Comparison

Jolly Phonics Pro vs Alphablocks, How to Write

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

Head to head
About

Jolly Phonics Pro

This interactive app helps children develop reading and writing skills through a science-based phonics approach. It features engaging songs, actions, and games to make learning fun and effective for home or classroom use.

Highlights
  • Learn all 42 letter sounds
  • Animated letter formation for handwriting
  • Interactive flashcards and wordbanks
  • Progress tracking and assessments
  • Songs and actions for multisensory learning
Features
Read full description

Teach Your Child to Read and Write with Jolly Phonics! Unlock your child’s reading and writing potential with the literacy app trusted by parents and teachers worldwide. Aligned with the Science of Reading, this interactive app makes learning to read and write fun and engaging, and is ideal for home or classroom use! Jolly Phonics focuses on direct, explicit instruction of phonemic awareness and phonics for both reading (decoding) and writing (encoding). Scientific research has consistently shown phonemic awareness to be essential for building strong reading and writing skills. 
 Why Choose Jolly Phonics? • Proven Success: Used in schools globally for over 30 years – with proven literacy outcomes. • Science-Based Approach: Aligned with the Science of Reading to ensure kids build effective foundational reading skills. • Engaging & Multi-Sensory: Songs, actions and interactive games bring phonics learning to life! Key Features That Make Learning Easy and Fun: • Explore All 42 Letter Sounds: Free audio and songs to help kids learn every sound. • Animated Letter Formation: Develop strong handwriting skills with step-by-step visual animations. • Interactive Learning Tools: Flashcards, wordbanks and action images to enhance and support every lesson. • 7 Educational Games (paid version): Turn reading and writing practice into play with fun phonics games that reinforce kids’ learning. • Progress Tracking: Built-in assessments to monitor children’s progress and celebrate achievements. Who Is It For? This literacy app is ideal for parents, teachers and kids looking for a structured, fun and proven approach to learning to read and write. Start Your Kid’s Phonics Journey Today! Join the millions of families and educators who have embraced the Jolly Phonics programme of learning for confident readers and writers. Whether at home or in the classroom, this app makes literacy learning simple, effective and enjoyable! Download now and see how Jolly Phonics can transform your child’s literacy learning! 
 What's New in This Version?

About

Alphablocks, How to Write

This app uses animated characters to teach children how to write letters and numbers. It features a guided learning path with pre-writing exercises, letter families, and tracing practice with rhymes. The app is designed by educational experts and is ad-free.

Highlights
  • Pre-writing line practice
  • Letter families based on shape
  • Scaffolded learning trajectory
  • Letter and numeral tracing
  • Writing rhymes for memorization
  • Adventure-based learning
Read full description

Alphablocks and Numberblocks, How to Write is a hands-on, fun way for children to learn to write, packed with brand new Writing Magic. Imagine if the letters of the alphabet and numbers came to life to teach your child how to write... This is exactly what happens in How to Write! Join your favourite characters from the hit CBeebies shows, Alphablocks and Numberblocks, as they find their way home, helping children practice fine motor skills and letter formation accompanied by catchy rhymes along the way. This app is brought to you by top educators and experts in play from the BAFTA award-winning creators of Numberblocks and Blue Zoo animation studios. How does Alphablocks and Numberblocks, How to Write help your child? "Alphablocks and Numberblocks, How to Write helps children build confidence as they practice fine motor skills covering the foundational line shapes that they will need to form letters. The journey is carefully scaffolded, taking children through generic practice lines, pre-letter lines and letter formation. A brilliant app!" Professor Kate Ruttle, Early Years Writing expert and advisor to Alphablocks Ltd. 1. Carefully scaffolded learning trajectory, designed by top literacy educators and experts in play. 2. This app is fun, educational and safe, being COPPA and GDPR-K compliant and 100% ad-free. 3. All presented through a safe, 100% ad-free, digital game for your child to explore. Featuring… - Pre-writing lines to help children practice fine motor skills. - Letters are carefully broken down into four letter families, based on similarities of shape: Bouncy, Straight Line, Curly and Zigzag letter families. - Within each letter family, letters are introduced with the simplest first, so children can build up their skills confidently. - Pre-letter lines help children to repeat the key movement in each letter and numeral, as carefully specified by our literacy experts. - Letter and numeral tracing practice, accompanied by special writing rhymes for each letter of the alphabet and numbers 0-9 help children to remember the movements! - A fun adventure, helping each Alphablock and Numberblock find their way home... and ultimately customising their home with a fun surprise! Privacy & Safety At Blue Zoo Productions Ltd. and Alphablocks Ltd., your child’s privacy and safety is the first priority for us. There are no ads in the app and we will never share personal information with any 3rd parties or sell this on. You can find out more in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service: Privacy Policy: https://www.learningblocks.tv/privacy-policy Terms of Service: https://www.learningblocks.tv/terms-of-service

