Keats vs Kumon vs Mathnasium · North Vancouver · Kitsilano
Kumon, Mathnasium, private tutoring, or Keats?
- Most North Vancouver and Kitsilano parents comparing tutoring are choosing between a worksheet centre, a math-only centre, a private tutor, and Keats
- Here is the honest comparison, with only what each option says about itself
- Keats: a shared private class on the BC curriculum, math and English, K to 12, with the price published
- Classes 7 days a week. $199 per month per subject, plus GST. No contract.
The table
Only what each option says about itself. The Kumon and Mathnasium columns use their own Canadian websites, kumon.com/ca-en and mathnasium.com/ca, checked October 2026; where a fact is not published there, we say so.
| Kumon | Mathnasium | Private tutor | Keats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Format | "a structured, proven self-learning program" | "Your child works face-to-face with trained instructors in a supportive setting" | One tutor, one student | Shared private class: one tutor and one tutor assistant for every 4 to 6 students |
| Subjects | "Kumon Math & Reading Program" | "math-only learning centres" | Whatever the tutor offers | Math and English |
| Grades | "for preschool students through 12th grade" | "students in grades K–12" | Varies | Kindergarten to Grade 12 |
| What the child works on | "Two days a week your child completes assignments at a Kumon centre; the other five assignments are completed at home" | "a personalized learning plan for each student" | Whatever is brought that day | School homework first, then Keats booklets written from the child's learning plan on the BC curriculum |
| How parents hear about progress | "regular conferences between you and your child's instructor" | Not published on their website. | Depends on the tutor | A written lesson note after every class, in the Keats Parent Account |
| First step | "Book Your Free Assessment" | "Schedule a Free Assessment" | Usually a trial lesson | $34 Learning Plan Session with a written plan for your child |
| Published monthly price | Not published on their website; quoted by the centre. | Not published on their website; quoted by the centre. | Set by each tutor | $199 per month per subject, plus GST |
Why Keats stopped offering private tutoring
Keats ran private tutoring and shared private classes side by side for more than a year, across more than 2,500 lessons with more than 150 students. From November 2026 we offer the shared private class only.
Private tutoring is isolated. The student comes to depend on one person, and when that tutor leaves, the student often feels they have to leave too. Learning pauses and progress pauses with it. We watched it happen often enough to stop selling it.
In a shared private class the structure does the carrying: a written learning plan, booklets built from it, a lesson note every week, and a tutor and a tutor assistant for every 4 to 6 students. Your child learns the material and, just as important, learns how to study on their own, so a change of tutor does not set them back.
Math and English are enough to build that habit, and the habit carries into every other subject.
What a worksheet centre and a math-only centre do not do
Start from your child's own school work
At Keats the hour starts with the homework and classwork your child actually has this week, and the booklet that follows is written from their learning plan, not from a fixed worksheet level.
Cover English too
Keats teaches math and English, so one centre and one weekly routine covers both, with the same tutor team, the same lesson note and the same Parent Account.
What Keats Membership costs
Keats Monthly Membership is $199 per month per subject, for one full hour a week, plus GST. Two hours a week in the same subject is $349 per month. Billed monthly, no contract. Same price at both centres.
$199
per month, per subject
One hour a week. Math or English. No contract.
Two hours a week in the same subject: $349 per month. Prices plus GST.
That works out to under $50 an hour, with a tutor and a tutor assistant in the room.
Book a $34 Learning Plan SessionFull pricing and registration feeComparison questions
Keats or Mathnasium for math in North Vancouver?
Mathnasium is a math-only centre with its own curriculum. Keats teaches math and English on the BC curriculum, starting from your child's school homework, with a written lesson note after every class, and publishes its price: $199 per month per subject, plus GST.
Keats or Kumon?
Kumon is a worksheet program your child follows at its own levels. At Keats the work starts from your child's school homework and a written learning plan, in a shared private class with a tutor and a tutor assistant for every 4 to 6 students, and the price is published.
Is a shared private class better than private tutoring?
For most students from Kindergarten to Grade 12, yes, and we say that having offered both. Keats ran private tutoring and shared private classes side by side for more than a year, across more than 2,500 lessons with more than 150 students, and from November 2026 we offer the shared private class only. Private tutoring is isolated: the student comes to depend on one person, and when that tutor leaves, the student often feels they have to leave too, and progress pauses. In a shared private class the structure does the carrying: a written learning plan, booklets built from it, a lesson note every week, and a tutor and a tutor assistant for every 4 to 6 students. Your child learns the material and, just as important, learns how to study on their own, so a change of tutor does not set them back. Math and English are enough to build that habit, and the habit carries into every other subject.
How much does Keats cost compared with private tutoring?
Keats Monthly Membership is $199 per month per subject, for one full hour a week, plus GST, which works out to under $50 an hour with a tutor and a tutor assistant in the room. Private tutors in North Vancouver and Kitsilano set their own rates; Keats no longer offers private tutoring.
Where are the Keats centres?
At 103 - 1258 Lynn Valley Rd, Lynn Valley Village, North Vancouver, and 3317 W 4th Ave, Kitsilano, 7 days a week.
Start with a $34 Learning Plan Session
45 minutes of dedicated one-on-one tutoring on one subject with a senior Keats tutor, and a written plan you keep. If your child does not need tutoring, we will tell you.