Ezra Learning vs BJU Press
BJU Press Homeschool's online video courses put a teacher on video in front of your child every day, with BJU Press textbooks beside the screen, sold as a full-grade kit per student; Ezra is a Grades 1–9 curriculum priced for the household. Here is how they compare, line by line. Facts checked October 14, 2026; sources at the end.
What each one is
BJU Press Homeschool online video courses is the video homeschool program of BJU Press, the Christian textbook publisher, for K4 through Grade 12. A full-grade online kit gives a child 180 days of "daily video lessons … delivered by expert teachers" in English language arts, math, science and history, streamed on the Homeschool Hub, with the printed student books and worktexts shipped free, and eTextbooks online; Bible, Spanish, handwriting and other subjects are bought as separate subject kits. Tests and quizzes are taken online and graded automatically from Grade 5 up; below that the parent grades on paper. A Grade 3 Online with Books kit is $1,149 per student for the year ($979 without the printed books), with 16 to 20 months of access depending on when it is ordered; BJU Press says its courses are not an online school, and families who want accreditation enroll separately with its Academy of Home Education.
Ezra Learning covers Grades 1–9 in Mathematics, English, Spelling, Bible and Geography, with about 6,900 hands-on practice skills and 1,220 narrated lessons, each with a printable sheet. Scripture (Berean Standard Bible) is read word for word in every strand of every subject; there are no cartoons, games or characters. The Family plan is $15 a month per household, up to six children, and the first two sections of every subject and grade are free.
BJU Press fits best when…
Choose BJU Press if you want a teacher on video teaching every subject every day, with real textbooks and worktexts in your child's hands; if you want Science and History in the same kit and Grades 10–12 with transcripts available through the Academy of Home Education; if you want online tests graded for you from Grade 5 up; or if you want the DVD option and a program a large Christian publisher has run for decades.
Ezra fits best when…
Choose Ezra if your children are in Grades 1–9, you want a short narrated lesson with a drawing rather than two or three hours of classroom video a day, you want practice the child does with his hands on the screen and that grades itself from Grade 1, you want a Bible verse read aloud in every strand of every subject, you do not need textbooks shipped to the door, and you have more than one child — the price is for the household.
The facts, line by line
 | BJU Press | |
|---|---|---|
| Grades | Grades 1–9 | K4–Grade 12 (full-grade video kits K5–12) |
| Subjects | Math, English, Spelling, Bible, Geography | English language arts, math, science, history in the kit; Bible and others as subject kits |
| Price | $15 USD a month for the household (up to six children) | $1,149 per student for a Grade 3 Online with Books kit; $979 without printed books |
| Free to start | Two sections of every subject and grade, always free | Sample videos on their site; no free trial listed |
| How a lesson is taught | Narrated by a voice, drawings only, watch-only | A teacher on video, streamed on the Homeschool Hub (or DVD); textbooks alongside |
| Practice | Hands-on: drag, tap, sort, build, drop a pin | Worktexts and handouts on paper; online tests and quizzes from Grade 5 |
| Scripture | A Bible verse in every strand of every subject, read aloud | "Biblical worldview shaping is at the heart of all BJU Press materials"; Bible as a separate subject kit |
| Printables | A PDF sheet for every lesson + a library of 147 books and packs | Printed student books and worktexts shipped free; eTextbooks; handouts and answer keys as PDFs |
| High school | No | Grades 9–12; transcripts and a diploma through the Academy of Home Education |
| Science | No | Yes |
| History | No | Yes |
| Accredited school | No — a curriculum | No — "not an online school"; accredited enrollment is separate, through the Academy of Home Education |
| Parent reports | Per child: minutes, mastery, needs-a-hand, PDF report | Homeschool Hub: assignments, custom calendar, online grades from Grade 5; a printed grade record below that |
| Video time a day | A few minutes per lesson | About 2½–3 hours in Grades 1–6, 3–3½ hours in Grades 7–12, by their FAQ |
| Cartoons, games, characters | None | None that we know of; the lessons are a filmed teacher with demonstrations |
Facts checked October 14, 2026 on the two sites. Prices and plans change; the links at the end go to BJU Press's own pages, and we correct this table when we are told it is out of date.
What it costs your family
The biggest practical difference is how the price is counted. BJU Press is priced per student. Ezra is priced per household, so a second, third or fourth child costs nothing more.
Ezra: $15 × 12 at the introductory price (normally $19 a month). BJU Press: $1,149 a year per student, for the Grade 3 Online with Books kit (four core subjects, a year of video and the printed books); the chart multiplies by the number of children. The same kit is $979 without the printed books (eTextbooks only) and $1,209 on DVD with books; K5 Online with Books is $699; Bible is a separate subject kit. Shipping is free, two or more grade kits with books take $50 off each, and orders of $350 or more may be paid 15% down and the rest over nine months with a $50 fee. No free trial is listed.
