Goblins vs. Magma Math

Magma Math's AI reads finished handwriting to build the teacher's dashboard. Goblins reads the same strokes live, while the pencil is still moving, and tutors the student writing them.

• Goblins runs its own custom models and custom software to read even messy handwriting, aided by persistent memory of how each student works.
• Goblin hears the student reason out loud and steps in the moment they stall, drawing visuals and mini lessons next to the problem, never handing over the answer.
• Magma's reader serves the teacher after the strokes land. There is no voice, and nothing steps in mid-problem.
• The independent review at The Learning Standard found that if Magma's recognition 'misinterprets a sloppily drawn number, it interrupts the student's cognitive flow and shifts focus from mathematics to interface management.'

Magma's Lava is an ask-first hint layer, not a tutor. Magma's own help center says it triggers after a first incorrect response and is 'intended to support instruction, not replace teacher feedback.'

• Lava wakes up after a mistake, offering hints and guiding questions. Nothing is present while the work is going wrong.
• Open chat, where a student can write directly to Lava, shipped in September 2025 for grades 9 to 12 only, per Magma's help center.
• Goblin speaks first. It watches the strokes, hears the reasoning, and steps in at the stall without being asked and without giving the answer away.

An AI that waits for the question mostly meets the students who were already fine.

No independent study shows Magma Math improves test scores. The strongest result Magma can point to came from a study it paid for, which found a small effect in elementary school and none in middle school, a long way from the 400% increase in its funding announcement.

The vendor paid for the study, the vendor paid the certifier, and the middle school result never made it into the marketing.

The teacher numbers Magma publishes come from Magma's own survey, 73 self-selected teachers scored against an unmatched historical baseline.

• The Swedish '25% lower fail rate' rests on a question asking whether Magma 'has, or might have' positively impacted results, phrasing that counts a maybe as a yes.
• Goblins teachers get the same live view of every student's written work, plus a tutor already inside each student's problem.

Survey answers are cheap to publish. Watch either product run for one class period and judge that instead.

Goblins gives teachers the live whiteboard view Magma is known for, plus real-time notifications that pinpoint who needs help right now.

• Notifications fire for disengagement, struggling, and misconduct, so the teacher works the room instead of scanning 30 boards.
• Session replays keep every problem's written work and the full tutor conversation.
• On Magma the heatmap is the product. Spotting trouble still means scanning the grid, and every intervention still starts from scratch at the student's desk.

The live view shows what is happening. The notification tells you where to stand.

Magma sells annual per-student subscriptions with volume and multi-year discounts and publishes no formal price list.

• Third-party listings put it around $15 per student for a 12-month subscription, unconfirmed. Confirm with the vendor.
• Goblins publishes its pricing and starts free for teachers, with 15 live help-enabled problems per student each month, standards-aligned assignments, worksheet uploads, and teacher avatars, no credit card.
• Goblins Max, priced per school or district, makes live help unlimited and adds standards and engagement reporting.

One of these prices you can check without a sales call.

Goblins students speak and draw in whatever language they think in, and Goblin tutors back in it.

• Magma markets read-aloud support in more than 140 languages, per its own materials, which reads the problem to the student.
• Goblins never caps languages at a number and adds new ones whenever a classroom asks.

Yes. Goblins complies with COPPA, FERPA, and student data privacy laws in all 50 states.