Root vs ChatGPT
AI chatbotSmart and free.
But starts every chat blank. Root remembers what didn’t click and re-teaches differently next time.
Tutor · Study plans · Revision · Test prep
Tutoring that fitsthe way you think.
Not just answers. Root teaches the why, remembers how you learn, and brings your tutoring, study plans, revision and test prep into one place — getting better at teaching you every time.
From $18.99 a month — less than half an hour with a tutor.
5 days of everything, free — no card needed.
Then keep going free, forever · Cancel anytime
roottutor.com
Grades 6–12
- Maths
- Sciences
- English
- Humanities
- Languages
- Computer Science
- + anything else (photography, marketing, gardening…)
Built around your syllabus — GCSE · IGCSE · A-Level · IB MYP · IB DP · AP · US Common Core
Teaches — never cheats
Root won’t just hand over the answer — it builds the understanding underneath, so it sticks.
Personalised to how you learn
It learns how you think and tailors every explanation to you — no two students get the same Root.
Gets better every time
Root learns from every moment you’re confused, so its teaching sharpens the more you use it.
Summer 2026
School’s out. Get ahead before September.
Most students lose two to three months of maths over the summer. Root’s Get Ahead mode does the opposite — a self-paced plan that teaches next term’s lessons, in your exact curriculum, before you walk into class.
Start a Get Ahead plan →Free to start · ~10 weeks is enough to get a term ahead
How Get Ahead works
- 1Answer five quick questionsWhat you know, how fast you want to go, and how much time you've got.
- 2Root builds a paced planA tickable plan sized to your summer — next term's topics in the right order.
- 3Learn it, at your speedRoot teaches each topic properly — not random worksheets — and tracks what's done.
Why Root is different
Not another generic AI. Six things ChatGPT literally can’t do.
Diagnoses the root, not the answer
Most AI hands you the answer and moves on. Root works out the actual misconception under your wrong answer — the missing intuition, the flipped sign, the wrong mental model — and rebuilds from there.
Learns from every confusion
When an explanation misses you, Root saves it as a “didn’t land” note and switches angle next time — visual diagram, worked example, real-world analogy, whatever fits you. Never the same explanation twice.
Remembers you — and the whole unit
Root keeps a plain-English profile (visual learner, prefers worked examples, needs encouragement first) plus the unit’s full syllabus, in context all year. Open your Progress page and read every note Root is using — no black box.
A study mode for every goal
Tell Root why you’re studying — exam prep, keeping up with class, catching up, or Get Ahead mode (Root teaches the actual next lesson in your curriculum, not random material). Every explanation bends to match.
Revision timed by memory science
Root quizzes you on what you’ve started to forget — spaced 3, 7, 16 days apart, with email nudges. Wrong answers hand you back to tutor mode with the gap pre-loaded.
Practice papers from your syllabus
Mock exams built from your syllabus and your teacher’s material — your exam board’s wording, auto-marked with per-question feedback, plus a strengths-and-gaps summary you can take straight into tutor mode.
Why Root works
Sound familiar?
Three moments every student knows — and exactly how Root fixes each one.
Before Root
With Root
You finally sit down to actually study at home — one question stops you cold, and there’s no one to ask.
Root’s there 24/7 — already knows your subject, your unit, and where you left off.
You re-ask ChatGPT four times and still don’t get an explanation that fits.
Root catches which explanations don’t land — and adapts to the way you actually learn. Next time, it teaches differently before you have to ask.
One bad test and you start to wonder if you’re just dumb.
Open Revision Mode on that unit. Root works out exactly what didn’t stick, then walks you through it again — in the style that actually lands for you.
None of this means you’re dumb. It means the way you’ve been taught wasn’t built around how you actually learn.
See it in action
See Root in action.
Watch Root tutor, test, revise, and remember — across one student’s real study session.
How Root learns you
One real student. The thing ChatGPT literally can’t do.
Same chat. Same Maya. Watch Root catch the miss and re-teach differently — without ever asking her to repeat herself.
