How to cite Khan Academy comes down to one simple idea: treat it as an online source and follow the citation format for a web page or video. Use APA, MLA, or Chicago style, whichever your instructor requires. Khan Academy rarely lists an individual author, so most citations use “Khan Academy” as the author name. Add the title of the specific article, video, or lesson, and include the URL where you accessed it. The exact format changes slightly depending on the content type and the citation style you choose.
Quick Reference: Citing Khan Academy in Every Style
Use this table as a fast comparison before jumping into the full rules and examples for each style below.
| Style | In-text citation | Full citation format |
|---|---|---|
| APA | (Khan Academy, n.d.) | Khan Academy. (n.d.). Title of article or video [Video]. Khan Academy. URL |
| MLA | (“Title of Page”) | “Title of Page.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. |
| Chicago | (Khan Academy, n.d.) | Khan Academy. “Title of Article or Video.” Accessed Month Day, Year. URL. |
Full Citation Checklist for Any Khan Academy Source
Before you finalize a citation, confirm you have every piece the format requires. Khan Academy sources are consistent enough that the same six items cover almost every case, no matter which subject or lesson you cite.
- Author: Use “Khan Academy” unless a named contributor is credited on the page.
- Date: Use “n.d.” in APA and Chicago author-date if no publication date is shown.
- Title: Copy the exact lesson, video, or article title from the page.
- Format label: Add [Video] in APA when the source is a video, not a text article.
- Source name: Include “Khan Academy” as the publisher or container.
- URL: Link directly to the specific lesson or video, not the homepage.
How to Cite Khan Academy in APA
In APA style, Khan Academy content is cited like a web page or an online video, depending on the format of the source. Since most Khan Academy pages do not list a publication date, use “n.d.” (no date) in place of a year. If the page or video does list an author’s name or a clear date, use that information instead of the Khan Academy default.
Full reference list entry:
Khan Academy. (n.d.). Citing evidence in literary analysis [Video]. Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar
In-text citation: (Khan Academy, n.d.)
Avoid guessing at an author or year that the page does not actually display:
Khan, S. (2024). Citing evidence in literary analysis. Khan Academy.
For the full rules on formatting web page and video references, see APA Style’s official guidance on webpage references.
How to Cite Khan Academy in MLA
MLA treats Khan Academy as a website source. Because the site name and the publisher are the same, MLA format lists “Khan Academy” only once, followed by the URL and the date you accessed the page.
“Citing Evidence in Literary Analysis.” Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
In-text citation: (“Citing Evidence”)
An access date is required whenever a source lacks a clear publication date. Most of its pages fall into that category. See the MLA Style Center’s guidance on citing online works for the full rule.
How to Cite Khan Academy in Chicago Style
Chicago style offers two citation systems: notes-bibliography and author-date. Khan Academy’s own support team actually recommends Chicago style for citing its material, since Chicago’s flexible rules handle sources without a listed author or date more gracefully than APA or MLA.
Notes-bibliography: Khan Academy. “Citing Evidence in Literary Analysis.” Accessed March 12, 2026. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar.
Author-date in-text citation: (Khan Academy, n.d.)
You can read Khan Academy’s own citation recommendations, including format examples by content type, in the official support article on citing its material. If you would rather build the entry automatically, the Chicago author-date citation generator fills in the same fields for you.
What to Do When Khan Academy Doesn’t List an Author or Date
Its exercises and practice sets are dynamic. The URL you see while working through a problem set may not lead another reader to the exact same content, since exercises are often served differently for different users. When you cite a specific exercise, note the general topic and unit title instead of relying only on the URL, and mention in your text that the source is an interactive exercise rather than a fixed article.
For every style, an unlisted author defaults to “Khan Academy” as the organizational author, and an unlisted date defaults to “n.d.” in APA and Chicago author-date, or is simply omitted in MLA works-cited entries (though MLA in-text citations still use the source title in place of an author’s last name).
Citing Specific Khan Academy Content: Videos, Exercises, and Articles
The content type changes small details in your citation, even though the overall structure stays the same across styles.
| Content type | What changes in your citation |
|---|---|
| Videos | Add the label [Video] in APA reference entries. MLA and Chicago do not require a special label, since the platform (Khan Academy) already signals the video format. A recorded Khan Academy video walkthrough, such as a step-by-step algebra lesson, follows the same rules as citing a recorded lecture. |
| Text articles | Cite the article title exactly as it appears on the page, in title case for APA and MLA, and in headline style for Chicago. Examples include Khan Academy’s economics glossary entries and its AP US History review articles. |
| CS programs and interactive exercises | Reference the unit or lesson title, such as “Intro to JavaScript: Drawing and Animation,” and describe the source as an interactive exercise in your surrounding text so your reader understands why the citation looks different from a standard article. |
| Images | Treat a diagram or image pulled from a Khan Academy article the same as the article itself, since Khan Academy does not credit individual images separately. |
Common Mistakes to Avoid When You Cite Khan Academy
A few small mistakes show up again and again in student citations. Watch for these before you turn in your paper.
- Guessing a first name. If the page names no author, do not invent a first name or last name. Use “Khan Academy” instead.
- Linking to the homepage. Always link to the exact web page you used, not its homepage.
- Skipping the access date. Most of its pages have no known publish date, so MLA and Chicago author-date both need an access date instead.
- Mixing citation styles. Pick one style guide for the whole paper. Do not mix APA in-text citations with an MLA works cited page.
- Miscrediting an image. If you cite a diagram or image from an article, credit the article itself rather than a separate image source.
Using a Citation Generator or Manager for Khan Academy
A citation generator saves time when you have several Khan Academy sources to format for one paper. Enter the lesson title, the URL, and the content type (video, article, or exercise), and the tool builds the reference and in-text citation for you in the style you choose. Citation managers such as Zotero and EasyBib work the same way, though you may need to manually correct the author field to “Khan Academy” since automated importers sometimes fail to detect an organizational author on educational sites. If your assignment points to a specific style manual, such as the official Chicago Manual of Style, follow that manual over any generator’s default output.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to cite Khan Academy if I only used it to study?
If you only watched a video or worked through practice problems for your own understanding and did not quote, paraphrase, or reference specific facts from it in your paper, you generally do not need a citation. If you mention a concept, statistic, or explanation you learned from Khan Academy in your writing, cite it.
Can I cite a specific Khan Academy video I watched?
Yes. Use the video’s exact title as it appears on the page, add [Video] after the title in APA style, and include the direct URL to that video rather than its general homepage.
What if my teacher requires a citation style not covered here?
Most other academic styles, including Harvard and ASA, follow the same core pattern: organizational author, title, source name, and URL. Check your style guide’s rules for organizational authors and undated web sources, since that is the main variation these citations require.
When you cite Khan Academy correctly, your citations hold up under whichever style guide your instructor checks against. If you need more information on a related source type, the guides linked below cover the closest matches.
Whatever style you use, keep the format consistent throughout your paper. If you are also citing other online sources, see how to cite a website in an essay or cite a YouTube video for related formatting rules. You can also double-check your formatting with the free APA citation generator or MLA citation generator.
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Terry is a Chicago-based writer and editor who creates practical, student-friendly guides on essay writing, research, and citation styles (APA, MLA, and Chicago). He’s spent 15+ years editing educational content and building clear examples that help readers apply rules without guessing. When he’s not revising drafts, he’s usually turning messy notes into clean outlines and hunting down the one detail everyone skips.