Ezra Learning vs Horizons
Horizons is Alpha Omega's print workbook curriculum for preschool to Grade 8, taught by the parent from a teacher's guide and bought by the grade set or the subject; Ezra is a Grades 1–9 online 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
Horizons Homeschool Curriculum is a print workbook curriculum from Alpha Omega Publications, the publisher of Monarch and LIFEPAC. It runs from preschool through Grade 8, though not every subject goes that far: Math is K–8 (Pre-Algebra in Grade 7, Algebra I in Grade 8), Phonics & Reading is K–3, Spelling & Vocabulary is Grades 1–3, Penmanship is 1–6 and Health is K–8. The parent teaches each day's lesson from a teacher's guide and the child works in a brightly illustrated workbook, on a spiral method that keeps returning to earlier skills. A Complete Grade Set for Grade 3 — Math, Phonics & Reading, Spelling & Vocabulary, Penmanship and Health, with workbooks, teacher's guides and two readers — is $424.50; from Grade 4 up the subjects are bought separately, a Math Box Set being $120.
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.
Horizons fits best when…
Choose Horizons if you want a paper workbook with no screen at all, you like teaching the lesson yourself from a guide that lays out every step, you want a spiral math course that circles back to earlier skills every few days, you have a kindergartener or preschooler, you want Health and Physical Education included, or you want books you own outright, can lend to the next child's year by buying only the consumable workbooks again, and never have to renew.
Ezra fits best when…
Choose Ezra if your children are in Grades 1–9, you want a lesson that teaches itself — a voice and a drawing the child watches, then practice he does with his hands that grades itself — you want English, Spelling, Bible and Geography carried past Grade 3, you want a Bible verse read aloud in every strand of every subject, and you have more than one child: Horizons needs a workbook for each child, and the price is for the household with Ezra.
The facts, line by line
 | Horizons | |
|---|---|---|
| Grades | Grades 1–9 | Preschool–Grade 8 (Math to 8; Phonics & Reading to 3; Spelling to 3; Penmanship to 6) |
| Subjects | Math, English, Spelling, Bible, Geography | Math, Phonics & Reading, Spelling & Vocabulary, Penmanship, Health, PE |
| Price | $15 USD a month for the household (up to six children) | $424.50 for a Grade 3 Complete Grade Set; $120 for a Math Box Set, per child |
| Free to start | Two sections of every subject and grade, always free | Sample pages for each subject; free math placement tests (PDF) |
| How a lesson is taught | Narrated by a voice, drawings only, watch-only | The parent teaches from a teacher's guide; the child works in a workbook |
| Practice | Hands-on: drag, tap, sort, build, drop a pin | Workbook pages, spiral review; the parent grades with the answer key |
| Scripture | A Bible verse in every strand of every subject, read aloud | "Bible-based"; Scripture-based penmanship copy work; no separate Bible course |
| Printables | A PDF sheet for every lesson + a library of 147 books and packs | Printed workbooks and extra practice worksheets in the teacher's guides |
| High school | No | Algebra I in Grade 8 only; no Grades 9–12 |
| Science | No | No |
| History | No | No |
| Parent reports | Per child: minutes, mastery, needs-a-hand, PDF report | The parent's own grading with the answer keys |
| Screen time | Online, any device with a browser | None — paper only |
| Cartoons, games, characters | None | "Colorful illustrations" in the workbooks; no characters or games stated on their site |
Facts checked October 14, 2026 on the two sites. Prices and plans change; the links at the end go to Horizons'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. Horizons 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). Horizons: $424.50 a year per child, for the Grade 3 Complete Grade Set (Math, Phonics & Reading, Spelling & Vocabulary, Penmanship, Health); the chart multiplies by the number of children. Complete grade sets are sold for Kindergarten ($375.25) and Grades 1–3 ($424.50 each). From Grade 4 up Horizons is bought by subject: a Math Box Set is $120, Penmanship $48, Health $40.75. No U.S. shipping fees. Each child needs his own workbooks.
