CTCMath vs Math-U-See
The sharpest difference is screen time: CTCMath is fully digital, Math-U-See is mostly offline. Six more come apart as well, so the two have little in common past the subject.
At a glance
CTCMath
Grades K-12
Owners report it suits
Independent workersMath-U-See
Grades K-12
Owners report it suits
Hands-on learnersBoth are reported to suit Struggling learners, Multi-age families and Math-anxious parents.
Skip to who fitsWhere they differ
| Attribute | CTCMath | Math-U-See |
|---|---|---|
Rigor
?How demanding the material is versus grade level. Where a program lands on the 1 to 5 scale:
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Parent involvement
?How much the parent is present and teaching. Where a program lands on the 1 to 5 scale:
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Prep load
?How much the parent prepares before a lesson. Where a program lands on the 1 to 5 scale:
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Screen time
?How much daily work is on a device. Where a program lands on the 1 to 5 scale:
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Independence
?How much the child can do alone. Where a program lands on the 1 to 5 scale:
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Time commitment
?How long a daily lesson takes the child. Where a program lands on the 1 to 5 scale:
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| Format | Online | Hands-on |
| Best for Tags show where owners consistently report a good fit. They are not exclusions. | Struggling learnersIndependent workersMulti-age familiesMath-anxious parents | Struggling learnersHands-on learnersMath-anxious parentsMulti-age families |
| Method | TraditionalVideo-led/self-pacedAdaptive online | TraditionalManipulative-drivenVideo-led/self-paced |
| Grades | K-12 | K-12 |
Solid tags are unique to that program. Muted tags are carried by both.
Where they match
- Faith contentboth None
- Approachboth Mastery
- Used asboth Spine
How each one plays by grade
CTCMath
Grades K-12
The K to 2 levels run thin on paper practice, and owners add a handwriting or manipulative supplement there. Elementary is well attested by long-term users. The high school levels have almost no independent owner reports, and the publisher itself used to recommend CTCMath as a supplement rather than a spine past grade 6.
Math-U-See
Grades K-12
Parent sits alongside through Primer and Alpha, kids go mostly independent from mid-Beta, and the blocks fade out at Epsilon and Zeta. Pre-Algebra to Algebra 1 is the rough transition, and Demme publishes free bridge material for it.
Cost
| Cost item | CTCMath | Math-U-See |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $129-150/yr single, $149-199/yr family (discounted) | $189-256/level set |
| Consumable | No | Partial |
| Per child / year | ~$130-150 one child, ~$40-50 in a family plan | ~$200 first year, ~$70-100 after |
What parents report
CTCMath
Consistently praised
- Short, no-fluff video lessons
- Very affordable for big families
- Access to every grade at once
- Printable worksheets and worked solutions
- Detailed parent reports
Reported as challenges
- Thin on word problems and mixed practice
- No built-in review, so parents build their own rotation
- Answers are mostly multiple choice
- No bound textbook
Math-U-See
Consistently praised
- The blocks make place value click
- Ends math tears
- Steve Demme teaches the parent too
- Zero prep, open and go
- Blocks and manuals reuse across siblings
Reported as challenges
- Thin on non-routine problem solving
- Scope and sequence does not match grade-level testing
- Math facts need outside drill
- Upper levels are contested for STEM-track kids
Who CTCMath fits
Best when somebody else needs to teach the math: large families juggling several grade levels, or a parent whose own math anxiety makes lessons tense. A mathy kid who needs problem-solving depth, or a young hands-on learner who still needs manipulatives, won't get enough here.
Read the full CTCMath entry Check price CTCMathWho Math-U-See fits
The usual landing spot for a kid who's hit a wall in math, and for parents who dread teaching it. Families with a mathy kid, families in states that test before sixth grade, and anyone who might put a child back in conventional school mid-elementary are the wrong fit for it.
Read the full Math-U-See entry Check price Demme LearningSome links on this site are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes how a curriculum is described or scored.
Still deciding?
CTCMath compared with
See all 12 CTCMath comparisonsDescriptions aggregate what homeschool parents consistently report across public community sources together with each publisher's own materials. Prices and editions change over time. Both entries last reviewed July 2026.