Comparison

Sumdog vs parentsportal.scot

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

Head to head
About

Sumdog

This app offers personalized math and spelling practice for children aged 5-14 through engaging games and adaptive learning. It uses diagnostic tests to tailor learning journeys and provides virtual rewards to motivate students. Parents can set up accounts for home use or connect to school-assigned work.

Highlights
  • Personalized adaptive learning
  • Engaging single and multiplayer games
  • Thousands of standards-aligned questions
  • Virtual coin rewards system
  • 3D avatar and house personalization
  • Diagnostic assessment
Features
Read full description

Make learning fun with Sumdog! Sumdog delivers highly engaging personalized practice for math and spelling, both in-school and at home. Suitable for children aged 5-14, our adaptive learning games and online rewards motivate children to learn and encourages regular practice. When children first use Sumdog, we run a short diagnostic test to provide a snapshot of their learning and areas for development. Our adaptive learning engine then uses the outcomes of the diagnostic to ensure each child’s starting point on Sumdog is at the right level. From this point, our sophisticated adaptive algorithms create a personalized learning journey based for each child based on their progress. - Over 30 engaging single and multiplayer games - Thousands of standards-aligned questions designed to consolidate and extend in-class learning - Virtual coin rewards to motivate children to learn - A 3D avatar, house and garden for children to personalize “I never thought an online program could do so much in such short bursts of time.” D. Hendershot, West Elementary, Kansas, US. Account set-up If your child has an account from school: Your child can log in with their details from their school. They’ll then be able to access any work that has been set by their teachers. If your child does not have an account from school: In the Sumdog app, parents can purchase a family plan covering up to 3 children. Once you’ve done this, you’ll create logins for your child to use the app. This gives them access to Sumdog’s games, and thousands of math, spelling and grammar questions. Subscription details: Your subscription starts with a free trial period and then changes to a subscription from $8.99 per month. No commitment period. Download the app and get started today! The amount will be deducted automatically every month via your Apple account. As long as the "Automatic renewal" feature is not disabled via the Apple account settings on your device, the subscription will automatically renew every month no later than 24 hours before your subscription period expires. Sumdog Terms: https://learn.sumdog.com/en-us/about-us/terms-of-use Sumdog Privacy: https://learn.sumdog.com/en-us/about-us/privacy-policy

About

parentsportal.scot

This app connects parents directly with their child's school online, replacing traditional communication methods. It provides easy access to important school information and services, including absences, attendance records, and report cards, with notifications for updates.

Highlights
  • Report absences online
  • Update child's details
  • View attendance records
  • Access class timetables
  • Read school notices
  • Respond to permission slips
  • Check report cards
  • Receive notifications
Features
Read full description

Designed by the Improvement Service for Scottish Local Authorities, using mygovscot myaccount as a secure single-sign-on service, parentsportal.scot App replaces letters in the schoolbag and phonecalls to the school by connecting parents directly with their child's school online. Parents of children in Scottish schools that use parentsportal.scot have easy access to services and information, such as: • Absences Tell the school your child will be absent without a phonecall at 9am. • Annual Data Check Update your child's details quickly and easily at any time. • Attendance Check your child's attendance record for the current school year. • Class Timetable See what classes your child has each day. • Notice Board Read school notices at a time that suits you. • Permission Slips View and respond to permission slips easily. • Report Cards Check your child's report cards. • School Calendar and Events See upcoming school events, holidays, in-service days, etc. Now with the app you also benefit from: • Notifications Straight to your phone so you're always up to date. • Face ID or Fingerprint login For easy and secure access to the app. parentsportal.scot is available in: • Aberdeenshire • Dumfries & Galloway • Dundee • East Dunbartonshire • East Lothian • East Renfrewshire • Fife • Glasgow • Inverclyde • Moray • North Lanarkshire • Perth & Kinross • Renfrewshire • South Lanarkshire • West Lothian (Not all features are available in all council areas).

Screenshots

Sumdog4 screens
parentsportal.scot4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Sumdog at 64% against parentsportal.scot's 18%. Sumdog also leads on ratings volume (1.6K vs 7). parentsportal.scot's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and rating (4.4 vs 4.2). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Sumdog sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $8.99 per month. parentsportal.scot asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

parentsportal.scot holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sumdog has 1.6K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 64% of Sumdog's written reviews are positive against 18% of parentsportal.scot's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Sumdog versus parentsportal.scot: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSumdogparentsportal.scot
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (1.6K ratings)4.4 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.0% of reviews — better18.1% of reviews
Number of ratings1.6K — better7
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size134 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSumdog Ltd.Improvement Service Company

