from answers and pathway progress. Ilmino's recommendations also draw on how a learner worked a problem, so a student who reaches the right answer by a fragile method, or the wrong answer by a nearly sound one, is recommended accordingly rather than judged on the final number alone.

Dashboard and user experience

CENTURY provides teacher and learner dashboards with analytics and intervention data, and these are a mature, well-regarded part of its product; the extent to which they can be customised is not publicly stated, so confirm directly with CENTURY if it matters to your school.

Ilmino gives learners and families a customisable, widget-based dashboard. Rather than one fixed layout everyone is forced to use, a learner or parent arranges the widgets that matter to them: upcoming exams, progress, recommended topics, goals, recent practice, strengths and weaknesses, quizzes, streaks and simulations. The value is a space shaped around each learner's priorities, so the information a student needs before an exam is front and centre instead of buried in a standard screen. On the institutional side, connected teacher and parent dashboards surface the same underlying data for the adults supporting the learner.

Interactive simulations

Interactive STEM simulations are a current Ilmino capability, and they matter for a competitor whose strength is explanatory micro-lessons. When a learner needs a concept made visual, an Ilmino simulation lets them manipulate it directly, changing variables and seeing the effect, rather than only watching an explanation. This complements the practice-and-marking loop: a student who loses marks on a topic can explore the underlying idea, then return to exam-board-aligned questions. CENTURY delivers explanation primarily through its micro-lesson content; interactive simulation of this kind is not publicly stated as part of its offering.

Pricing and free access

Ilmino Pro is £12.99 per month, and the majority of Practice Mode is free, so a student can start without paying. That £12.99 buys the full working-aware product: exam-board-aligned AI practice, mark-scheme-aligned marking of typed and handwritten working, method-mark and misconception feedback, full timed exam modes, Bayesian recommendations, revision planning, interactive STEM simulations and the customisable dashboard. There is also a Family plan and a custom School or Institution licence. See the full pricing page for details.

Raphael is ILM AI's advanced visual and interactive teaching agent and is offered separately from the £12.99 Ilmino Pro plan, with pricing and usage announced independently. The £12.99 value proposition stands on Ilmino's own AI marking, feedback, personalisation and simulations; Raphael is an addition, not the reason to subscribe.

CENTURY advertises home learning from £8.33 per month on an annual plan, according to CENTURY, while institutional pricing is quote-based and depends on your setting and pupil numbers. Because Ilmino Pro is a monthly personal plan and CENTURY's institutional pricing is a bespoke quote, the two are not directly comparable, so a headline "cheaper" claim would be misleading. Compare like for like: a family plan against a home-learning subscription, or a school licence against an institutional quote. Prices change often; confirm on the provider's official pricing page. Last checked: 10 July 2026.

Where Ilmino has the advantage

Ilmino's advantage is concentrated in assessment and reasoning. It marks typed and handwritten working against mark schemes, awards method marks, and names the misconception behind a lost mark, which CENTURY's self-marking questions are not publicly stated to do. It runs full timed exam modes for exam stamina, offers interactive STEM simulations, and gives learners a customisable widget dashboard shaped around their own priorities. For a school, Ilmino for Institution adds a school-controlled environment with transparent AI usage. And for families, the majority of Practice Mode is free, with the full product at £12.99 per month. If you are also weighing misconception-focused tools, our Ilmino vs Eedi comparison looks at diagnostic questions in more detail.

Where CENTURY Tech has the advantage

CENTURY's advantage is maturity and institutional footprint. It is an established, cross-sector platform with well-regarded teacher analytics and intervention data, and a track record across schools, colleges, FE and international education that a leadership team can point to today. Its adaptive micro-lesson pathways take content-sequencing decisions off teachers, which suits schools that want a ready-made route through curriculum content. Ilmino has no published efficacy studies, so schools that weight an existing evidence and case-study base heavily will find CENTURY the more proven institutional choice right now.

Who should choose Ilmino?

