ALA vs Energetic Alpha
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
ALA
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Technology-based approach for writing instruction *Note: This free version only includes the We Beat the Street story, the rest are available as an in-app purchase. This technology-aided instruction for writing complements Teaching to Standards: English Language Arts and is companion product for reading (Access Language Arts). Students write grade-aligned opinion paragraphs about eight adapted pieces of literature, including fiction and nonfiction. Students are supported step by step in constructing personalized paragraphs. Includes activities to improve reading comprehension and vocabulary development. Researched and proven effective in secondary classrooms. Integrate during instruction using Teaching to Standards: ELA, or use this app alone to achieve standards-aligned skills in both reading and writing. Stories include: Holes, The Outsiders, Number the Stars, Dragonwings, We Beat the Street, Neighbors, The Diary of Anne Frank, and Sadako.
Energetic Alpha
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Encourage your child to identify letters and learn to write in English with this fun and engaging app! Main Features include β’ Letter writing tools β’ Helpful feedback features β’ Letter learning audio β’ Fun and unique animations and videos Our team created Energetic Alpha, an interactive alphabet app that helps instruct children how to write, using proper stroke order. The simple navigation and streamlined features make this app especially easy to use for little ones. The app tracks a childβs successful attempts and rewards them with animations and videos that feature a corresponding verb, for example, A is for Appear, B is for Build, and C is for Camouflage. All 26 letters are represented in unique animations. This app is best for children learning to write, between 3 and 6 years of age, who are learning language and letterforms. Both the upper and lowercase letterforms are available for writing practice. Energetic Alpha was created by parents and university professors with help from K-12 teachers, and children using a process called co-design to discover what kids want in an iPad learning app. The best ideas were used to make a fun and playful writing experience. They relied on best practices in childrenβs design and user experience to create an easy to use and educational learning app. Energetic Alpha connects to the internet to stream videos as the child playsβ but can be used offline without video content when needed. Β No in-app purchases are required!
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Energetic Alpha at none against ALA's 1. Energetic Alpha also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 13.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. ALA sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Energetic Alpha asks for nothing beyond the download.
ALA ships an update every 3 months, Energetic Alpha monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ALA | Energetic Alpha |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Monthly β better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No β better |
| Devices | iPad | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 9.0 β better |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 352 MB | 30 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Attainment Company | Lucy Junior, LLC |
In-app purchases
ALA
- Full Version$39.99
Energetic Alpha
No in-app purchases
Questions
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