Horizons Math vs Saxon Math

Checked October 29, 2026No affiliate links. Programs never pay to appear.

The main differences

Both use a spiral, bringing earlier topics back as new ones are added. Horizons is parent-led from a teacher's guide with two colorful workbooks a year and ends at 8th grade with Algebra I. Saxon continues through high school algebra, geometry and advanced math, and its optional teacher CDs and DVDs add video lessons and worked solutions. AOP sells Horizons direct with free readiness tests; HMH sends homeschool families elsewhere for Saxon's books.

Rows where the two differ are shaded. Every fact is from the publisher’s own site.
	Horizons Math	Saxon Math
Subjects	Math	Math
Grades	Kindergarten to 8th grade, ending with Algebra I	Kindergarten to 12th grade
Method	Traditional	Traditional
Format	Books and workbooks	Books and workbooks
Faith label	Faith-based	Secular
Cost a year	$120. 3rd grade Math Box Set (two student books and the teacher's guide with answer keys): $120. The student worksheet packet is $16.25 extra.	No price on the publisher's own site when we checked.
Placement	Free math readiness evaluations ↗	None on the publisher's site
Parent time	Not stated by the publisher	Not stated by the publisher
It fits	A parent who wants to teach from a step-by-step guide each day, with colorful workbooks and steady review of earlier topics.	A family that wants a printed, step-by-step math series from the early grades to high school, with steady review built into every lesson.
It doesn't fit	A family that wants the child to work on their own, or a program that finishes one topic before moving to the next.	A family that wants to buy everything, placement test included, straight from the publisher, or a child who needs to finish one topic before starting the next.

Horizons Math

Horizons Math is a parent-led math curriculum from kindergarten to 8th grade, ending with Pre-Algebra and Algebra I. The parent teaches each day from a teacher's guide with step-by-step lessons and answer keys, and the child works in two colorful student workbooks; the 3rd grade set, for example, has 160 lessons. Topics come back again and again in a spiral, each time a little harder, as new material is added.

Does well: The teacher's guide gives step-by-step daily lessons, learning goals, a materials list and answer keys, so the parent knows what to do each day.

Watch for: The publisher says it needs active parent involvement: the parent teaches each lesson and checks the work with the answer keys.

The full Horizons Math card · Publisher’s site ↗

Saxon Math

Saxon Math is a kindergarten to 12th grade math series in which new ideas arrive in small steps and each lesson's practice keeps mixing in earlier work, with regular cumulative tests. The homeschool editions run from the early grades through algebra, geometry and advanced math. HMH's own shop sells only the optional teacher CDs and DVDs, which give video lessons and worked solutions; HMH sends homeschool families to a partner retailer for the books.

Does well: Each lesson adds one small new step, and the practice keeps bringing back earlier topics, so old skills are reviewed all year.

Watch for: HMH's own site no longer sells the homeschool textbooks or posts placement tests; it points homeschool families to a partner retailer.

The full Saxon Math card · Publisher’s site ↗

Lists with both

How we label

Every fact on a card was read on the publisher's own website on the date shown, and the page it came from is linked. A fact we could not confirm there is left out. Costs are for one child and one year of the main package, as the publisher's page showed them that day; prices and sales change. Method and format are the publisher's own description where it gives one. The only thing we say about religion is one label, secular or faith-based, given by the rule above; where the publisher's pages don't settle it, the card has no label.

Something wrong or out of date? Send a correction; publishers can send corrections, never money. Every program compared