Ilmino vs Sparx Maths

The core difference is who directs the learning and how far it reaches. Sparx Maths is a whole-school system that sets personalised maths homework each week and helps teachers monitor completion, so the routine is school-directed and focused on a single subject. Ilmino is a working, multi-subject AI learning and exam-practice platform that the learner drives: students choose what to practise, sit full timed exams whenever they want, show their working and receive mark-scheme-aligned AI feedback across subjects. Ilmino combines Bayesian personalisation, exam-board-aligned AI practice, mark-scheme feedback, working-step analysis and interactive simulations within a customisable learning environment. It is available directly to families at £12.99 per month, with the majority of Practice Mode free, rather than only through a school.

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 Sparx Maths: quick answer

Choose Sparx Maths if you are a school that wants dependable, personalised weekly maths homework with strong completion tracking and habit formation in one subject. Choose Ilmino if you want a learner-driven, multi-subject platform with self-selected practice, full timed exam modes, mark-scheme-aligned marking of your working and Bayesian recommendations. The two also use different purchase models: Sparx is bought by schools and covers maths only, while Ilmino is available to families and learners directly across subjects, so a straight consumer-price comparison is not like-for-like.

Quick comparison

What Ilmino offers

Ilmino is a customisable AI learning platform that understands how students work, not only the final answers they give. Where Sparx Maths is designed around one subject and a school-set weekly routine, Ilmino is multi-subject and learner-driven, so the student decides what to study and when. Its focus is UK GCSE and A-Level maths and sciences and beyond, so it is not confined to maths in the way a dedicated maths homework system is.

The experience runs on a clear loop that works today: learn a topic, practise questions aligned to your exam board, show your full working, get instant mark-scheme-aligned marking, understand exactly where a mark was lost, see a visual explanation, then practise again while tracking progress. Because you choose the subject, topic and difficulty, and can move into a full timed exam whenever you want, Ilmino behaves like a workspace you configure rather than a queue of tasks handed to you.

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. Typed and handwritten answers are both supported through an interactive canvas, and the platform analyses intermediate working steps as well as final answers, with method-mark awareness and misconception identification. Bayesian personalisation drives adaptive next-topic and next-question recommendations, and a customisable, widget-based dashboard lets each learner shape the space around their own priorities.

Two further products sit alongside the student platform. Ilmino for Institution is the school-controlled learning and management platform, giving schools curriculum spaces, assignments, tests, AI-supported marking with teacher review and connected dashboards. 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.

What Sparx Maths offers

Sparx Maths is a whole-school, personalised maths homework and curriculum system. It is built around completion, consistency, independent working and teacher monitoring, and it has become a recognisable category of its own: dependable weekly maths homework that a whole school runs together. According to Sparx Maths, it personalises weekly homework to each student, provides support videos matched to similar worked examples, and uses multiple attempts, hints and bookwork checks to encourage students to work things through rather than guess.

For teachers, Sparx Maths reports that it offers completion and hand-in monitoring and curriculum-aligned content, delivered as a whole-school system that maths departments run together. It also uses gamification to sustain engagement, along with implementation guidance to help departments embed the routine consistently. These are real strengths. Sparx has deep school implementation experience, strong routine and habit formation, genuine maths specialisation, and clear completion data that helps departments see who has done the work.

It is fair to be precise about its boundary. Sparx Maths is maths only and it is bought by schools rather than sold directly to families, so a family cannot simply subscribe the way they can with a consumer platform. It is homework-shaped and school-directed rather than a learner-configurable, multi-subject workspace. None of that is a flaw. It is a different design goal from Ilmino's.

Key differences

One school-set subject versus many subjects the learner drives

Sparx Maths is maths only, and the work is set for you on a weekly schedule chosen by your school. Ilmino spans multiple subjects and puts the learner in control of what to practise and when. If a student needs to move between maths, sciences and other subjects in a single revision session, Ilmino is built for that today; Sparx is deliberately focused on maths homework completion in one subject.

School-purchased routine versus direct family access

Sparx Maths reaches students through a school licence, so access depends on whether the school has bought it. Ilmino is available directly to families and learners at £12.99 per month, with the majority of Practice Mode free, so a student can start without waiting for a school to adopt anything. This is a genuine structural difference, not just a feature difference: one platform is a departmental purchase, the other is a consumer and family product.

