Comparison

Equity Maps vs Spark

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Equity Maps

This app helps educators visualize and analyze student participation in classroom discussions. It allows teachers to track who speaks, how often, and the nature of their contributions, fostering reflection and equity.

Highlights
  • Visualize student participation
  • Instant feedback and analytics
  • Animated playback of discussions
  • Track contribution types
  • Create custom identity markers
  • Export audio and analytics (Premium)
Features
Read full description

• Elevate the voices in the room -- help students to reflect & grow! • Provide Instant Feedback – Nurture Reflection – Ignite Collaboration – Promote Equity • Created by teachers, for teachers & their students. Ideal for Socratic seminars, Spider Web™ & Harkness® (*) discussions, Literature Circles, Dialogic lesson designs, or anytime students interact. Effortlessly chart & record students’ interactions to graphically illustrate levels & types of participation. Spur deeper reflection with the discussion maps, instant analytics & animated playback at multiple speeds. NEW IN PREMIUM! – Export audio & class analytics – Post in your LMS or email directly to your students along with their talk time, Checknotes of types of contributions, the discussion map, & your personal feedback (beta). STANDARD FEATURES: • Up to 20 participants in any class w/open seating options • Quick edit features to create groups and classes. • Playback the discussion maps in real time or fast forward • Select & listen to any speaker & view notes linked to their participation • Individual/Group analytics – Include/Exclude participants from the data to see how the dynamics change PREMIUM FEATURES available with in-app upgrade or by downloading Premium today: • Up to 40 participants • Add Identity Markers to track data by groups of students • Export Audio or analytics via email to students or post in LMS or export to CSV (beta) • Track student contributions w/ enhanced Checknotes & access the 17 templates ------- CONFERENCE WITH YOUR STUDENTS OR TEACHERS: • Debrief w/students individually! Review contributions of any one student in the improved participant analytics: see each time the student spoke & playback what they said, or play from the person who spoke before/after, review notations for that student, participation data, or Checknotes… all on one screen! • Give better feedback! Take notes or write comments during or after the discussion that link directly to the student speaking and share with them immediately after. • Identify Markers: customize the groups w/n your class that you’d like to measure such as grade level, language level, race, seating area, or anything you’d like to see. ------- REFLECTIVE DATA AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: • Simply tap on the participants’ icons when they speak & Equity Maps will do the rest by visually charting the interactions & calculating levels of participation. • Track the nature of each participant's contributions with Checknotes, choose among the 17 templates or create your own, or take notes during the discussion that attach to the speaker for review afterward. • The “Feedback Frames” provide key statistics for teachers, students or group members: time spoken, times spoken, gender equity, or customize anything you’d like to measure. TEACHERS: • Enhance your Socratic Seminars, Literature Circles, Harkness®(*) discussions, or full classroom discussions • Monitor & assess Common Core Speaking & Listening Standards, ATL, Dialogic lessons, or seminar criteria • Promote student involvement & self-reflection • Perfect for schools with VPP for 50% discount FACILITATORS & GROUP LEADERS: • Encourage deeper reflection of your group’s goals, norms & processes • Give your boss an Equity Check & share how equitable your last meeting was • Critical Friends Group® coaches & facilitators (CFG work) or in PLCs ADMINISTRATORS & INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES: • Provide teachers an “image” of their classroom instruction like they’ve never seen before! • Revitalize reflective practices for teachers, while reducing anxiety of post-observation meetings • Make your classroom observations more meaningful & reflective ------ Equity Maps® is a registered trademark at the USPTO / U.S. Pat. No 10,553,129 *Equity Maps has been developed completely independent of Phillips Exeter Academy & is not affiliated in any way with the academy. Critical Friends Group® is a registered trademark of the National School Reform Faculty (NSRF®)

About

Spark

Engage with daily learning puzzles centered around a single theme. Explore history, science, and pop culture through four unique, human-crafted games designed for discovery and fun.

Highlights
  • Daily themed puzzles
  • Four unique game modes
  • Human-crafted puzzles
  • Explore history, science, and pop culture
  • Archive of past puzzles
  • No timers or tests
Currently charting
Read full description

Replace doomscrolling with learning. Each day, Spark explores a single theme through thoughtful puzzles spanning ancient history, mythology, movies, food, geography, and more.

With five unique games and new puzzles every day, Spark makes learning part of your routine. Each game offers a different way to explore the day's theme, and each one teaches you as you play.
 Spark's games include: This or That: Choose between two options to learn more about the day's theme Links: Find the common thread connecting people, places, and ideas Chrono: Put events in order to see how history really unfolded Knockout: Uncover surprising comparisons in a series of fun head-to-head matchups Hindsight: Pinpoint when and where a photo was taken to uncover the story behind it
 All of Spark's puzzles are crafted by experts, not AI, and designed to spark those "aha" moments that make ideas stick. Explore hundreds of topics in the Library, from ancient history to the animal kingdom, with past themes to revisit anytime. Along the way, you'll uncover facts that are fun to learn and even better to share.
 From the creators of Elevate and Balance, Spark is part of a collection of mental fitness apps designed to strengthen your mind. For additional information, please read our Terms of Service (https://themindcompany.com/terms-and-conditions?from=spark) and Privacy Policy (https://themindcompany.com/privacy-policy?from=spark).

Screenshots

Spark4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Spark at Free against Equity Maps's $1.99. Spark also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (2.8K vs 82). Equity Maps's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (12.1 vs 16.0). On rating, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Spark is free to download; Equity Maps costs $1.99 up front. Equity Maps sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Spark sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Equity Maps against 4.8 for Spark. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spark has 2.8K ratings behind it against 82, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Equity Maps's written reviews are positive against 93% of Spark's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Equity Maps ships an update every 3 months, Spark weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Equity Maps versus Spark: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEquity MapsSpark
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (82 ratings) — better4.8 (2.8K ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better92.7% of reviews
Number of ratings822.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#127 — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS12.1 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB151 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavid NelsonThe Mind Company

Customer experience

Equity Maps

All ratings72 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral2.8%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Spark

All ratings2,770 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral1.4%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews1,637 reviews
Positive92.7%
Neutral2.5%
Negative4.8%

Bugs and requests

Equity Maps

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Spark

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • AT&T blocking the website as potentially malicious

Requested features

2 requests
  • More games and puzzles
  • Dark mode option

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Equity Maps

One-time1
  • Equity Maps Premium v5.3$7.99
11 purchases

Spark

Subscriptions11
  • Spark+$2.991 Month
  • Spark+$4.991 Month
  • Spark+$7.491 Month
Show 8 more
  • Spark+$9.991 Month
  • Spark+1 Year trial4 variants$39.991 Year
  • Spark+7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Spark+3 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Spark Plus1 Year trial$39.991 Year
  • Spark+7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Spark+1 Year trial$59.991 Year
  • Spark+7 Days trial$79.991 Year

Questions

Is Equity Maps free?
Equity Maps costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Spark free?
Spark is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Equity Maps or Spark?
Equity Maps is rated higher. Equity Maps averages 4.8 out of 5 from 82 ratings, while Spark averages 4.8 from 2.8K ratings.
Do Equity Maps or Spark have ads?
Spark shows ads; Equity Maps does not.
Which is updated more often, Equity Maps or Spark?
Equity Maps ships an update every 3 months, and Spark weekly. Most recently, Equity Maps was updated on October 24, 2026 and Spark on October 29, 2026.

Other comparisons