First explanation
Maya
Our teacher said £1,000 at 10% interest grows to £17,500 in 30 years — how is that even possible?
Root
Imagine 1 penny doubled every day for 30 days. Day 30 it’s worth £5.3 million. Your teacher’s question is the same engine, just slower.
Maya
Whoa — but can you show me a real-life version? Something more natural, not just money stuff?
↑ The visual lands, but Maya wants something more real-life.
Behind the scenes
✕
DIDN'T LAND
Money-and-numbers examples impress Maya but don’t click as a natural phenomenon.
✓
TRY NEXT
Anchor compound growth to something from biology or nature she can picture.
◆
NOTED
Asks “what’s a real-life version?” — wants ideas grounded in something familiar.
↑ Maya never sees this. It’s how Root teaches differently next time.
Same chat. New angle.
Root
Picture a single rabbit on an island. Year 1: 2 rabbits. Year 2: 4. Then 8, 16, 32. After 30 years — more than a billion.
Root
That’s compound interest. Money is the rabbit. Interest is the babies — let them keep multiplying and your money grows faster every year.
Maya
Oh — bunnies multiplying. That finally sticks.
↑ Root caught Maya’s preference for nature — and switched approach mid-chat.
Your study folder
One folder per unit. Root holds the syllabus all year.
No more twenty tangled tabs per subject. Upload your notes once and Root keeps the syllabus in context all year — every chat picks up where the last one left off.
- Per-unit memory— last week’s diagrams and examples still in context this week.
- Plain-English learning profile — “visual learner”, “prefers worked examples”, “needs encouragement first”. Editable anytime.
- Upload a whole unit of notes — slides, textbook pages, past papers; Root reads them once and keeps a topic map.
- Quick actions — jump into tutoring, test prep, or revision.
roottutor.com
Study with a purpose
Every unit knows why you’re studying it.
Cramming for finals, completing a school project, getting ahead over summer break, or just exploring a hobby — each one needs a different kind of tutor. Set the goal when you make the unit and Root’s depth, pace, examples, and even quick-action chips shift to match. For the big ones, Root builds a tickable study plan — core skills first, then application, then a stretch challenge — and checks it off as you go.
Get Ahead mode
Finished the topic? Flip on Get Ahead and Root teaches the actual next lesson in your curriculum — not random material — so you walk into class already ahead.
New unit
What’s this unit for?
Preparing for an examDrills exam technique against your real past papers.
Keeping pace with classTeaches each topic as your class covers it.
Completing a school projectBecomes a completion coach for your rubric.
Just exploringA hobby, a curiosity — no exam pressure.
Get Ahead mode
Teach the next topic in my curriculum
roottutor.com
Test prep
Practice papers from your syllabus.
Root generates mock exams from your syllabus and your teacher’s materials — your exam board’s wording, auto-marked. Repeat till you feel ready.
- Built from your syllabus and teacher’s materials — not a generic question bank.
- Auto-marked with per-question feedback — see which idea broke, not just a score.
- Strengths-and-gaps summary after every paper, ready to take straight back into tutor mode.
Revision mode
Pinpoints what you retained. Fixes what you haven’t.
Built on spaced-repetition researchPick any unit. Root quizzes you on what you’ve started to forget, then sends the gaps straight back to tutor mode.
- Conversational quizzing — answer in your own words; Root catches the half-right and re-teaches it.
- Flashcards & notes, made for you — Root turns your weak spots into flashcards, and saves anything it says to your notes in a single tap.
- Per-unit gap report— what you nailed, what you didn’t, ready to take back into tutor mode.
- Email nudges when it’s time to review — spaced 3, 7, 16 days apart, so the second-Friday slump doesn’t become the exam-day hole.
roottutor.com
Keep going
They actually want to come back.
The best tutor in the world only works if your child opens it. So Root makes studying feel like progress you can watch — a garden that grows as you master topics, gentle weekly streaks, and a record of how far you’ve come.
- A garden that grows with youEvery topic mastered grows your garden — a living picture of everything you've learned.
