What counts toward your hours

Your plan includes a set number of usage hours per month. These hours are consumed only while you are actively using Learn mode or Practice mode — the two core learning experiences on Grassroot Academy.

• Learn mode — Interactive sessions where the AI teaches you concepts, answers questions, and walks you through problems step-by-step.
• Practice mode — AI-generated quizzes, problem sets, and exercises tailored to your skill level and learning goals.

What does NOT count toward your hours

You can use the rest of the platform freely without consuming any hours:

• Browsing and enrolling in courses
• Viewing your learning analytics and progress
• Uploading documents and creating custom modules
• Managing your account and settings
• Navigating the platform

Plan breakdown

Plan	Monthly Hours	Rollover
Free	3 hours	No
Starter	12 hours	Up to 3 months
Growth	Unlimited	N/A

Think of it like a phone plan: your hours are the minutes you spend actively learning — talking to the AI or doing practice problems. Everything else — browsing, reading, reviewing your stats — is free and unlimited.

What “limited” means on the Free plan

On the Free plan, certain features are marked as limited. This doesn’t mean they’re locked — it means there’s a monthly cap on how many times you can use them. Here’s how it works.

Every action on Grassroot Academy has an underlying token cost. Tokens are the units of computation that power our AI — think of them as the fuel behind every response, explanation, and generated problem. Different features consume different amounts of tokens:

• Learn mode is the most token-intensive — the AI is actively teaching, checking your understanding, and adapting in real time. This means free users can use Learn mode for a portion of their monthly hours.
• Practice mode uses fewer tokens per session, so your hours stretch further here. If you hit your Learn mode limit, you can still use your remaining hours fully in Practice mode.
• Practice generation (creating new problem sets) has a monthly cap on the Free plan.
• Document uploads and custom module generation also have monthly caps, since processing documents and building custom courses requires significant computation.

Your 3 hours are always yours. Limits on individual features don’t take away from your total monthly hours — they shape how you can split them. For example, if you reach your Learn mode limit for the month, you still have your remaining hours available for Practice mode.

These limits may adjust over time as token costs change, but they exist for a simple reason: they allow us to offer a genuinely free plan — forever, no credit card required. By managing the most computation-heavy features, we can keep the Free tier sustainable for every user without cutting corners on quality.

Paid plans (Starter and Growth) have significantly higher or unlimited access to all of these features. See our Plans page for a full comparison.

Grassroot Academy has two core learning modes. Both consume usage hours, but they work very differently.

When to use which

• Need to learn something new? Learn mode teaches it from scratch, checks you understand, then helps you apply it.
• Preparing for a test? Practice mode lets you drill exactly the problem types you'll see, at the difficulty you choose.
• Both in one session? Start with Learn to build understanding, then switch to Practice to lock it in.

Getting started with Grassroot Academy takes less than a minute. No setup wizards, no lengthy onboarding — just sign up and start learning.

How to start

1. Create an account — Sign up with your email or Google account.
2. Choose a module — Pick from our course library or generate your own on any topic.
3. Pick your chapters and mode — Select what to study and whether to use Learn mode or Practice mode.
4. Start learning — That's it. You're in.

Free plan

Every account comes with 3 free hours of learning per month — no credit card required. Use them in Learn mode, Practice mode, or both. Your free hours refresh every month, so you can keep learning at no cost for as long as you like.

When you're ready for more, upgrade to a paid plan anytime from your account settings. See our Plans page for details.

Grassroot Academy covers all subjects at every level — from middle school through graduate school. If you can study it, you can learn it here.

All subjects

Math, science, English, history, programming, languages, business, and more. Every plan includes access to all subjects — there are no per-subject fees.

Any level

Our AI adapts to your level automatically. Whether you're in 6th grade or working through a graduate program, the material meets you where you are.

Test prep

Preparing for a standardized test? We support SAT, ACT, AP exams, IB, A-Levels, GRE, MCAT, and more. Use Practice mode to drill exactly the problem types you'll see on test day.

Upload your own material

Have your own textbook, lecture notes, or study guide? Upload it and our AI will build a personalized learning module around your material. This is great for studying for specific exams or working through content your school uses.

Plans

Plan	Price	Hours
Free	$0/month	3 hours
Starter	$29.99/month	12 hours
Growth	$79.99/month	Unlimited

Billing

All paid plans are billed monthly. If you signed up during our founding student period, your price is locked in for life — it will never increase, even as regular pricing goes up.

Rollover hours

On the Starter plan, unused hours roll over for up to 3 months. This gives you flexibility to use your hours when you need them most — like during exam season.

Cancellation

You can cancel anytime from your account settings. Cancellation takes effect immediately, but you keep access to your remaining hours through the end of your current billing period.

Refund policy

We offer a full refund within the first 7 days of any paid subscription. No questions asked.

Changing plans

You can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time. Changes take effect on your next billing cycle.

We take data privacy and security seriously — especially when it comes to student data. Here's how we keep your information safe.

Education privacy compliance

• FERPA — Compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
• COPPA — Compliant with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act
• SOPPA — Compliant with the Student Online Personal Protection Act
• SOC 2 Type II — Independently audited security controls
• Student DPA — Signatory to Student Data Privacy Agreements

Data protection

• End-to-end encryption for all data in transit and at rest
• Your data is never sold to third parties
• Your data is never used to train AI models
• Regular third-party security audits
• Role-based access controls
• Complete audit logs

For schools and districts looking for more detail, visit our Schools page for full compliance documentation and data governance information.