Set homework versus self-selected practice and full timed exams

With Sparx, the central unit of work is the personalised weekly homework your school assigns. With Ilmino, you select your own practice by topic and difficulty, and you can escalate to quick practice, standard tests or full timed exam modes whenever you want to test yourself under pressure. That makes Ilmino suited to independent revision and mock-style preparation, while Sparx is suited to consistent, teacher-directed weekly practice.

What happens after a student is stuck

This is the sharpest contrast. Sparx Maths reports that when a student struggles, it offers support videos matched to similar worked examples, plus hints and multiple attempts, which is a solid scaffold. Ilmino handles the same moment differently. It analyses the intermediate working, not only the final answer, so when a step goes wrong it points to the specific step, awards or withholds method marks and names the misconception. The feedback then leads into a visual explanation and a fresh set of practice targeted at that weakness, closing the loop rather than sending the student back to try again unaided.

Practice, assessment and feedback

On assessment, the two platforms are shaped by their goals. According to Sparx Maths, it provides curriculum-aligned homework and bookwork checks that verify students have recorded their working in a book, supported by multiple attempts and hints. Ilmino provides instant, mark-scheme-aligned marking of the answer and the working, with teacher review available for institutional use. We describe it as AI-supported marking, never infallible marking, and teacher oversight is a deliberate part of the design for institutions.

The working-step analysis is where Ilmino is distinctive. Rather than checking only whether the final answer is right, it evaluates the intermediate reasoning and handwriting, locates the precise point where a method breaks down, applies method-mark awareness and identifies the underlying misconception. Ilmino supports typed and handwritten answers through the interactive canvas, with a stylus or tablet giving the best experience, and it offers quick practice, standard tests and full timed exam modes for students who want realistic mock practice rather than weekly homework sets.

For a student weighing this against CENTURY Tech's adaptive pathways, the theme is consistent: Ilmino leans on transparent, working-aware feedback and self-directed exam practice rather than a single automated route through content.

Personalisation and Bayesian recommendations

Personalisation differs in kind. According to Sparx Maths, it personalises the weekly homework based on prior performance, keeping each student on a suitable maths track. Ilmino uses Bayesian personalisation to model what a learner knows and to drive adaptive next-topic and next-question recommendations. It builds a picture from strengths and weaknesses analysis and turns it into a revision plan, goals and sub-goals and progress tracking, so the personalisation feeds a plan the student owns across subjects rather than only the next maths homework set. The recommendations respond as the learner practises, so the path forward keeps adjusting to current performance rather than a fixed weekly cadence.

Dashboard and user experience

Sparx Maths provides teacher and school dashboards focused on monitoring completion and hand-in, which suits its whole-school homework purpose. Ilmino gives the learner a customisable, widget-based dashboard. Learners and families can arrange widgets around what matters to them: upcoming exams, progress, recommended topics, goals, recent practice, strengths and weaknesses, quizzes, streaks and simulations. The practical value is a space shaped around the learner's priorities instead of one fixed layout everyone is forced to use, so a student revising for a near exam sees a different arrangement from one tracking long-term goals, without leaving the platform or asking a teacher to change anything.

Interactive simulations

Interactive STEM simulations are a current part of Ilmino, and they matter for a maths and science comparison. Rather than only reading an explanation, a learner can manipulate a model and watch how the maths or science behaves, which helps turn an abstract method into something visible. Sparx Maths does not publicly state an equivalent simulation feature, so for students who learn well by exploring and experimenting, Ilmino offers an interactive layer alongside its practice and marking that a homework-completion system is not designed to provide.

Pricing and free access

Ilmino Pro is £12.99 per month, and the majority of Practice Mode is free, so a student can begin practising and receiving mark-scheme-aligned feedback without paying (checked 10 July 2026). You can see current options on the pricing page. At that price the learner already gets exam-board-aligned AI practice, marking of typed and handwritten working with method marks and misconception identification, Bayesian recommendations, full timed exam modes, interactive simulations and a customisable dashboard, so the £12.99 proposition stands on Ilmino's own AI, not on any add-on.

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. It is not part of the £12.99 subscription.

Sparx Maths uses a different model. It is school-purchased and quote-based, bought by schools rather than sold as a consumer monthly subscription, so its cost depends on the licence a school negotiates and a direct pound-for-pound comparison with a consumer plan is not like-for-like. Prices change often; confirm on the provider's official pricing page.

Last checked: 10 July 2026.

