Vedic Math or the Soroban Abacus?
Both promise faster mental math. The difference is what your child is really learning: Vedic Math is a toolbox of clever techniques to choose between, while the soroban is one system that works the same way for every number, and then moves into the mind.
The difference in one picture
Both make children quicker with numbers. What they learn along the way is very different.
A toolbox of techniques
Children learn many clever methods and must spot which one fits the numbers in front of them. Some are general; many are shortcuts for special cases, such as numbers close to 100.
One system for every number
Children master a small set of bead moves built on place value, then use exactly the same moves on numbers of any size. With practice the abacus moves into the mind: anzan.
Same rule, any size
On the soroban, adding 7 is always done the same way: add 10, take away 3. Watch the ones column in all three sums.
Bigger numbers simply mean more rods. Nothing new to memorize, and the same steps carry over to subtraction, multiplication and division.
Where Vedic Math shines, and where it switches
Vedic shortcuts can be beautiful. The catch is that each one depends on spotting the right kind of numbers.
- Both are close to 100: 3 short and 4 short.
- 97 − 4 = 93
- 3 × 4 = 12
- Put them together: 93 | 12 → 9,312
Fast and elegant, but it only works this neatly for numbers near a base like 100.
- Not near 100, so the shortcut doesn't help.
- Switch to “vertically and crosswise”: 6×4 = 24, 6×7 + 3×4 = 54, 3×7 = 21
- Combine with carrying: 24 | 54 | 21 → 2,961
A general method exists, but the child has to decide which method to use before calculating.
On the soroban, 97 × 96 and 63 × 47 are worked with the very same multiplication steps. No choosing, no special cases: the child simply calculates.
Side by side
| Soroban abacus | Vedic Math | |
|---|---|---|
| How it is taught | One place-value system with a small set of bead moves | A collection of techniques: general methods plus shortcuts |
| Bigger numbers | The same moves across more rods | A general method, or a shortcut if the numbers allow it |
| Choosing a method | Not needed: the method is always the same | Part of the skill: spotting which technique fits |
| Mental math | Anzan: calculating on a mental picture of the abacus | Mental steps with numbers and rules |
| Progress | Japanese grades from 10 Kyu to 1 Kyu; national exams in Japan since 1928 | Varies from program to program |
| Research | Long-term randomized trials and brain-imaging studies | Mostly small studies; few compare against a control group |
Why the soroban comes out ahead
One system for every number
Children master a small set of bead moves once and use them on any size of number. Nothing new to memorize as the numbers grow.
Place value they can see and touch
Every rod is a place value, so ones, tens and hundreds become something children can see, not just a rule to remember.
It moves into the mind
With practice the abacus becomes a mental picture: anzan. Children calculate by seeing and moving imaginary beads, the same system now in their head.
Clear steps, grade by grade
The Japanese Soroban grades take children from 10 Kyu to 1 Kyu one skill at a time, so progress is easy to see and celebrate.
Backed by research
Long-term studies find soroban-trained children do better at arithmetic, and brain imaging shows them calculating with visual and spatial areas of the brain.
What the research says
The strongest study is a three-year randomized trial in India with 204 children aged 5 to 7 (Barner and colleagues, 2016, published in Child Development). Children who learned the soroban and the mental abacus did better in arithmetic than classmates who received the same hours of extra math lessons.
The mental abacus works like a picture, not words. Skilled children kept calculating accurately even while saying words out loud, a sign they hold the beads as an image (Frank and Barner, 2012). Brain-imaging studies of abacus experts and trained children show them using visual and spatial areas where others rely on verbal memory.
Steady practice is what counts: a shorter, one-year program in the United States found no clear advantage. That is why the soroban is learned grade by grade over several years, and why anzan is practiced every week.
Studies of Vedic Math are mostly small, and few compare children against a control group, so its long-term effect is far less established.
Vedic Math and the soroban: questions parents ask
Which is better for kids, Vedic Math or the soroban abacus?
For most children, the soroban. It teaches one system that works the same way for every number, makes place value something children can see, grows into fast mental math (anzan), and comes with clear grades to work through. Vedic Math offers clever shortcuts, but a child has to learn many of them and keep choosing between them.
Why does one consistent system matter so much for children?
Because children learn best when the rules don't change. On the soroban, the same few moves work for 8 + 7 and for 968 + 147, so practice builds on itself instead of starting over. There is no “which trick do I use?” moment, which is where many mental-math mistakes begin.
Isn't the soroban just another set of tricks?
No. The soroban is place value itself: each rod is a column, each bead a value, and every move follows the same two ideas, making 5 and making 10. Children understand why each step works, which is why the skill carries over to any number.
Will my child depend on the abacus?
No. The physical abacus is the training stage. With practice children switch to anzan, picturing the abacus and moving imaginary beads, so the abacus goes everywhere with them, in their head.
Does the soroban help with school math?
It builds the arithmetic school math rests on: place value, carrying and borrowing made visible, and fast, accurate calculation. In a three-year randomized study, children who learned the soroban did better in arithmetic than classmates given the same hours of extra math lessons.
Why do Japanese schools still teach the soroban?
Because it works. The soroban is part of the math curriculum in Japanese elementary schools, usually in third and fourth grade, and Japan has run national soroban exams since 1928.
Is Vedic Math bad?
No. Vedic Math has clever, useful techniques, and some are very quick for particular numbers. We simply believe children are better served by one system that works for every number and grows into mental math.
Is Vedic Math really from the Vedas?
The methods were written down by Bharati Krishna Tirthaji and published in 1965, after his death. Historians and mathematicians have not found them in the ancient Vedic texts, although the techniques themselves are correct arithmetic.
Is the soroban faster?
For one special case, a Vedic shortcut can be very quick. Across everyday adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing with any numbers, soroban students are fast because they never stop to choose a method, and with anzan they calculate entirely in their heads.
Can my child learn both?
Yes. Many families start with the soroban because it builds place value and a strong mental picture of numbers; shortcuts are easy to pick up later on top of that foundation.
What age is best to start the soroban?
Ages 5–14 are ideal, and we teach younger and older children too. Younger children can begin with pre-Soroban levels.
Can my child learn the soroban online?
Yes. Our classes are live on Zoom with a sensei, for children anywhere in the world, with practice for every lesson in our student portal. The first class is a free trial.
Sources
- Barner D., Alvarez G., Sullivan J., Brooks N., Srinivasan M., Frank M. C. (2016). Learning mathematics in a visuospatial format: A randomized, controlled trial of mental abacus instruction. Child Development. Read the paper
- Frank M. C., Barner D. (2012). Representing exact number visually using mental abacus. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 141(1), 134–149. PubMed
- Hanakawa T. et al. (2003). Superior digit memory of abacus experts: an event-related functional MRI study. NeuroImage. PubMed
- Du F. et al. (2013). Abacus training modulates the neural correlates of exact and approximate calculations in Chinese children: an fMRI study. BioMed Research International. PMC
- Barner D. et al. (2018). A one-year classroom-randomized trial of mental abacus instruction for first- and second-grade students. Journal of Numerical Cognition. DOAJ
- Dani S. G. “Vedic Mathematics”: Myth and Reality. arXiv
- Hosking R., Ogawa T., Morimoto M. History of the Japanese soroban. MAA Convergence. MAA
See it for yourself
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