Don't know anything about dream box. But ixl is more of math practice than math lessons. It assumes that the child is already familiar with the concepts that are being tested. I like it because dd3.5 seems to understand numbers pretty well but I had no way to tell how much she knew. Ixl confirmed to me that dd does know how numbers work. Fwiw, ixl aligns with the common core curriculum and the site tells you what requirements under your state standard are included in the practice sections. I hope this helps.