Comparison

U.S. Army STARS Elements vs Elements Academy

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

Head to head
About

U.S. Army STARS Elements

Explore the world of chemistry with interactive tools to build atoms, learn chemical bonds, and discover elements. Test your knowledge with engaging challenges designed for students, teachers, and enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Atom Builder
  • SmashBond game
  • Interactive Periodic Table
  • STARS Challenge quiz
  • 3D atom construction
  • Bohr's model visualization
Features
Read full description

U.S. Army STARS Elements is a fun and exciting way to learn chemistry. Build your own atom, play a game to help you learn about chemical bonds, explore the periodic table, and test your chemistry knowledge. Elements is great for students, teachers, and anyone interested in chemistry. U.S. Army STARS Elements includes... Atom Builder - A simple, powerful tool that let’s you construct and discover atoms. Add and subtract protons, neutrons, and electrons and see, in 3D, what you can create. SmashBond - Use the octet rule to bond elements and score points in SmashBond. Swap elements to make 2, 3, or 4 element bonds, and grab bonuses to get a SMASHBOND. It’s a really fun way to help you become familiar with the octet rule and learn common chemical bonds by their type, symbol, name and Lewis dot diagram. Periodic Table - Use the table to view trends and detailed information about each of the 118 elements. See an interactive Bohr’s model and learn interesting facts about the elements. It’s like a regular periodic table, but interactive and fun. STARS Challenge - When you’re ready to test your knowledge, take the STARS Challenge. You’ll be presented with questions in 3 areas (elements, bonding, and atomic configuration). Can you master them all? No matter what your level of experience with chemistry, U.S. Army STARS Elements makes learning fun. Easy to use lesson plans and teacher guides are available at http://usarmystars.com/lessons to help integrate Elements into the classroom.

About

Elements Academy

Master chemical elements and formulas through engaging levels and challenges. Earn certificates for each module and explore an interactive Periodic Table. This app offers an effective and fun learning strategy with offline access.

Highlights
  • Learn element symbols, names, and atomic numbers
  • Master 161 common chemical compounds/molecules
  • Interactive Periodic Table exploration
  • Earn certificates for module completion
  • Offline learning capabilities
  • Fun and effective teaching strategy
Features
Read full description

Features: Elements Chapter: - 78 levels and 36 challenges teaching and training the symbols, names, atomic numbers and position (in the Periodic Table) of all the 118 discovered or synthesized elements of the Periodic Table. - 9 modules including Alkali Metals, Alkaline Earth Metals, Transition Metals, Lanthanoids, Actinoids, Post-transition Metals, Metalloids, Reactive Nonmetals and Noble Gases. - 1 module (All Elements) mixing all the elements for review and knowledge enhancement. - a different color for each module (Transition Metals, Metalloids, Noble Gases etc.) for better memorization. - a certificate for each module after the user passes all the (Name and Position) levels and challenges in that module. - on the Explore page, zoom in and out the Periodic Table to see the elements more clearly and click on them to see their symbol, name, atomic number and mass (weight). (New) Formulas Chapter: - 101 levels and 27 challenges teaching, training and testing 161 common chemical compounds/molecules closely related to our daily life. - learn about their most common usages. - all the compounds/molecules are grouped according to their atoms for easy memorization. - a certificate is issued after the user masters all the formulas and their chemical and common names. - read the chemical formula, chemical name, common name and common usages of the chemical compounds/molecules closely linked to our daily life. - absolutely no ads. - effective and fun teaching and training strategy: learn and train first with ease and then challenge yourself with pressure. - calculated amount of repetition for smooth and efficient progress. - the Info page provides insights into the composition and significance of the Periodic Table as well as the functionalities of the app. - works completely offline. All in all, have fun learning and mastering all the chemical elements and formulas! Privacy Policy: https://www.dong.digital/elementsacademy/privacy/ Terms of Use: https://www.dong.digital/elementsacademy/tos/

Screenshots

U.S. Army STARS Elements4 screens
Elements Academy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: U.S. Army STARS Elements at none against Elements Academy's 2. U.S. Army STARS Elements also leads on update cadence (every 8 months vs every 27 months) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.6). Elements Academy's advantage is ratings volume (79 vs 18). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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

Both are free to download. Elements Academy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. U.S. Army STARS Elements asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for U.S. Army STARS Elements against 4.7 for Elements Academy. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 18 and 79 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

U.S. Army STARS Elements ships an update every 8 months, Elements Academy every 27 months. The most recent releases landed on August 25, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
U.S. Army STARS Elements versus Elements Academy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterU.S. Army STARS ElementsElements Academy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (18 ratings)4.7 (79 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1879 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 months — betterEvery 27 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size213 MB22 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperArmy Game StudioXiang Dong

Customer experience

U.S. Army STARS Elements

All ratings18 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral5.6%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Elements Academy

All ratings79 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral3.8%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

U.S. Army STARS Elements

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Elements Academy

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly Subscription$0.991 Month
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$2.99

Questions

Is U.S. Army STARS Elements free?
U.S. Army STARS Elements is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Elements Academy free?
Elements Academy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, U.S. Army STARS Elements or Elements Academy?
U.S. Army STARS Elements and Elements Academy are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 18 and 79 ratings respectively.
Do U.S. Army STARS Elements or Elements Academy have ads?
Neither U.S. Army STARS Elements nor Elements Academy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, U.S. Army STARS Elements or Elements Academy?
U.S. Army STARS Elements ships an update every 8 months, and Elements Academy every 27 months. Most recently, U.S. Army STARS Elements was updated on August 25, 2026 and Elements Academy on September 16, 2026.

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