- Gentle weekly streaksA 45-minutes-a-week habit, not a guilt-trip. Earn XP, level up, and take on weekly quests.
- Study with friendsAdd friends by code and keep each other going — encouragement, never a leaderboard of shame.
- See how far you've comeQuestions asked, hours studied, topics mastered — your whole journey, counted up.
Your garden
This week12-week streak
Weekly quest · 45 min38 / 45 min
1,240
Questions asked
36
Hours studied
58
Topics mastered
roottutor.com
What Root knows about you
Plain-English notes about how you learn.
No black-box AI. Open your Progress page and read the exact notes Root uses to adapt every explanation — visual learner, wants worked examples, needs encouragement first. And if a note is wrong, edit it.
← Real notes from a beta student
Root’s memory is human-readable. No black box, no psychological profile you can’t see — just the explanation rules it’s working with for you, written in your language.
Where Root fits
What you’re probably using now.
And what changes with Root.
Root vs A human tutor
~£40/hourReal conversation, real accountability.
But there once a week. Root is there at 11pm — and costs less than one weekly hour, every day of the month.
Root vs Photomath / SnapAI
Snap-the-question appsFast, gets you the answer.
But never builds understanding. Root rebuilds the why underneath — so the next question doesn’t break you.
Root vs Quizlet / Anki
Flashcard toolsGood for memorisation.
But you build the cards yourself, on what you already know. Root quizzes you on the gaps you didn’t know you had.
Cheaper AI tutors exist — from a few dollars a month. But the cheapest tool is the one your child never opens. You’re paying for personalisation that compounds, your exact exam board, and a study system they actually come back to.
Everything in one place
One quiet place for the whole of study.
No more juggling ten apps and twenty tabs. The little things that make studying easier, all built in.
Listen mode
Hear any answer read aloud, in a clear British voice.
Photo homework help
Snap a question or your working — Root reads it and remembers it.
In-chat calculator
Crunch the numbers without ever leaving the conversation.
Quick-draw scratchpad
Sketch your working by hand and show Root what you mean.
Bring your materials
Drop in notes, slides and past papers — Root reads them once and remembers.
Focus mode
One tap to go full-screen and tune out everything but the lesson.
Before you decide
Built to teach — and built to trust.
The four things a parent actually wants to know, before the price.
Built to teach, not to cheat
There’s a hard rule against just handing over answers. Root draws the reasoning out of your child, so understanding actually sticks.
Progress you can see
Open the Progress page anytime — topics mastered, hours studied, and a plain-English profile of how they learn that you can edit.
Private & safe
A UK company, GDPR-compliant. Sessions stay private; your child chooses whether a weekly summary is ever shared with you.
Your exact exam board
GCSE, IGCSE, A-Level, IB MYP & DP, AP and US Common Core — Root teaches to the spec your child is actually sitting.
We only publish results we can stand behind — more coming as our first students sit their exams.
Pricing
Four plans. No surprises.
Start free — no card needed. Upgrade when you’re ready to go deeper. Cancel anytime — no questions, no guilt.
Free
$0forever
★ 5-day free trial of everythingEverything unlocked free for 5 days — then keep going free, forever. No card.
- ✓60 messages a week
- ✓2 study units at a timePaid plans unlock unlimited units
- ✓2 test papers a week
- ✓25 revision messages a week
- ✓Upload 2 files per unitRoot reads them once and remembers
- ✓Full personalisation engine
Most popular
Pro
$18.99per month
Everything a regular student needs to excel.
- ✓125 premium messages a weekRoot’s smartest AI, for the hard stuff
- ✓+ 375 standard messages a weekFast model — pick per message
- ✓7 mock papers a weekAuto-marked with per-question feedback
- ✓Unlimited study units
- ✓Upload 8 files per unitBring your slides, notes, and past papers
Scholar
$34.99per month
High limits all round — for serious terms and exam season.
