Head to head

Romeschool vs. Well-Trained Mind Academy

Well-Trained Mind Academy positions itself as: Live online classical classes with the Well-Trained Mind brand — secular-friendly.

Compiled by Romeschool AI. Take it with a grain of salt — probably true though, and current as of 2026-07-07.

The secular-friendly live-class option with the WTM brand halo. À la carte per course; we're the whole system, one price.

What Well-Trained Mind Academy does best

Live, teacher-led classical classes that don't require a statement of faith — the rigorous, secular-friendly corner of the classical world.

Live online classes with teachers who grade the work
Secular-friendly classical rigor — a real gap-filler for non-religious families
The Well-Trained Mind brand and Susan Wise Bauer's method behind it
A clear, single-subject-at-a-time class model

Choose Well-Trained Mind Academy if

You want live, rigorous, secular-friendly classical classes with a teacher grading the work, and you're fine paying per course, per child. For that specific need, WTMA is one of the best options — and it's outside instruction we don't offer.

Where the difference shows up for your family

The places a single-purpose tool leaves a gap — and Romeschool fills it.

One course there ≈ our whole year, whole family

WTMA runs $649–799 per full-year course, per child; a full load for one student runs into the thousands. Romeschool is one flat family price, every child and every course included.

The whole school, not just the lessons

They give you the curriculum; you still run everything around it. Romeschool bundles the planner, your state's requirements and NOI filing, records and transcripts, ESA tracking, and a 24,000-destination field-trip finder into the same subscription.

A core plus an honest finder

WTMA is à la carte classes. Romeschool includes a full classical core and a Curriculum Finder that recommends the best fit per child — including programs like WTMA we don't sell — plus the planner, state, and records to run whatever you choose.

Bottom line

WTMA teaches rigorous secular-friendly classes, per course, per child. Romeschool includes the courses and the whole system to run the year, for one family price.

The receipts

Every realm, side by side

The full comparison behind the argument — sourced and dated. We lead with the realms we own.

Where we lead

State Requirements & Filing

Staying on the right side of your state's rules — the part most planners leave entirely to you.

RomeschoolWell-Trained Mind Academy

Notice of Intent filing helpYesGuided Notice-of-Intent wizard (FL/TN/GA + 22 template states)NoLive classes + curriculum, not a state-requirements tool

Per-state requirement sheetsYesAll 50 statesNo

Deadline remindersYesNOI renewal reminders, escalating—

Evaluator-ready reportingYesEvaluator letter + portfolio presets—

Where we lead

Law & Policy Alerts

When the rules change, you hear about it — automatically, for your state.

RomeschoolWell-Trained Mind Academy

Legislative / policy alertsYesDaily law/policy alert engine with web-search discoveryNo

Per-state alertsYesSubscribe by state + impact level—

Where we lead

ESA Funds Support

Education Savings Account money is real and growing. Romeschool is building first-class ESA support — capture, categorize, and keep it audit-ready — and no other tool here is even attempting it.

RomeschoolWell-Trained Mind Academy

ESA expense trackingComing soonESA Wallet expense ledger is in buildNo

Receipt captureComing soon—

Approved-category taggingComing soon—

Eligibility referencesComing soonStatute-cited eligibility references—

ESA-platform awarenessClassWallet / Odyssey / MyScholarShopComing soonBuilt for ClassWallet / Odyssey / MyScholarShop states—

Where we lead

Field Trips & Resource Discovery

Tens of thousands of real, curriculum-classified destinations — not a blank calendar.

RomeschoolWell-Trained Mind Academy

Field-trip finderYes24,000+ destinationsNo

Location-based discoveryYesMap + radius search from home—

Destination databaseYes17,600+ curriculum-classified destinations—

Where we lead

Curriculum Matching

Help choosing what to teach — not just a place to type in what you already chose.

RomeschoolWell-Trained Mind Academy

Curriculum matchingYesPublic Curriculum Finder quiz (AI-ranked, no login)NoThey teach their own classes; they don't match you across the market

Marketplace / plan importCSV importMarketplace is listings; lesson-plan import is via CSV—

AI curriculum augmentationYesOptional LLM augmentation on per-child free text—

Curriculum & Instruction

The education itself — the courses, the teaching, and the record that stands behind them. Most planners include none of this; most schools include only this. Romeschool includes a full classical humanities core and names the gaps (math, discrete labs) out loud.