Customer experience

Sumdog

All ratings1,553 ratings
Positive78.3%
Neutral4.9%
Negative16.8%
Written reviews353 reviews
Positive64.0%
Neutral10.2%
Negative25.8%

parentsportal.scot

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews72 reviews
Positive18.1%
Neutral6.9%
Negative75.0%

User reviews

Sumdog

From 1.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Fun and engaging games
  • 🏆 Competitive leaderboards
  • 🏠 Customizable avatar and house
  • 📚 Helps with learning math, spelling, and grammar
  • 🏫 Useful for schools and teachers

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitches and bugs
  • 🕰️ Slow loading times
  • 🔒 Limited access to premium features without subscription
  • 🤖 Weird or unappealing 3D character models
  • 🔍 Lack of instructions for some games

parentsportal.scot

From 7 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💡 Great idea for communication
  • 👍 Easy to access (sometimes)
  • 👍 All information in one place
  • 👍 Good idea for school communication
  • 👍 Efficient communication with school

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Submit button often greyed out
  • 🐛 App is clunky and not user-friendly
  • 🐛 Doesn't support equal parenting rights
  • 🐛 Submit/save buttons not highlighted
  • 🐛 App doesn't work properly

Bugs and requests

Sumdog

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Flower Defenders game not working properly
  • Goalz game not registering shots correctly
  • Sudden logout issues
  • Incompatibility with certain devices or browsers

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more free games
  • Bring back old 2D games
  • Allow interaction with house and garden items
  • Improve multiplayer functionality
  • Add more customization options for avatar and house

parentsportal.scot

Reported bugs

56 issues
  • Submit button greyed out
  • Submit and save buttons not highlighted
  • App doesn't respond to interaction
  • Notifications do not disappear
  • Notifications don't happen sometimes
Show 51 more
  • Constantly told to update information already updated
  • App doesn't work half the time
  • App crashes and closes
  • Face ID/passcode login not working
  • Add child not working
  • Links shared not clickable
  • Lost information when editing
  • Adding new contact doesn't work
  • Dropdown list of options doesn't appear
  • No feedback on save failures
  • Edit does not allow changes to be saved
  • Two notifications shown and won't go away
  • Report cards not available
  • Report card text too small to read
  • Children's details constantly drop off
  • Not getting notifications for new messages
  • Duplicate emails for same notification/child
  • Emails where unable to act
  • Inability to have nominated parents/guardians/carers respond
  • Always an issue, bugs required to use
  • Logged out all the time
  • Notifications don't open/work
  • Second child disappeared from app
  • Password requirements are absurd
  • Too many notifications
  • No obvious way to reduce notifications
  • Repetition of information on permissions
  • Not updated quick enough
  • Clunky and always issues
  • Never works, black screen on launch
  • Validation code not sent to email
  • Ages to register due to exact spelling requirements
  • Constantly glitches with errors
  • App keeps freezing
  • Unnecessary repetition of information
  • Login process abysmal, doesn't retain password
  • Slow system with buffering
  • Treatment clauses text not fully shown
  • Only 1 parent/carer can access app
  • Messages lack formatting, no line breaks
  • Blank screen after login page
  • Many attempts to get on
  • Site is dreadful and doesn't function
  • Takes 20+ minutes for published content to show
  • Tedious app, repeating same information
  • Missing child details, daughter removed by glitch
  • Terrible app, never works
  • Kids details different from school info
  • Access to app difficult, authenticating every time
  • Constantly asking to reset password
  • Not updating details

Requested features

17 requests
  • Store/save certain information
  • Allow both parents equal access and approval
  • Add option for parents happy for all platforms
  • Allow custom order for bookmarks
  • Add custom services
Show 12 more
  • Improve search functionality
  • Mark all messages as read
  • Ability to mark, move, delete, or archive notices
  • Nominated parents/guardians/carers to respond
  • Allow formatting in messages
  • Allow clickable links in messages
  • Improve pinch-to-zoom and rotate view on images
  • Add notification badges to app icon
  • Allow messages to be marked as unread again
  • Option to choose notification delivery (app, email, none)
  • Allow parents to choose which parent has access
  • Allow parents to decide which parent has access

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Sumdog

Subscriptions1
  • Family Membership7 Days trial$8.991 Month
None

parentsportal.scot

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sumdog free?
Sumdog is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is parentsportal.scot free?
parentsportal.scot is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Sumdog or parentsportal.scot?
parentsportal.scot is rated higher. Sumdog averages 4.2 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while parentsportal.scot averages 4.4 from 7 ratings.
Do Sumdog or parentsportal.scot have ads?
Neither Sumdog nor parentsportal.scot shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sumdog or parentsportal.scot?
Sumdog ships an update every 2 months, and parentsportal.scot every 2 months. Most recently, Sumdog was updated on September 22, 2026 and parentsportal.scot on September 20, 2026.

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