Goblins vs. Zearn
Why we built Goblins
Goblins lets students speak and draw to learn math. That lets Goblin, the tutor, pinpoint exactly where mistakes and misconceptions arise. A wrong answer on Zearn sends the kid back to the start of the set. Goblin stops at the mistake itself and teaches there. The Gates Foundation funds Goblins.
“I get to in real time see how they're doing and if they understand it, and I can pull small groups. ... It's really, really been a game changer for me.”
Renee Schuch · 6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
“When they're doing the questions in Goblins, it's like I'm sitting there helping them. ... I can go into Goblins and I can look at literally the history of every question to see what the back and forth was.”
Rich Grell · HS Math Teacher, 22 yrs
“It's a little me in the computer. And it's like telling them, guiding them, questioning their thought processes. ... You have automatic homework help built into the program. And it's so powerful.”
Bobbye Graboyes · 26-year math teacher
Why not just use Zearn?
Zearn's answer to a wrong answer is the restart button. Zearn is a free nonprofit aligned to Eureka Math. Its own help center describes what happens at the Tower of Power checkpoint: miss a question and the student goes back through the set. Parent reviews describe kids back at square one over one mistake, replaying work they already did while the misconception rides along untouched.
And nobody watches while it happens. Zearn doesn't watch student work. The only AI Zearn has shipped is text-to-speech narration, and the AI helper on its public roadmap is a planning tool for educators targeted at 2028-29. Student reviews describe the on-screen character during independent practice standing there without helping. We built Goblins so the moment a student stalls, someone who watched every stroke steps in.
- Videos kids skip. Parent and student reviews describe classmates clicking past the lesson videos, and nothing in the software notices.
- Modest independent effects. Louisiana's statewide study found +0.03 SD on LEAP, under the 0.05 SD that education researchers call small.
Thousands of Teachers ❤️ Goblins
"A kid who'd never do homework is now 100% in my class."
Rich Grell
HS Math Teacher, 22 yrs
"A little me in the computer, guiding them. So powerful."
Bobbye Graboyes
26-year math teacher
"They can't just Google it. They have to actually understand."
Renee Schuch
6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
"Stuck? It walks them back two chapters, then builds them up."
Rich Grell
HS Math Teacher, 22 yrs
"I can't split into 30. Goblins is 30 of me."
Bobbye Graboyes
26-year math teacher
"It forces them to fill the gaps and prove their work."
Renee Schuch
6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
"Like I'm sitting with every kid, and I can see who's faking it."
Rich Grell
HS Math Teacher, 22 yrs
"She did every Goblins assignment and aced the makeup."
Bobbye Graboyes
26-year math teacher
"I see who's stuck in real time and pull them aside."
Renee Schuch
6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
"The AI's on every question when I can't reach everyone."
Kaleb Bembenek
7th Grade Math
"I'd love to move my teachers from Study Island to this."
Carol Howe
Principal · Sharpsville Area HS
"It breaks down every misconception in real time."
Jenn Tifft
Math & Science
"It reaches every student I can't get to in person."
Rebecca Mello
Algebra I & II
"My kids customize the goblin to look like them."
Kaleb Bembenek
7th Grade Math
"I'd love to move my teachers from Study Island to this."
Carol Howe
Principal · Sharpsville Area HS
"It breaks down every misconception in real time."
Jenn Tifft
Math & Science
"It reaches every student I can't get to in person."
Rebecca Mello
Algebra I & II
Frequently asked questions
Zearn's Tower of Power checkpoint sends a student back through the problem set after a wrong answer, per Zearn's own help center. Nobody looks at the steps the student actually wrote. Goblins treats the miss as the teaching moment. Goblin asks what the student was thinking, then draws a visual or a mini lesson right next to the problem to fix the misconception, and it never just hands over the answer.
Zearn's recurring gripes target the mechanics, from reviewers who mostly credit the price and the Eureka Math alignment. The complaints come from parent and student reviews on aggregator sites like ComplaintsBoard and SmartCustomer.
- Kids get sent back to square one over a single wrong answer.
- Lesson videos are easy to click past, and nothing in the software notices.
- An on-screen character during independent practice stands there without actually helping.
Goblins replaces the standing character with a tutor that watches the work and steps in.
Zearn holds an ESSA Tier 1 rating, and the independent results are modest. Louisiana's statewide study found +0.03 SD on LEAP, a gain smaller than what education researchers call small.
Zearn is free for individual teachers and their classrooms, and Ohio negotiated statewide free access for 2025-26. Paid School Accounts, which add school-level reporting and support, run about $2,500 per school per year per the Louisiana Department of Education's published price list.
Goblins is free for teachers, with 15 live help-enabled problems per student each month, standards-aligned assignments, worksheet uploads, and teacher avatars included, no credit card. Goblins Max, priced per school or district, makes live help unlimited and adds standards and engagement reporting.
Yes. The live classroom view shows every student's work as it happens, so you know who is stuck this minute and can pull a small group on the spot. You also get session replays of the written work and the full tutor conversation for every problem.
Goblins supports whatever language your students think in. We never cap it at a number, students speak and draw in their language and Goblin keeps up, and we add new languages whenever a classroom asks.
Yes. Goblins complies with COPPA, FERPA, and student data privacy laws in all 50 states.
Weighing other options? See how Goblins compares.
Or see how schools run Goblins across intervention tiers in our MTSS math guide.