Comparison

Firefly for Teachers vs MTB Exams

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

Head to head
About

Firefly for Teachers

Manage teaching administration efficiently on the go. Plan lessons, track homework, provide feedback with audio/video, and monitor student progress. Seamlessly switch between mobile and desktop for a flexible workflow.

Highlights
  • View timetable and manage lesson plans
  • Track homework due and submitted
  • Provide feedback via audio, video, photos, files, and annotation
  • Monitor student progress with integrated markbook
  • Seamless transition between app and desktop
Features
Read full description

The Firefly for Teachers app makes it easy for teachers to manage teaching admin on the go. Starting with an overview of your day and any assignments ready for collections, you can quickly and easily plan your lessons, manage homework and provide marks and feedback. The integrated markbook ensures that you can track the progress of each class, and detailed task histories help you understand how best to support each student to help them go even further. Firefly for Teachers lets you: - View your timetable and manage your lesson plans, by day, week or by class - Stay on top of all homework due and submitted by students - Give feedback the way you want, using audio and video, photos, files and annotation within the app - Work the way you want, moving seamlessly between the app and desktop Log in once and you’re ready to go. Note: The Firefly for Parents app requires your school to have an active Firefly licence.

About

MTB Exams

Record and submit instrumental music exams with audio or video. This app facilitates the submission process for qualifications from grades 1 to 8, offering flexibility and convenience for learners and teachers.

Highlights
  • Record audio and video exams
  • Review and delete recordings
  • Scan and submit free choice music
  • Submit exams for marking
  • Save exams for later submission
  • Access guidance and help
  • Recording safety features
Features
Read full description

Record and submit your MTB instrumental exam using this app. This is the newest version of the MTB app and should be used for submission of all exams from February 2021 onwards. The Music Teachers’ Board are a UK based exam board providing an exciting new way to access instrumental qualifications from grades 1 to 8 in over 25 different instruments. Our exams are recorded by either the teacher or learner, submitted online and marked by our specialist examiners. As there is no visiting examiner, unlike other boards, our exams offer: - Complete flexibility over exam dates - Reduced stress levels for pupils and teachers - Optimised rate of progress - Lower costs - Specialist examiners - Convenience Visit www.mtbexams.com to learn more and find recording advice. This app is for use by both audio and video MTB centres and self-learners. To sign up as an approved MTB centre you will need to have signed up as an ‘Individual Music Teacher’ or ‘Organisation’ on our website: https://www.mtbexams.com/sign-up/. Exams can be conducted in video without a teacher or centre present. App Features: - Record in both audio and video: Using your phone or tablet you can use this app to record your MTB exam. MTB will assign you video or audio exams based on whether you centre is an audio or video centre, exam type (practical/performance) and whether you have a teacher overseeing the exam. - Review: You can listen to or watch your recording and either delete the recording or save the exam for submission. - Scan: You can scan/photo your free choice music to submit alongside your exam. - Submit: You can submit your exam recording directly to MTB for marking. You will receive your result & marksheet within 2 weeks by email and a certificate will follow in the post. - Save for later: You can save your exam for later submission. (To retake the exam, you will need to delete this saved exam). - Guidance & help: The app includes useful information and guidance before you start the exam and has a range of information to help teachers/learners with the exam process. - Recording safety features: You will be able to check your recording quality, that you have sufficient space available on your device and place your phone on to airplane mode for the duration of the exam recording to ensure your exam is not interrupted. You will also be able to add additional clips should your exam be interrupted. - Identity verification: Video exams will require you to photo the candidates ID with the MTB app during submission. - Share: Share submitted exam recordings.

Screenshots

Firefly for Teachers4 screens
MTB Exams4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: MTB Exams at 100% against Firefly for Teachers's 8%. MTB Exams also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly). Firefly for Teachers's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.1). On price, ads, 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Firefly for Teachers ships an update monthly, MTB Exams every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 5 level
Firefly for Teachers versus MTB Exams: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFirefly for TeachersMTB Exams
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews8.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFirefly Learning LimitedMTB Exams Ltd

Customer experience

Firefly for Teachers

Written reviews24 reviews
Positive8.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative83.3%

MTB Exams

Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Firefly for Teachers

No in-app purchases

None

MTB Exams

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Firefly for Teachers free?
Firefly for Teachers is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MTB Exams free?
MTB Exams is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Firefly for Teachers or MTB Exams have ads?
Neither Firefly for Teachers nor MTB Exams shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Firefly for Teachers or MTB Exams?
Firefly for Teachers ships an update monthly, and MTB Exams every 2 weeks. Most recently, Firefly for Teachers was updated on October 17, 2026 and MTB Exams on October 14, 2026.

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