Where Ilmino has the advantage

Ilmino's advantages over Sparx Maths are concrete. It is multi-subject rather than maths only, and it is available directly to families at £12.99 per month with the majority of Practice Mode free, rather than only through a school purchase. It marks working, not just final answers, with mark-scheme alignment, method-mark awareness and misconception identification. It offers full timed exam modes for realistic mock preparation, Bayesian recommendations that adapt as the learner practises, interactive STEM simulations and a customisable dashboard the learner controls. For a student who wants to drive their own revision across subjects and understand mistakes at the level of the method, Ilmino covers ground a single-subject homework routine does not set out to cover.

Where Sparx Maths has the advantage

Sparx Maths has genuine strengths worth stating plainly. Its whole-school model is built to make maths homework happen consistently, and its completion and hand-in monitoring give maths departments clear, dependable data on who has done the work. Its habit formation, routine and maths specialisation are strong, and for a school that wants every class working to the same weekly rhythm in maths, that reliability is exactly the point. If the priority is embedding a consistent maths homework habit across year groups with teacher oversight, Sparx is purpose-built for it in a way a self-directed platform is not.

Who should choose Ilmino?

Choose Ilmino if you are a learner or family who wants a working, multi-subject platform you drive yourself and can access directly for £12.99 per month, with much of Practice Mode free. It suits students who want to select their own practice, sit full timed exams, show their working and get feedback on the method and marks behind an answer, not only whether it was right. It also suits families who want parent progress visibility, and schools interested in Ilmino for Institution, the school-controlled learning and management platform with curriculum spaces, assignments and AI-supported marking with teacher review.

Who should choose Sparx Maths?

Choose Sparx Maths if you are a school that wants consistent, personalised weekly maths homework with strong completion tracking and dependable routine. Its deep implementation experience, maths specialisation and clear completion data make it a strong fit for maths departments that value habit formation and want every class working to the same reliable weekly rhythm. If your priority is getting maths homework done consistently across year groups, Sparx Maths is built precisely for that.

The verdict

Sparx Maths is a well-designed, whole-school maths homework system, and its strengths in routine, completion data and maths specialisation are genuine. Students and schools mainly seeking a dependable weekly maths homework habit with strong completion tracking may prefer Sparx Maths. Learners who want exam-board-aligned AI practice, mark-scheme feedback, Bayesian recommendations, analysis of their working, interactive simulations and a customisable dashboard, across subjects and available directly to families, will find Ilmino the more complete and affordable learning environment. The right pick depends on whether you want a school-directed maths routine or a learner-configured environment for the whole of your studies.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ilmino free?

The majority of Ilmino's Practice Mode is free, so students can practise questions and receive feedback without a subscription. Ilmino Pro unlocks the full experience for £12.99 per month (checked 10 July 2026).

How much does Ilmino cost?

Ilmino Pro is £12.99 per month, and the majority of Practice Mode is free. Prices change often; confirm on the official 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 maths revision?

If you want dependable school-set weekly maths homework, Sparx Maths is designed for that. If you want to choose your own practice, sit full timed exams and get mark-scheme-aligned feedback on your working across subjects, Ilmino is better suited to self-directed GCSE revision.

Which is better for exam practice?

Ilmino offers quick practice, standard tests and full timed exam modes with mark-scheme-aligned marking, so it is built for realistic exam practice. Sparx Maths focuses on consistent weekly maths homework, and a full timed exam mode is not publicly stated.

Can teachers use Ilmino?

Yes. Ilmino for Institution is the school-controlled learning and management platform, giving schools curriculum spaces, assignments, tests, AI-supported marking with teacher review, and connected teacher and parent dashboards.

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. This lets it analyse your working rather than only your final answer.

Can Ilmino and Sparx Maths be used together?

Yes. A school can run Sparx Maths for structured weekly maths homework while a student uses Ilmino independently for multi-subject revision, full exam practice and mark-scheme-aligned working feedback. Families comparing options might also look at how Ilmino compares with Tassomai for another view of self-directed versus routine-led practice.

Final call to action

Start practising with Ilmino for free and create a learning space designed around your subjects, goals and progress. Create your account at sign in and explore the options on the pricing page.

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Sources

• Ilmino pricing: /pricing
• Ilmino exam practice: /features/exam-practice
• Ilmino AI marking: /features/automated-marking
• Ilmino progress tracking: /features/progress-tracking
• Ilmino revision planner: /features/revision-planner
• Ilmino AI tutor: /features/ai-tutor
• Ilmino for Institution: /institution
• Sparx Maths official website: https://sparxmaths.uk
• Pricing checked: 10 July 2026