Screenshots

Jolly Phonics Pro4 screens
Alphablocks, How to Write4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Alphablocks, How to Write at $3.99 against Jolly Phonics Pro's $49.99. Alphablocks, How to Write also leads on review sentiment (56% vs 34%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Jolly Phonics Pro's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 3.9) and ratings volume (232 vs 24). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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

Jolly Phonics Pro costs $49.99 and Alphablocks, How to Write $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Jolly Phonics Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Jolly Phonics Pro has 232 ratings behind it against 24, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 34% of Jolly Phonics Pro's written reviews are positive against 56% of Alphablocks, How to Write's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Jolly Phonics Pro ships an update every 3 months, Alphablocks, How to Write every 5 months. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Jolly Phonics Pro versus Alphablocks, How to Write: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJolly Phonics ProAlphablocks, How to Write
Price$49.99$3.99 — better
Rating4.5 (232 ratings) — better3.9 (24 ratings)
Positive reviews34.0% of reviews55.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings232 — better24
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size227 MB323 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJolly LearningBlue-Zoo

Customer experience

Jolly Phonics Pro

All ratings232 ratings
Positive90.1%
Neutral3.0%
Negative6.9%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive34.0%
Neutral14.0%
Negative52.0%

Alphablocks, How to Write

All ratings22 ratings
Positive63.6%
Neutral9.1%
Negative27.3%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive55.6%
Neutral11.1%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

Jolly Phonics Pro

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • App crashes after purchase
  • App shows blank page
  • App has no sound
  • Sounds stop working after a few games
  • Some sounds are missing (e.g., 'oa', 'ue', 'ow')
Show 13 more
  • App freezes when repeatedly playing a sound
  • Flashcards are not working
  • Letter sounds get stuck and screen freezes
  • Print letters not showing up correctly
  • Formation part shows cursive writing even when print is selected
  • Blending activities have issues with two-letter sounds
  • Finger tracing has multiple issues
  • App not working with some pronunciations (e.g., 'oa')
  • Sound clip for 'ee' in 'coffee' is the same as 'e' in 'egg'
  • No audible soft 'g' sound in 'ng' section
  • App not allowing restore after purchase
  • App not working with iOS version 11.0 or later
  • Mouse appears then app switches off

Requested features

8 requests
  • Add more phonic groups
  • Allow tapping stories to be read aloud
  • Option to choose different speaking speeds
  • Add interactive word bank
  • Support for family sharing
Show 3 more
  • Add more words to the app
  • Include sound for story and action parts
  • Ability to mix phonic songs and create own words

Alphablocks, How to Write

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Jolly Phonics Pro

No in-app purchases

None

Alphablocks, How to Write

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Jolly Phonics Pro free?
Jolly Phonics Pro costs $49.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Alphablocks, How to Write free?
Alphablocks, How to Write costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Jolly Phonics Pro or Alphablocks, How to Write?
Jolly Phonics Pro is rated higher. Jolly Phonics Pro averages 4.5 out of 5 from 232 ratings, while Alphablocks, How to Write averages 3.9 from 24 ratings.
Do Jolly Phonics Pro or Alphablocks, How to Write have ads?
Neither Jolly Phonics Pro nor Alphablocks, How to Write shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Jolly Phonics Pro or Alphablocks, How to Write?
Jolly Phonics Pro ships an update every 3 months, and Alphablocks, How to Write every 5 months. Most recently, Jolly Phonics Pro was updated on October 26, 2026 and Alphablocks, How to Write on October 26, 2026.

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