Choose Ilmino if you want AI practice that focuses on how a student reasons: mark-scheme-aligned marking of typed and handwritten working, method-mark and misconception feedback, full timed exam modes, Bayesian recommendations, interactive simulations and a customisable dashboard. School leaders and teachers who want a school-controlled environment with connected dashboards and transparent AI usage will find Ilmino for Institution a strong fit, and families wanting accessible, mostly free GCSE and A-Level practice with genuinely detailed feedback are a natural match.

Who should choose CENTURY Tech?

Choose CENTURY Tech if you want a mature, cross-sector adaptive learning platform with established institutional credibility and well-regarded analytics. Schools and colleges that value ready-made adaptive micro-lesson pathways, in-house and teacher-created content, broad coverage across primary, secondary, FE and international settings, and an existing track record will find CENTURY a credible, proven option today. If institutional maturity and an established evidence base are your top priorities, CENTURY is a strong choice.

The verdict

Schools mainly seeking mature adaptive micro-lesson pathways with established institutional analytics may prefer CENTURY Tech. Learners and schools who want exam-board-aligned AI practice, mark-scheme feedback, Bayesian recommendations, analysis of their working, interactive simulations and a customisable dashboard will find Ilmino the more complete and affordable learning and assessment environment. CENTURY is the proven adaptive pathway; Ilmino is the working-aware AI practice and assessment platform, school-controlled and current, at £12.99 per month with a mostly free Practice Mode.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ilmino free?

The majority of Ilmino's Practice Mode is free, so students can start practising without paying. Ilmino Pro adds more for £12.99 per month, and there is a Family plan and a custom School licence.

How much does Ilmino cost?

Ilmino Pro is £12.99 per month (checked 10 July 2026). There is also a Family plan and a custom School or Institution licence. Prices change often; confirm on the pricing page.

Is Raphael included in Ilmino Pro?

No. Raphael is ILM AI's advanced visual teaching agent and is not included in the standard £12.99 Ilmino Pro subscription. It will be offered separately, with pricing and usage information announced independently.

Which is better for GCSE revision?

For GCSE revision focused on exam technique, working and detailed feedback, Ilmino's exam-board-aligned practice, mark-scheme marking and working-step analysis are a strong fit. For guided adaptive content across a broad curriculum, CENTURY's mature micro-lesson pathways are well suited. Many learners benefit from both.

Which is better for exam practice?

Ilmino is designed around exam practice, with quick practice, standard tests and full timed exam modes plus instant AI marking mapped to mark schemes. CENTURY's self-marking questions are efficient for pathway progress; a dedicated full timed exam mode is not publicly stated.

Can teachers use Ilmino?

Yes. Ilmino for Institution is a school-controlled learning and management platform with curriculum spaces, assignments, tests, AI marking with teacher review, connected dashboards and analytics, and transparent AI usage.

Does Ilmino support handwritten answers?

Yes. Ilmino supports typed and handwritten answers through an interactive canvas, and a stylus or tablet gives the best experience. The system evaluates the working, not only the final answer.

Can Ilmino and CENTURY Tech be used together?

Yes. A common approach is to use CENTURY's adaptive micro-lessons for guided content and knowledge building, and Ilmino for exam-style practice, working analysis and marking feedback nearer assessment points.

Final call to action

Start practising with Ilmino for free and create a learning space designed around your subjects, goals and progress. Explore the pricing page to see what is included, or sign in to begin.

Other comparisons

• Ilmino vs Medly AI
• Ilmino vs Seneca Learning
• Ilmino vs Sparx Maths
• Ilmino vs Eedi
• Ilmino vs Save My Exams
• Ilmino vs Cognito
• Ilmino vs Quizlet
• Ilmino vs Tassomai
• Ilmino vs GCSEPod

Sources

• Ilmino pricing: /pricing
• Ilmino Practice Mode and exam practice: /features/exam-practice
• Ilmino AI assessment and marking: /features/automated-marking
• Ilmino revision planner: /features/revision-planner
• Ilmino progress tracking: /features/progress-tracking
• Ilmino for Institution: /institution
• Ilmino Raphael: /features/raphael
• CENTURY Tech official website and pricing page (confirm current details): https://www.century.tech
• Pricing checked: 10 July 2026