How a lesson is taught
A Horizons lesson is parent-led. The parent opens the teacher's guide, which gives the day's objective, the materials to gather and step-by-step teaching notes, and teaches the concept to the child at the table. The child then completes that day's pages in his workbook — in math, a few new problems and a spiral review of several earlier skills — and the parent marks them with the answer key. One lesson per subject each day fills a nine-month school year. There is no screen, no account and no renewal: the books are the course, and the teacher's guides can serve a younger child later with a new workbook.
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. Horizons describes itself as a "Bible-based" Christian curriculum: its penmanship books copy Scripture, its health course is "Bible-based and age appropriate", and its spelling and physical education are taught from a Christian perspective. It has no Bible course of its own; AOP sells Bible separately in its LIFEPAC and Monarch lines. 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 Horizons has that Ezra does not
Preschool and Kindergarten. Paper workbooks with no screen, which a family owns and can resell or hand down (only the consumable workbook is bought again). A teacher's guide that scripts every lesson for the parent. Penmanship as a course of its own, Health and Physical Education. A spiral math course that many families know by name, through Pre-Algebra and Algebra I. Free math placement tests, and no U.S. shipping fees.
What Ezra has that Horizons does not
A Bible verse in every strand of every subject, read aloud word for word from the Berean Standard Bible, and a Bible subject in every grade. A lesson that teaches itself: the child presses play and a calm voice walks him through it with a simple line drawing on every slide, so the parent is not the teacher of every lesson of every subject. Practice the child does with his hands — dragging, sorting, building, dropping a pin on a map — generated endlessly and graded on the spot, with a parent report that shows mastery, minutes and where he needs a hand. English, Spelling and Geography all the way to Grade 9, where Horizons stops reading at Grade 3 and spelling at Grade 3. A printable sheet for every lesson and a library of 147 books and packs. No cartoons or characters anywhere. And two free sections of every subject and grade, so a family can see all of it before paying anything.
Questions families ask
Is Horizons cheaper than Ezra Learning?
For one child in Grade 3, a Horizons Complete Grade Set is $424.50 and Ezra is $180 a year at the introductory price. Horizons is bought per child — each needs his own workbooks — so two children in Grades 1–3 are about $849; Ezra is one price for the household, so two children are still $180. From Grade 4 up Horizons is bought by subject, a Math Box Set being $120.
Does Ezra Learning cover high school?
No. Ezra covers Grades 1–9. Horizons stops at Grade 8 (Algebra I), so neither program covers Grades 10–12; AOP's Monarch and LIFEPAC lines do.
Does Horizons have Science or History?
No. Horizons covers Math, Phonics & Reading, Spelling & Vocabulary, Penmanship, Health and PE. Ezra teaches Mathematics, English, Spelling, Bible and Geography, and leaves out Science and History on purpose.
Is Horizons Christian?
Yes. Alpha Omega Publications calls Horizons a Bible-based Christian curriculum: penmanship copies Scripture and health is taught from the Bible. It has no Bible course of its own. Ezra has a Bible subject in every grade, and every strand of Math, English, Spelling and Geography ends with a verse read aloud from the Berean Standard Bible.
Which one needs more of the parent's time?
Horizons is parent-led: the parent teaches every lesson from the teacher's guide and grades the workbook with the answer key. Ezra's lessons are narrated and its practice grades itself, so the parent reads the report and helps where it says the child needs a hand.
Can I try either one for free?
Horizons has sample pages for each subject on aop.com and free math placement tests as PDFs; the books themselves are bought. 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 aop.com and ezralearning.com. Prices and sets change; the links under Sources go to Horizons' own pages, and we correct this page when we are told it is out of date.
Where the facts come from
- Horizons Grade 3 Complete Grade Set — aop.com
- Horizons homeschool curriculum — aop.com
- Horizons shop (every set and price) — aop.com
- Assessment and placement tests — aop.com
- Ezra Learning: pricing and curriculum pages, October 14, 2026.
Horizons and Alpha Omega Publications (AOP) are names of their owners, used here only to identify their products. If you represent Horizons and a fact here is wrong, write to hello@ezralearning.com and we will correct it.
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