RomeschoolWell-Trained Mind Academy

Curriculum includedThe actual courses — not just a place to plan themYesA full classical humanities core — a 22-course core across five tracks, climbing to Via Rhetorica — plus a ~1,100-title curriculum finder for everything else. We name our gaps: no math curriculum (deliberate), one integrated lab science, not discrete Bio/Chem/PhysicsYesA classical, secular-friendly curriculum taught live

Live teacher instructionNoSelf-paced, author-voiced lessons — no live Zoom classes. Cohort declamation days (the Forum) are on the roadmapYesLive online classes with a teacher

Outside grading / evaluationQuizzes, tests + rubricsBuilt-in quizzes and tests (expanding across the courses), plus rubric-scored writing and capstones; an outside human-evaluator sign-off service is on the roadmapYesTeachers grade and give feedback

Accreditation / diplomaRecords, not accreditedNo homeschool curriculum is accredited — but Atheneum Academy LLC issues the transcript and you keep a per-child year-end portfolio + evidence trail (evidence beats accreditation; see /guides/is-romeschool-accredited)Records availableNot confirmed as an accredited diploma program in this pass

Track recordYears running / alumniFounding (2026)New — the Founding Families cohort, with a published course calendar shipping through fallSince ~2014Backed by the Well-Trained Mind brand (Susan Wise Bauer)

Identity & Platform

Who builds it, on what, and how long the trial runs before a card is required.

RomeschoolWell-Trained Mind Academy

PlatformWeb / iOS / AndroidWebResponsive web app — runs in any phone, tablet, or desktop browser; no app-store downloadLive online classes

Owner / publisherAtheneum Academy LLCThe Well-Trained Mind

Founded2026—

Actively updatedContinuouslyBuilt and updated daily through pre-launchActively enrolling

Free trial length7-day trialThen subscriber-gated; a few parts stay free—

Card required for trialNo—

Core Planning & Logbook

The daily workhorse — planning lessons, logging what got done, tracking hours.

RomeschoolWell-Trained Mind Academy

Lesson planningYesAuto-generated, rhythm-aware year plan—

Drag-and-drop rescheduleReshuffle queueLessons reflow via an explicit queue, not drag-and-drop—

Daily logbookYesPlus omnivorous intake — type, snap a photo, or speak—

Attendance & hoursYesMinutes/hours per subject, per child—

Auto-reschedule missed workYesRedistribute engine folds missed work into lighter days—

Reporting & Portfolio

The records that prove the year happened — transcripts, portfolios, clean exports.

RomeschoolWell-Trained Mind Academy

TranscriptsYesPrintable academic transcriptPartialCourse grades/records for its classes; not a whole-homeschool transcript system

Report cardsNoTranscripts + year-end portfolio instead—

Year-end portfolioYesPer-child, per-year portfolio artifact—

PDF exportYesClient-side PDF (no print-dialog hacks)—

Custom reportsPortfolio presetsState / evaluator / full export presets—

AI Features

What the software actually does for you with AI — not a checkbox, a capability.

RomeschoolWell-Trained Mind Academy

AI presentNone / Matching / GenerationGeneration + MatchingNone

What the AI doesFamily assistant with an agentic tool loop, omnivorous logbook intake, curriculum augmentation, and review digests—

Experience & Design

How it feels to live in every day — on the couch, on the phone, mid-school-morning.

RomeschoolWell-Trained Mind Academy

Mobile appResponsive webWorks in any mobile browser; no native app to downloadNo

Setup effortLow / Medium / HighLowGuided onboarding + auto year-plan—

DesignDated / Functional / ModernModern—

Multi-Child

Running more than one student without doing the work more than once.

RomeschoolWell-Trained Mind Academy

Multiple studentsYesParent-aware multi-child scheduling—

Shared subjects across studentsYesWhole-family subjects—

Community

Finding other families — safely — for group trips and shared days.

RomeschoolWell-Trained Mind Academy

Social / friends layerNoThe in-person HomeSocial layer was retired—

Groups / co-op coordinationComing soonForays — group field-trip coordination, in build—

Data & Privacy

Whose data it is, and whether it's the product.

RomeschoolWell-Trained Mind Academy

You own your dataYesYour records are yours; export anytime—

Sells your dataNo—

Ad-freeYes—

Support & Onboarding

How much hand-holding you get when you're new and it's August.

RomeschoolWell-Trained Mind Academy

Support channelsEmail + in-app assistantsupport@romeschool.app—

Training / docsIn-app guidanceHelp content still being built out—

Guided onboardingYesSetup wizard + dashboard checklist—

Pricing & Value

What it costs over the years you'll actually homeschool — not just the first sign-up. Romeschool is one flat price for the whole family — every child, every tool — with no per-student fees.

RomeschoolWell-Trained Mind Academy

Billing modelMonthly / yearly / per-studentYearly, unlimited childrenPer course, per student

Entry price$499/yrFounding rate — $250 off the $749 standing price, locked for life$649–799 / full-year course

Whole-family priceUnlimited children$499/yrWhole family, unlimited children — no per-student feeNo whole-family price$649–799 per full-year course, per child — a full course load for one student runs into the thousands

Co-op / group pricingNot publishedNo separate co-op SKU yet—

Price over timerises-annually / flat / lifetime-lockedFlat$499/yr flat — $250 off the $749 standing price, no per-child fees—

Lifetime price lockYesFounding rate $499/yr — locked for life, $250 off the $749 standing price; one family price, no per-child fees—

Free tierPartialA 7-day trial, then subscription; a few parts stay freeNo

The whole homeschool, in one place.

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Feature and price comparisons reflect publicly available information as of 2026-07-07. Competitors' offerings change; verify current details on their sites. Product names are used for identification only and imply no affiliation or endorsement.