How a lesson is taught
In a BJU Press online course the child logs in to the Homeschool Hub and watches that day's video lesson — a teacher teaching, with "hands-on activities and demonstrations" and shorter video segments inside the lesson — and then does the pages in the printed student book or worktext, or the eTextbook. Their FAQ puts the video time at about 2½ to 3 hours a day in Grades 1–6 and 3 to 3½ hours in Grades 7–12, in pieces of ten minutes to an hour. From Grade 5 the tests and quizzes are taken online and graded automatically (essay and map sections are printed and graded by the parent); in K4 to Grade 4 there are no online assessments and the parent grades from the answer keys and records the marks. The parent sets up the calendar and assignments in the Hub, and an academic specialist can be reached by email or the Help link.
An Ezra lesson is a short narrated slideshow: one voice reads every word while a simple line drawing builds up on the slide — no cartoons, no characters, no questions asked of the child inside the lesson. The lesson ends with a Bible verse read aloud, and every lesson has a printable sheet for the child to do on paper. Then the child goes to the practice skills of that strand, which are hands-on: drag the pieces, tap the picture, build the number, sort the words, drop a pin on the map.
Where the Bible sits
Both programs are Christian. BJU Press says "biblical worldview shaping is at the heart of all BJU Press materials" and frames every subject by the Bible's account of "Creation, Fall, and Redemption"; Bible is taught as its own course, bought as a subject kit alongside the full-grade kit. In Ezra, Scripture is not a subject on the side. Every strand of Mathematics, English, Spelling and Geography closes with a verse from the Berean Standard Bible, read aloud word for word, and a Scripture practice skill sits at the end of every strand. Bible is also a subject of its own in every grade, with a character strand (obey right away, tell the truth, no quarrelling) in each. The verses are never paraphrased.
What BJU Press has that Ezra does not
K4, K5 and Grades 10–12. Science and History as full subjects in every grade kit, and Spanish, handwriting, vocabulary and electives as subject kits. A teacher on video for every lesson of every subject, with demonstrations a child watches. Printed textbooks and worktexts shipped free, so most of the work is on paper, and a DVD option for a home without reliable internet. Online tests graded for you from Grade 5. And a road to an accredited transcript and diploma through BJU Press's own Academy of Home Education.
What Ezra has that BJU Press does not
A Bible verse in every strand of every subject, read aloud word for word from the Berean Standard Bible. Practice the child does with his hands — dragging, sorting, building, dropping a pin on a map — rather than ticking boxes. One calm narrated voice with a simple drawing on every slide, and no cartoons, games, characters or rewards shops. A printable sheet for every lesson and a library of 147 books and packs (copywork, handwriting, grammar, spelling, Bible, maps, a year planner). One price for the household, however many children. And two free sections of every subject and grade, so a family can see all of it before paying anything.
Questions families ask
Is BJU Press cheaper than Ezra Learning?
For one child, a BJU Press Grade 3 Online with Books kit is $1,149 for the year ($979 without the printed books); Ezra is $15 USD a month, $180 a year, at the introductory price. BJU Press kits are priced per student, with $50 off each when two or more grade kits with books are ordered together; Ezra is one price for the household.
Is BJU Press an accredited school?
No. BJU Press says its video courses are not an online school, so accreditation does not apply to them; a family that wants an accredited record enrolls separately in the Academy of Home Education, which provides report cards, a transcript and a diploma for students using BJU Press curriculum in Grades 1–12. Ezra is a curriculum, not a school, and offers no transcripts or diploma.
Does Ezra Learning cover high school?
No. Ezra covers Grades 1–9. BJU Press runs to Grade 12, so a family with a Grade 10–12 student needs BJU Press or another program for those years.
Does Ezra have Science or History?
No, on purpose. Ezra teaches Mathematics, English, Spelling, Bible and Geography. A BJU Press grade kit includes science and history (Heritage Studies) with English and math.
Which one puts more Scripture in front of the child?
Both are Christian. BJU Press teaches every subject from a biblical worldview and sells a Bible course for each grade as a subject kit. Ezra has a Bible subject in every grade, and in addition every strand of Math, English, Spelling and Geography ends with a verse read aloud from the Berean Standard Bible and a Scripture practice skill.
How much screen time is a BJU Press day?
Their FAQ gives the average video time as about 2½ to 3 hours a day in Grades 1–6 and 3 to 3½ hours in Grades 7–12, plus the written work in the books. An Ezra lesson is a few minutes of narrated slides, and the practice that follows is as long as the parent chooses.
Can I try either one for free?
BJU Press shows sample videos for each grade on its site; no free trial is listed there. Ezra keeps the first two sections of every subject and grade free, with no time limit and no card.
Are these facts current?
They were checked on October 14, 2026 on bjupresshomeschool.com and ezralearning.com. Prices and plans change; the links under Sources go to BJU Press's own pages, and we correct this page when we are told it is out of date.
Where the facts come from
- About online video courses — bjupresshomeschool.com
- All kits (prices) — bjupresshomeschool.com
- Video course FAQs — bjupresshomeschool.com
- Video course payment plan and discounts — bjupresshomeschool.com
- Ezra Learning: pricing and curriculum pages, October 14, 2026.
BJU Press is the name of its owner, used here only to identify the product. If you represent BJU Press and a fact here is wrong, write to hello@ezralearning.com and we will correct it.
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