What counts as secular on this list?

We included a curriculum only if its own official pages call it secular or say it does not favor a faith. Several say it in different ways, for example BookShark says it does not espouse or oppose any faith and Torchlight describes a humanist approach.

Which of these is cheapest?

On the pages we read, Build Your Library Level 3 is a $39.95 PDF and Time4Learning is $39.95 a month per student (both as of 2026-10-27), but they are very different things: one is a year of lesson plans, the other a monthly online subscription. Oak Meadow, Blossom and Root and Torchlight prices were not shown on the pages we read.

Do any of them teach evolution?

Build Your Library's FAQ says its science teaches evolution, and Pandia Press sells a REAL Science Odyssey evolution unit study. For the others, look at each maker's sample lessons before you buy.

Are there free secular options?

None of the eight here is free on the pages we read. See our list of free homeschool curricula and check each one's own wording on religion before you rely on it.

Top 8 secular homeschool curricula (2026)

Checked October 2026For Homeschool and parentsKind Software and appsNo affiliate links, no paid placement. How we chose

Quick answer

Time4Learning is our number one pick for most families: its own pages call it a complete, secular online homeschool curriculum, it covers preschool through 12th grade, and the monthly price is listed. BookShark and Build Your Library suit families who want literature-based, parent-led years, and Oak Meadow, Blossom and Root, Torchlight and Earthschooling suit nature-based, Waldorf or humanist leanings. We only ranked curricula whose own pages say secular or neutral on faith.

Top 8 secular homeschool curricula (2026): comparison
#	Name	Best for	Price
1	Time4Learning	Best for a family that wants a ready-made online year	Paid
2	BookShark	Best for read-aloud families who want a planned year	Paid
3	Build Your Library	Best for a low-cost, open-and-go literature year	Paid
4	Oak Meadow	Best for a screen-light, arts-rich year	Price varies
5	Blossom and Root	Best for a gentle, hands-on elementary year	Price varies
6	Torchlight	Best for humanist, question-led families	Price varies
7	Earthschooling	Best for an all-in-one Waldorf year	Paid
8	Pandia Press (History Quest, REAL Science Odyssey, Literature Odyssey)	Best for adding secular history or science	Paid

1. Time4Learning

Time4Learning

Best for a family that wants a ready-made online year
Paid

An online, student-paced curriculum for preschool through 12th grade with pre-recorded instructor videos, interactive lessons and reading tasks. A parent dashboard has a lesson planner, automated grading and progress reports. The fifth-grade product page describes it as a complete, secular online homeschool curriculum, and the site's FAQ describes the member area as ad-free.

$39.95 a month per student for a grade level, which the FAQ says includes up to seven courses (as of 2026-10-27). Extra courses for grades 6 to 12 are $5 each per month, and the cart banner lists multi-student discounts of 10% for two, 20% for three to five and 25% for six or more.

Watch for It is a curriculum, not a school: the FAQ says there are no live teachers and it is not accredited. Billing runs every 30 days until you cancel in the Parent Dashboard, and most of the work is on a screen.

Visit Time4Learning ↗ Facts read on the maker’s page.

2. BookShark

BookShark

Best for read-aloud families who want a planned year
Paid

A literature-based curriculum with a fully planned schedule of four days a week, sold by level from Pre-K (ages 4 to 5) through high school (ages 14 to 16). You can buy an all-subject package or single subjects such as science, language arts and math. The page says BookShark is a secular homeschool curriculum that does not espouse or oppose any faith.

The all-subject package page lists $309.43 for Pre-K, $881.88 for Level A and $925.77 for Level C, with a second, higher figure beside each (for example $1,157.21 for Level C); we did not confirm which is the sale price (as of 2026-10-27).

Watch for The cost is the main hurdle at several hundred dollars per child per level, and the curriculum is built around physical books. BookShark Virtual adds online schedules and grading, but students still read the books.

Visit BookShark ↗ Facts read on the maker’s page.

3. Build Your Library

Build Your Library

Best for a low-cost, open-and-go literature year
Paid

A literature-based, Charlotte Mason-inspired curriculum for kindergarten through grade 12 (Levels 0 to 12), with narration, copywork, dictation and art study tied to history. Level 3 comes as a 302-page PDF with a 36-week daily and weekly schedule, reading list, discussion questions and science lessons. The home page describes it as a secular literature-based homeschool curriculum.

Level 3 is $39.95 as a PDF download (as of 2026-10-27). We did not check the price of every level.

Watch for The shop page says digital programs are PDFs that cannot be returned or refunded, and you gather the books (library or purchase) yourself. The FAQ says it does not formally schedule faith teaching, so a family wanting that adds it.

Visit Build Your Library ↗ Facts read on the maker’s page.

4. Oak Meadow

Oak Meadow

Best for a screen-light, arts-rich year
Price varies

A creative, Waldorf-inspired curriculum for PreK through grade 12; the page title calls it secular, Waldorf-inspired curriculum written for over 50 years. Lessons are book-based, so most schoolwork does not need an internet connection. It sells full grade-level packages and single-subject packages, with Teacher Manuals for grades 4 to 8 and Teacher Editions for grades 9 to 12.

