Cambly Kids vs Novakid vs Lughaty Academy: An Honest Comparison for Parents

The short version: all three are well made and give your child live video lessons with a tutor. The real difference comes down to three things. What kind of lesson suits your child: 1-on-1 with a tutor, or a game-like platform, and for how long? Do you want English alone, or English, Arabic and Quran in one subscription? And how much do you want to commit? Answer those three questions and the choice becomes clear.

Cambly Kids in brief

Cambly Kids is the children's section of the well-known Cambly platform. The idea is simple and clear: 1-on-1 live video lessons with native English-speaking tutors, usually 30 minutes long, within subscription plans that set the number of lessons per week. The platform is widely known, including in the Arab world, and what many parents value is that their child hears English from native speakers from the first lesson, in its natural accents. The lessons are in English. For current plans, prices and offers, see their website; they change, and we do not want to pass on an out-of-date number.

Novakid in brief

Novakid is an online English school made for children, with its own learning platform that feels like a game: characters, missions, rewards and a curriculum organised in levels. Lessons are short and suited to a young child's attention, take place inside their platform rather than on a general video app, and rely on immersion in English during the lesson. The platform is known in many countries and is clearly built with care to appeal to children; many parents mention that their children love the look of it. For lesson types and current prices, see their website.

Lughaty Academy in brief

Lughaty Academy is an online school for children and teenagers offering 1-on-1 live video lessons, one tutor for one child, 25 or 45 minutes long, in three subjects: English, Arabic and Quran. Our English tutors are certified and trained to teach children on screen, and the lesson length is chosen to suit your child's age.

One monthly subscription covers any subject, with no commitment; you can stop at any time, and brothers and sisters share the same lessons. You start with a free trial lesson, no card needed, and after each lesson you get a short note, with a progress report at the end of every month. All the details of the program are on our English for kids page.

Comparison table: Cambly Kids, Novakid and Lughaty Academy

Where we were not sure about a detail for the other two platforms we wrote "see their website for current details" rather than guess. It is less exciting, but it is more honest.

How to read this table? The "lesson type" row matters most: a 1-on-1 lesson means your child speaks most of the time, and that separates platforms more than any feature of the interface. Read the "lesson length" row together with your child's age: a five-year-old can rarely manage more than 25 or 30 minutes, while a ten-year-old benefits from 45. And the "subjects" and "commitment" rows are where we differ most from the other two. None of this has a single right answer, only the answer that suits your child, which is what we look at next.

There is no best English platform for every child, only the best fit for yours

The table gives you the facts, but the decision depends on three questions about your home, not about the platforms.

1. What kind of lesson suits your child?

Some children light up inside a game-like platform with characters and rewards, and Novakid is built for exactly that. Others do best face to face with one tutor, which is what Cambly Kids and we both offer. With us the tutor is trained to teach children, and you choose 25 minutes for a young or easily tired child, or 45 minutes for an older child who can hold a longer conversation. Think about your child rather than the platform: their age, how long they can concentrate, and whether they open up more with a person or with a game. Parents often choose by what appeals to them rather than by what their child needs.

2. One subject, or three in one subscription?

Cambly Kids and Novakid are English platforms, which is excellent if English is all you need. But many families, especially Arab and Muslim families living abroad, juggle three things at once: English for school, Arabic so it is not lost, and Quran. Three platforms mean three subscriptions, three timetables and three ways of keeping in touch. One subscription that covers all three subjects, shared between siblings, makes the week much simpler, and it is the first reason parents come to us. If that is your family, our guide to raising a bilingual child abroad may help you plan the whole picture.

3. How much do you want to commit?

Children change, timetables change, budgets change. Ask every platform two questions before you pay: what happens if I want to stop after a month? And can I try for free before I pay anything? Our answer: a monthly subscription you can stop whenever you like, a free trial lesson with no card, and a short note after each lesson with a progress report every month so you can see whether it is working. For other platforms, check the current terms on their website; they may suit you too.

Which suits which child

• You only need English: Cambly Kids or Novakid may suit you better, and both are respectable choices many parents have tried.
• Your child is young, shy or starting from zero, and does best 1-on-1 with a tutor trained for children, in a 25-minute lesson: Lughaty Academy was designed for them.
• You want one plan covering English, Arabic and Quran, a free trial with no card, and no commitment: we are the simplest option.
• You are not sure: try. The best decision is the one your child makes after sitting in front of a tutor, not the one you make after reading an article, this one included.

Try before you decide

If you first want to understand what to expect from any online English school, and which questions to ask before paying, read our guide to choosing an online English school for kids; it has a list of questions and warning signs that apply to any platform, including us. Then book a free trial lesson with us, no card needed, and compare it with what you try elsewhere. Watch how much your child spoke, how they came out of the lesson, and whether they understood what happened in it. Your child will give you the answer more clearly than any table.

Common questions from parents