Comparison

Patterns vs FirstWork

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

Head to head
About

Patterns

This educational app offers three engaging pattern games designed to teach foundational pattern recognition skills to young children. It features a wide variety of colorful characters and customizable game modes to keep learning fun and interactive.

Highlights
  • Teaches AB, AABB, ABC, AAB, ABB patterns
  • Three distinct pattern games
  • Customizable game modes
  • Variety of character themes
  • Engaging for young learners
Features
Read full description

This pattern game teaches patterns for Preschool, Pre-K, Kindergarten, or any child who is learning basic patterns: AB, AABB, ABC, AAB, ABB. Includes 3 unique pattern games including: - What comes next? - Make a pattern - Complete the pattern Includes cute collections of animals, candies, characters, cupcakes, dice, dinosaurs, monsters, pirates, popsicles, and robots. You can focus on just the games and patterns you like or mix it up all within the same game. The huge variety of characters and pattern games is sure to keep kids engaged. HEROIC SUPPORT Heroic Support is not just what we do. It's really what makes us, well, us. It's that drive to make a difference in your life - no matter how big or small. Really, it's our way of life because we want you to be our customer for a lifetime of fun and learning. Have questions? We are here to help. Email us at support@grasshopperapps.com

About

FirstWork

This platform offers digital Discrete Trial Instruction (DTI/DTT) with thousands of ABA and SPED learning goals. It provides innovative rewards and deep customization for personalized learning programs, trusted by professionals.

Highlights
  • Thousands of ABA and SPED learning goals
  • Matching, Receptive Identification, FFC
  • Expressive Language and Phonics activities
  • Customizable spelling and counting exercises
  • Progress monitoring and export features
  • Focus Mode to limit distractions
  • Digital reward system with app access
Read full description

FirstWork is the most popular digital Discrete Trial Instruction(DTI/DTT) platform featuring the most common ABA and SPED learning goals, thousands of targets, innovative rewards, and deep customization options. FirstWork is trusted by thousands of ABA and SPED professionals for their personalized learning programs. Our Learning Categories - featuring thousands of targets for: Matching: Boost cognitive skills by pairing related items. Receptive Identification: Enhance understanding through auditory and visual prompts. Feature, Function, and Class (FFC): Develop categorization and critical thinking skills by identifying objects based on their attributes, roles, and classifications. Expressive Language: Practice vocal responses with instructor-scored expressive language lessons. Letter Sound Matching: Strengthen phonics with interactive letter-sound activities. Spelling: Improve spelling with dynamic and customizable exercises. Counting: Build foundational math skills through counting tasks. Arithmetic: Advance numeracy with a variety of arithmetic challenges. Key Features: Progress Monitoring: Easily graph and monitor learning progress with our intuitive view and export features, helping you stay informed of your learner’s development. Customizable Lessons: Adapt the app to suit your learner’s specific needs with various lesson modifications. Lesson Sharing: Send a copy of your lesson to other FirstWork users, such as colleagues. Focus Mode: During lessons, you can limit access to distracting apps on your device making it an environment more suitable for learning. Reward System: You can grant time on your learner’s favorite apps as a reward, after their time is up, they’ll be brought back to FirstWork for another lesson. It’s ideal for remote learning, learning at home, or learners who enjoy digital rewards. Whether you're a parent, teacher, or ABA professional, FirstWork makes learning easy and enjoyable. Terms of Use: https://firstworkapp.com/terms-of-service/ Privacy Policy: https://firstworkapp.com/privacy-policy/

Screenshots

Patterns4 screens
FirstWork4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: FirstWork at 4.7 against Patterns's 4.3. FirstWork also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 85%). Patterns's advantage is ratings volume (42 vs 14) and iOS requirement (6.1 vs 16.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Patterns sells 14 one-off in-app purchases and FirstWork sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FirstWork holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 42 and 14 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Patterns's written reviews are positive against 100% of FirstWork's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Patterns ships an update weekly, FirstWork every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Patterns versus FirstWork: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPatternsFirstWork
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (42 ratings)4.7 (14 ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings42 — better14
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 8 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS6.1 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB63 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperInnovative Investments LimitedFirstWork LLC

Customer experience

Patterns

All ratings42 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral9.5%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews47 reviews
Positive85.1%
Neutral10.6%
Negative4.3%

FirstWork

All ratings14 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

14 purchases

Patterns

One-time14
  • Unlock Game 2$0.99
  • Unlock Game 3$0.99
  • Unlock Game 4$0.99
Show 11 more
  • Unlock Game 5$0.99
  • Unlock Game 6$0.99
  • Unlock Game 8$0.99
  • Unlock Game 10$0.99
  • Unlock Game 16$0.99
  • Unlock Game 17$0.99
  • Unlock Game 19$0.99
  • Unlock Game 9$0.99
  • Unlock Game 14$0.99
  • Unlock Game 11$0.99
  • Unlock Everything$2.99
1 purchases

FirstWork

Subscriptions1
  • Base$12.991 Month

Questions

Is Patterns free?
Patterns is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is FirstWork free?
FirstWork is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Patterns or FirstWork?
FirstWork is rated higher. Patterns averages 4.3 out of 5 from 42 ratings, while FirstWork averages 4.7 from 14 ratings.
Do Patterns or FirstWork have ads?
Neither Patterns nor FirstWork shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Patterns or FirstWork?
Patterns ships an update weekly, and FirstWork every 8 days. Most recently, Patterns was updated on September 30, 2026 and FirstWork on September 19, 2026.

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