We did not see prices on the pages we read; they are in the maker's shop.

Watch for The page says the curriculum is print-based and flexible, so a parent chooses which assignments to use and plans the pace. An enrolled option through Oak Meadow School has its own tuition page, which we did not review.

Visit Oak Meadow ↗ Facts read on the maker’s page.

5. Blossom and Root

Blossom and Root

Best for a gentle, hands-on elementary year
Price varies

A nature-based curriculum inspired by Charlotte Mason and Waldorf ideas, with weekly prompts for nature study, art, picture study, literature, science and gentle reading lessons. The Level 3 page calls it strictly secular, like all of its curricula. The FAQ lists Early Years volumes, kindergarten and levels 1 to 6, and the site menu also shows a Level 7.

We did not see prices on the pages we read. The FAQ lists three 30% off sales a year: March 15 to April 30, August 1 to September 15 and November 15 to December 31 (as of 2026-10-27).

Watch for Everything is a PDF download with no printed books. For grade 1 and up the FAQ says the bundles do not include math, spelling, handwriting, cursive or history, so you add those yourself.

Visit Blossom and Root ↗ Facts read on the maker’s page.

6. Torchlight

Torchlight Curriculum

Best for humanist, question-led families
Price varies

An eclectic curriculum with hands-on learning, game-schooling, media and bedtime story recommendations, with levels from Pre-K through 5 and Constellation Literature Studies for level 6 and up. The home page says it takes a distinctively secular approach with humanist underpinnings. A list of alternate and extra materials is given.

We did not see a price on the pages we read.

Watch for The Level 3 page says some materials should be pre-read for sensitive learners and that the book list can change before publication. Most books are outside titles you buy or borrow.

Visit Torchlight ↗

7. Earthschooling

Earthschooling

Best for an all-in-one Waldorf year
Paid

A Waldorf-framework curriculum from preschool to high school with core blocks, lesson plans and asynchronous Living Lessons that run through a year with a different theme each month. The page calls it an award-winning, secular and diverse curriculum and says no extra books or content are needed.

The packages page shows the Kindergarten Living Lessons full curriculum at $350, marked down from $650, and a preschool-to-eighth-grade family collection at $2,750, marked down from $6,500 (as of 2026-10-27).

Watch for Lessons are asynchronous with no live contact, and the full packages are among the costlier choices here. The packages page showed markdowns from higher list prices, so check what you would pay at checkout.

Visit Earthschooling ↗

8. Pandia Press (History Quest, REAL Science Odyssey, Literature Odyssey)

Pandia Press Books

Best for adding secular history or science
Paid

Individual secular courses rather than a whole year: History Quest for grades 1 to 6, REAL Science Odyssey Level 1 for K to 6 and Level 2 for grades 6 to 10, and Literature Odyssey for grades 8 to 12. The home page lists secular, written by experts and facts-based among its selling points. Audiobooks of the History Quest chapter books are also sold.

History Quest titles start at $22.99 and study guides at $48.99; REAL Science Odyssey and Literature Odyssey titles start around $44 to $53 (as of 2026-10-27).

Watch for It covers history, science and literature only, so you still need math and language arts. Prices shown are starting prices, and several items are sold as separate textbook, workbook and teacher guide.

Visit Pandia Press (History Quest, REAL Science Odyssey, Literature Odyssey) ↗

How we chose

We weighed these, most important first. The order is our judgement against them, not a score or a vote, and a different teacher could reasonably order it differently.

Says secular on its own pages. The maker's official site calls the curriculum secular or says it does not favor a faith. We left out anything we could only call secular from reviews.
How much of the year it covers. Whether one purchase gives a full set of grade-level subjects, or only part of the day such as history, science or literature.
Price you can see. Whether a figure is printed on the official pages, and how it compares with the other picks.
How much parent prep it needs. Open-and-go lesson plans or self-teaching lessons rank above curricula that ask a parent to gather many outside books and materials.
Format and grade span. Online, print or PDF, and how many grades the maker offers.

We took no money, free products or affiliate commissions for any place on this list, and no link here carries a tracking code. Every fact was read on the maker’s own page on October 27, 2026; prices carry that date because they change. See how we choose and the ad-free promise.

Questions

What counts as secular on this list?: We included a curriculum only if its own official pages call it secular or say it does not favor a faith. Several say it in different ways, for example BookShark says it does not espouse or oppose any faith and Torchlight describes a humanist approach.
Which of these is cheapest?: On the pages we read, Build Your Library Level 3 is a $39.95 PDF and Time4Learning is $39.95 a month per student (both as of 2026-10-27), but they are very different things: one is a year of lesson plans, the other a monthly online subscription. Oak Meadow, Blossom and Root and Torchlight prices were not shown on the pages we read.
Do any of them teach evolution?: Build Your Library's FAQ says its science teaches evolution, and Pandia Press sells a REAL Science Odyssey evolution unit study. For the others, look at each maker's sample lessons before you buy.
Are there free secular options?: None of the eight here is free on the pages we read. See our list of free homeschool curricula and check each one's own wording on religion before you rely on it.

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Last checked October 27, 2026. Something out of date or missing? Tell us and we will fix it; makers can send corrections, never money.