- ✓225 premium + 600 standard a weekGenerous headroom for heavy weeks
- ✓14 mock papers a week
- ✓225 revision messages a week
- ✓Upload 15 files per unit
- ✓Everything in Pro
Mastery
$74.99per month
The highest limits Root offers — for homeschool and all-day study.
- ✓600 premium + 800 standard a weekBuilt for all-day study
- ✓28 mock papers a week
- ✓Upload 30 files per unitA whole year of notes and papers
- ✓Priority during exam season
- ✓Everything in Scholar
Need the full feature breakdown? See full plan comparison →
For parents
Less than one hour of tutoring. Available every day of the month.
Cost
Pro is $18.99/month — about half of one hour with a human tutor, available every day of the month.
Privacy
Your student’s sessions are private. Nothing is shared with teachers or parents unless they choose to export it. Account and data can be deleted in one click.
No commitment
Free plan gets 60 messages a week — no card needed. Paid plans cancel in one click; no fees, no questions.
Real students
Why students stick with Root.
I really struggle with my confidence with my tutor. If I don’t understand something and ask for help, most of the time I still don’t understand after the explanation — but I’d rather stay confused than ask a second time. Root fixed this for me. I could ask as many times as I wanted with no judgment, and every time Root gave me a new way of thinking about the problem. What surprised me most is the more I used Root, the better the explanations got.
— Beta student, Grade 10
IB MYPQuestions
What students actually ask.
How is Root actually different from ChatGPT?+
ChatGPT opens a blank chat every time and gives you the answer. Root saves the moment you got stuck, works out why the explanation didn't land, and re-teaches it differently next time. It builds a profile of how your brain learns, so every session starts ahead of the last instead of from scratch.
Which subjects and exam boards does Root support?+
Maths, sciences (physics, chemistry, biology), English, humanities (history, geography, business, economics), languages, and computer science. Root supports the major UK and US frameworks — GCSE, IGCSE, A-Level, IB MYP, IB DP, AP, and US Common Core — and adapts question style to whichever you're sitting.
What grade levels is Root for?+
Root is built for secondary school students — grades 6 through 12 (Years 7–13 in UK terms). Younger than that and you usually don't need a tutor; older than that and the syllabus gets too specialised for any one tool.
Does it work on my phone?+
Yes. Root is a web app — open it in any phone browser, no install needed. Listen mode works on mobile too, so you can hear explanations read aloud. Most students study on phone.
Does Root have streaks or rewards?+
Yes, quietly. Root tracks a weekly study streak and grows a tree on your dashboard as you master topics — it's there to keep you consistent, not to turn studying into a game. No pop-ups mid-session, no noise.
Will my parents see what I'm studying?+
No, by default. Your account is private. If you want them to see progress, you can share a weekly summary from Settings — but nothing is shared automatically.
Can parents track progress?+
Optionally. Each student account can email a weekly progress summary (units worked on, mastery levels, areas still developing) to a parent address — student decides whether to enable it. No surveillance dashboard, no scary keyword alerts.
Do I need to pay to try it?+
No. The free plan gets you 60 messages a week, plus two practice papers — enough to see whether Root reads you. No card needed to start.
Can I cancel anytime?+
Yes — one click in your billing portal. You keep access until the end of the period you've already paid for. No cancellation fees, no questions.
Is my work private?+
Your sessions stay tied to your account only. You can download all your data as a file or delete your account completely from Settings at any time. Stripe-secured payments; we never see your card.
What happens after you click
Two minutes to set up. No card. No catch.
- 130 seconds
Tell Root who you are
Year, exam board, and the units you’re working on. Pick from a list — no essay required.
- 21 minute (skippable)
Drop in some notes
Paste in a chapter or skip — Root will build context as you chat. You can always add more later.
- 3Then you’re in
Ask your first question
Root starts learning you from question one. No card collected. 60 messages a week, free, forever.
Your first session
Stop memorising.
Start understanding.
Take your first session free. Two minutes to set up — no card — and Root starts learning you from question one.
Try Root for free →Start free — 5 days of everything, no card · Cancel anytime