Side-by-side comparison
Beast Academy vs Singapore Math (Dimensions Math)
A side-by-side from Art of Problem Solving and Singapore Math Inc..
Beast Academy and Singapore Math both get recommended to families with strong young math students, so they end up in the same shopping cart. Both are rigorous, both are conceptual, and both refuse to reduce math to memorized procedures. But they are built for different kids and different parents, and picking the wrong one produces frustration either way.
Beast Academy, from Art of Problem Solving, is elementary math for kids who are already ahead. Comic-book Guide Books with monster characters carry the instruction, and the Practice Books deliver puzzles, logic problems, and competition-style questions. Coverage is Levels 1-5, roughly grades 1-5. The online platform costs $99.99 per year for all levels with sibling add-ons at $64.99, and a full level of print books runs about $136. The difficulty is fixed and does not bend downward; a student working at grade level will hit a wall fast.
Dimensions Math is rigorous in a more systematic way. The concrete-pictorial-abstract progression walks students from manipulatives to bar models to abstract numbers, and the parent teaches from the Home Instructor's Guide. Coverage runs PreK-8 with grade bundles at $123-$169. It challenges a capable student without assuming the child is gifted, and it survives an ordinary week better than Beast does.
The core difference: Beast Academy treats challenge as the point, while Singapore treats depth as the method. Beast also ends at Level 5 and feeds into AoPS courses, while Singapore carries a family through 8th grade.
At a glance
The specifics
| Beast Academy | Singapore Math (Dimensions Math) | |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | Art of Problem Solving | Singapore Math Inc. |
| Established | 2012 | 1998 |
| Price | $100–$192/year | $123–$169/grade |
| Grades | K–2, 3–5 | PreK, K–2, 3–5, 6–8 |
| Subject | Math | Math |
| Method | Mastery | Mastery |
| Format | Print, Digital | |
| Worldview | Secular | Secular |
The verdict
How to choose
Choose Beast Academy if your child is genuinely ahead in math, loves puzzles more than praise, and might enjoy competition math down the road. It is also the more independent option; the comics do the teaching, so the parent mostly stays out. Plan on joining the AoPS pipeline after Level 5.
Choose Singapore Math if your child is capable but not necessarily gifted, you want rigor that builds steadily instead of rigor that filters, or you are willing to teach daily. Singapore is also the safer pick for a family that wants one program from PreK through middle school. Some families run Singapore as the spine and add Beast puzzles on the side, which works if the math hours exist.
Read the full reviews
Keep exploring
More comparisons
Beast Academy vs Math-U-See
Art of Problem Solving · Demme Learning
Saxon Math vs Singapore Math (Dimensions Math)
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt · Singapore Math Inc.
Math Mammoth vs Singapore Math (Dimensions Math)
Math Mammoth · Singapore Math Inc.
Singapore Math (Dimensions Math) vs Teaching Textbooks
Singapore Math Inc. · Teaching Textbooks
Picked one?
Track your curriculum with Homeschool Fox
Log activities by voice or text and stay compliant with your state's requirements automatically.
No credit card required.