Brilliant

Build interactive practice around user-authored math and science lessons

NOT REALLY · consider alternatives
price $30/mo per seatsubscription / year $360estimated build time closest consolation build: one sittingreplaced by 0 people

A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Brilliant, build interactive practice around user-authored math and science lessons. The hard boundary is expert curriculum, interactive problem library, pedagogy, apps, and content rights, plus content, pedagogy, and network.

Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability

What you give up

  • expert curriculum, interactive problem library, pedagogy, apps, and content rights
  • licensed course catalog
  • expert curriculum
  • human feedback
  • large learner network and certification

Why people still pay

People still pay for Brilliant because the learning loop is buildable, while trusted curriculum, instructors, feedback, credentials, and community are not. The recurring cost buys curriculum quality, assessment validity, content rights, spaced-repetition tuning, speech models, sync, moderation, and support, not just the visible interface.

Your build guide

The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.

Before you start

  • modern browser
  • user-supplied study material
  • optional speech or language-model API key
01
Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, SQLite, Drizzle ORM, and a service worker for offline use.
02
Model lessons, study sessions, progress checkpoints, and user-owned learning material; keep stable source IDs and timestamps.
03
Interface for this learning, flashcards and language practice workflow: a local web page with input, progress, review, and export views.
engineering roadmap

Implementation plan

1

Phase 1, architecture and data

Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, SQLite, Drizzle ORM, and a service worker for offline use. Model lessons, study sessions, progress checkpoints, and user-owned learning material; keep stable source IDs and timestamps.

2

Phase 2, implement

Import Markdown, text, or user-authored notes and split them into editable learning units.

3

Phase 3, implement

Create flashcards and short quizzes only after showing the generated items for approval.

4

Phase 4, review and output

Implement a transparent spaced-repetition schedule with due, again, hard, good, and easy actions. Support offline use, full export, reset, backup, and deletion of all learning data.

5

Phase 5, recovery and acceptance

Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, SQLite, Drizzle ORM, and a service worker for offline use; do not offer alternative stacks. Verify this invariant with a saved fixture: A missing audio file must not count as a completed lesson; restoring progress resumes the same chapter and timestamp. State the practical limit: expert curriculum, interactive problem library, pedagogy, apps, and content rights.

the pro prompt
Build me a focused learning, flashcards and language practice workflow for the personal core of Brilliant. Requirements:

- Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, SQLite, Drizzle ORM, and a service worker for offline use. Model lessons, study sessions, progress checkpoints, and user-owned learning material; keep stable source IDs and timestamps.
- Paid product context: Build interactive practice around user-authored math and science lessons. Build only this DIY scope: Turn user-authored math and science lessons into a study plan with interactive practice, schedule retrieval practice, and show progress without claiming accredited instruction.
- Import Markdown, text, or user-authored notes and split them into editable learning units.
- Create flashcards and short quizzes only after showing the generated items for approval.
- Implement a transparent spaced-repetition schedule with due, again, hard, good, and easy actions. Add goals, study sessions, streak-free progress charts, notes, and weak-topic review. Support offline use, full export, reset, backup, and deletion of all learning data.
- Use a local web page with input, progress, review, and export views. Required input or access: user-supplied study material; optional speech or language-model API key. Keep credentials in .env.
- Recovery: Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, SQLite, Drizzle ORM, and a service worker for offline use; do not offer alternative stacks.
- Acceptance: with one labelled sample, show the input, saved intermediate state, and exported result; verify this invariant: A missing audio file must not count as a completed lesson; restoring progress resumes the same chapter and timestamp.
- Out of scope: expert curriculum, interactive problem library, pedagogy, apps, and content rights; licensed course catalog. Keep this a personal, inspectable workflow.
- Include a README with setup, a sample input, required keys or permissions, data location, and the supported scope.

$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy AGENTS.md · generated from this app's build plan

share on X ↗

Alternatives to building your own

MoodleHosts authored activities, quizzes and progress, although the actual interactive pedagogy still has to come from you.7.3kaug 2026open source↗OppiaAuthors branching interactive explorations that respond to wrong answers instead of merely displaying the solution.6.8kaug 2026open source↗eXeLearningA desktop lesson authoring tool for interactive exercises, games, equations and quizzes, with decidedly public-sector aesthetics.138aug 2026open source↗

all 5 free alternatives to Brilliant →· no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real

Brilliant pricing

planmonthlyannual (per mo)what you get
free$0/user$0/userFirst 2 levels of every course; up to 2 lessons/day; sequential progress; occasional ads
premium individual$30/user$20/userUnlimited lessons and all levels across 40+ courses; no ads; jump ahead; Koji tutoringAnnual plan is billed $240 once per year.
premium family—$40Up to 6 seats; each member gets a separate Premium account; all 40+ coursesThe live subscription flow presents this as an annual-renewing flat-price household plan.
premium group—$11.33/user3–50 seats; starts at 3 seats for $33.99/month equivalent; each extra seat $10.10/monthAnnual only and billed as one payment; the displayed per-user figure is the 3-seat starting rate.

free tierFirst 2 levels of every course and up to 2 lessons/day; sequential progress; occasional ads

billingIndividual monthly + annual; Family annual; Group annual only; subscriptions auto-renew

hidden costsGroup plan has a 3-seat minimum; extra seats cost $10.10/month each and a full group cannot add seats mid-term, capacity can be increased at renewal.

pricing sources checked 2026-08-12 · pricing source ↗

Questions about Brilliant

Can you build your own Brilliant with AI?

A full replacement is not the recommended project. A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Brilliant, build interactive practice around user-authored math and science lessons. The hard boundary is expert curriculum, interactive problem library, pedagogy, apps, and content rights, plus content, pedagogy, and network.

What does the Brilliant build prompt cover?

The prompt starts with this scope: Turn user-authored math and science lessons into a study plan with interactive practice, schedule retrieval practice, and show progress without claiming accredited instruction. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: expert curriculum, interactive problem library, pedagogy, apps, and content rights; licensed course catalog; expert curriculum. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.

How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?

Start with the Brilliant prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.

How long will this Brilliant project take?

The catalogue estimate is closest consolation build: one sitting for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.

What would I give up by replacing Brilliant?

expert curriculum, interactive problem library, pedagogy, apps, and content rights; licensed course catalog; expert curriculum; human feedback; large learner network and certification. People still pay for Brilliant because the learning loop is buildable, while trusted curriculum, instructors, feedback, credentials, and community are not. The recurring cost buys curriculum quality, assessment validity, content rights, spaced-repetition tuning, speech models, sync, moderation, and support, not just the visible interface.

What price is this guide comparing against?

The recorded Premium Individual plan is $30/mo per seat (monthly per user), checked 2026-08-12. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.

What can I use instead of building Brilliant?

Moodle: Hosts authored activities, quizzes and progress, although the actual interactive pedagogy still has to come from you. Oppia: Authors branching interactive explorations that respond to wrong answers instead of merely displaying the solution. eXeLearning: A desktop lesson authoring tool for interactive exercises, games, equations and quizzes, with decidedly public-sector aesthetics. Compare all listed options at https://howtovibecodeit.dev/brilliant/alternatives. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.

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