GradeOrbit vs Excelas
Per-department licences against per-teacher seats.
Information about Excelas checked 19 October 2026
In short
Excelas is built around printed, QR-coded mock packs for science and maths departments. GradeOrbit is priced per teacher rather than per department, marks every subject the same way, and has a free trial.
About Excelas
Excelas Learn is a London-based AI marking platform for GCSE, sold per department. Teachers print QR-coded packs, scan the completed papers and get results back. It specialises in science and maths.
What one script costs
One student’s script at four lengths, from a short quiz to a long mock booklet.
| Tool | 2 pages | 6 pages | 24 pages | 40 pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GradeOrbit | Included in the seat | Included in the seat | Included in the seat | Included in the seat |
| Excelas | 74.8p–99.5p | 74.8p–99.5p | 74.8p–99.5p | 74.8p–99.5p |
GradeOrbit
Individual plans from £5 to £25 a month, for 30 to 180 credits. 1 credit marks one student’s script, whatever its length. Schools pay £10 per teacher a month, billed annually, with unlimited marking and AI detection on every seat.
1 credit per script costs 13.9p–16.7p on a monthly plan used in full, or 20p if you go over your allowance. School seats have no per-script charge.
Excelas
£995, £1,495 or £1,995 a year per department (ex VAT), for 1,000, 2,000 or unlimited submissions (a fair-use ceiling of 10,000). A month of unlimited marking costs £166.25.
Per submission on the Basic and Pro plans used in full, ex VAT. Excelas’s pricing page does not say how long a submission can be; “High Stakes” submissions count as three.
What a department pays
A year for one department of 10 teachers and 200 students, at each tool’s published prices.
| GradeOrbit | £1,200 a year for 10 teacher seats, with unlimited marking and AI detection |
|---|---|
| Excelas | £1,495 a year ex VAT (Pro, up to 2,000 submissions) |
Published accuracy
Studies differ in subject, exam board, sample size and who ran them, so read the figures side by side rather than as a ranking.
GradeOrbit
- GCSE Maths (Pearson Edexcel): 96% of marks within 1 mark of the senior examiner, agreement score (QWK) 0.92, across 69 marks.
- GCSE English (Eduqas): 83% of marks within 1 mark of the senior examiner, agreement score (QWK) 0.96, across 98 marks.
Measured 18 October 2026 on exam board exemplar scripts. We ran the study ourselves; the method and limits are on our accuracy page.
Excelas
Excelas reports its own August 2026 examiner-similarity benchmark on 4,800 GCSE Biology and Maths Foundation questions: +8.8% higher accuracy in Maths and +3.2% in Biology than unnamed "leading AI models". We found no overall figure for agreement with examiners.
Side by side
| GradeOrbit | Excelas | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Yes: Per script: 1 credit, any length | Yes: Per department, per year |
| Pages per script | Yes: Up to 50 on individual accounts; no limit for schools | Not found: Not mentioned on its homepage or pricing page |
| Subjects | Yes: Any subject, KS3 to A-level and BTEC | Partly: GCSE; maths and sciences supported, others in early access |
| Handwritten scripts | Yes: Scanned or photographed whole scripts | Yes: Printed QR-coded packs, scanned |
| Mark schemes | Yes: Ready-made GCSE mark schemes, or your own criteria | Yes: AQA, Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas, from your paper and mark scheme |
| Published accuracy figures | Yes: Against senior examiners, GCSE Maths and GCSE English | Partly: Compared with other AI models; no overall examiner figure found |
| AI detection | Yes: 1 credit a check on individual plans; unlimited for schools | Not found: Not mentioned on its homepage or pricing page |
| MIS sync | Yes: Wonde, on school accounts | Yes: Wonde, one sync a month |
| Student data | Yes: Individual accounts: work not kept, names redacted in your browser. Schools: kept under a DPA | Not found: Not described; says ICO registered and Cyber Essentials |
| Free trial | Yes: 10 free credits for teachers; 30-day trial for schools | Partly: One month of unlimited marking for £166.25 |
Where Excelas is strong
- Printed, QR-coded packs sort scanned scripts to the right pupil.
- One licence covers every qualification a department teaches.
- Specialises in GCSE science and maths.
Where GradeOrbit is different
- GradeOrbit is priced per teacher, and marks every subject the same way.
- GradeOrbit’s school trial is free.
- GradeOrbit scores its accuracy against senior examiners’ marks.
Which should you choose?
- Excelas may suit you if
- You run printed GCSE science or maths mocks and want QR-coded packs and sorting.
- GradeOrbit may suit you if
- You want every subject at one per-teacher price, and a free trial first.
Sources
- Excelas homepage (checked 19 October 2026)
- Excelas pricing (checked 19 October 2026)
Everything about Excelas on this page comes from its own public pages on the date shown, and may have changed since. We have not used Excelas’s product. Excelas is a trademark of its owner and is named here only to compare. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.
Try it on your own scripts.
Start a 30-day free trial for your school. No card needed.