Kumon and Sylvan are both learning centres with locations across BC, and both start with a test of your child. After that they work in very different ways. Kumon is a practice program: short daily worksheets, most of them done at home. Sylvan is teaching: a certified teacher works with your child at the centre. The right choice depends less on the brand and more on what your child needs right now.
How Kumon works
Your child takes a placement test at no cost during the parent orientation.[1] The instructor uses it to pick a starting level, which is often easier than your child's grade on purpose, so the first weeks feel comfortable.
Then the routine starts. Daily assignments take about 30 minutes per subject. Two days a week your child does them at the Kumon centre; the other five days, at home.[1] The math program runs from counting through addition, multiplication and fractions up to algebra, and each child moves at their own pace.[4]
What it asks of you: five days a week, someone at home keeps the worksheet routine going. For a child in grade 1 or 2, that often means sitting nearby.
How Sylvan works
Sylvan starts with its Insight Assessment, free for one subject at BC centres such as Richmond. The centre then builds a plan and gives you a quote.[7] Sylvan describes the assessment as an adaptive test plus teacher observation and your child's own view of school.[8]
Sessions happen at the centre, taught by certified teachers trained in the Sylvan method.[7] How many sessions a week your child needs comes from the assessment. BC centres list reading, writing and math for kindergarten to grade 12.[7]
What it asks of you: driving to the centre for each session. The teaching happens there, so there is less to supervise at home.
What Sylvan and Kumon cost in BC
The two centres charge in different ways. Kumon charges a monthly fee per subject. Sylvan charges per session, and the rate drops when you book more sessions a week or sign up for 6 or 12 months.[5]
| Centre | Price as listed | One-time fee | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kumon Vancouver - Marpole | $230-$260 per subject a month | $80 enrolment, $30 materials | 2 centre days a week plus home worksheets |
| Kumon Surrey - Fraser Heights | $180-$200 per subject a month | $80 enrolment, $20 materials | 2 centre days a week plus home worksheets |
| Sylvan Surrey & Newton | $69 a session month to month; $56-$66 with a 6 or 12-month minimum | $149 registration | Each session at the centre |
| Sylvan Vancouver - Kerrisdale | $75 a session month to month; $60-$72 with a 6 or 12-month minimum | $199 registration | Each session at the centre |
To compare them by the month, multiply Sylvan's rate by the sessions. At two sessions a week (8 or 9 a month), Surrey & Newton's month-to-month rate comes to about $550-$620 a month, and Kerrisdale's to about $600-$675. One Kumon subject at the centres above is $180-$260 a month. Our guide to Kumon costs in BC lists more centres.
Which one fits your child?
- Your child understands the math but is slow or makes small errors: daily practice is the fix. That is what Kumon is built for.
- Your child does not understand a topic, such as fractions or word problems: more worksheets will not explain it. A teacher, like Sylvan's, can.
- You cannot keep a five-day home routine: Sylvan puts the work at the centre. Kumon depends on the home days.
- You cannot drive across town twice a week: both need trips to the centre. Kumon also has an online Canada Virtual centre; see our Kumon alternatives guide.
- The budget is the limit: Kumon is lower per month at the centres above. A private tutor can also cost less; see tutor costs in BC.
Whichever you pick, both free tests tell you where your child starts. You can take more than one before you decide.
Want to see your child's math level first, at home? Our free online math assessment shows their level and the topics they find hard.
Your child takes the test on a laptop or tablet.
A third option: practice made for one child, at home
Some families want Kumon's daily paper practice without the drive, and a plan built from their child's gaps, like Sylvan's, without the session fees. That is what Unica Learning does. Your child takes a free online math assessment on a laptop or tablet. Then each paper workbook is made for your child's level and gaps and mailed home, and the next one adapts to their work. See how we compare with learning centres and tutors.