Comparison

Jolly Phonics Pro vs Mathseeds

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

Mathseeds

This app offers engaging math games and lessons for children aged 3-9, designed to build foundational math skills. It features interactive activities, rewards, and progress tracking to foster an early love of mathematics and prepare children for school.

Highlights
  • Counting games
  • Number recognition
  • Shape identification
  • Telling time
  • Problem solving
  • Math puzzles
  • Progress tracking
Features
Read full description

Suitable for ages 3–9, this multi-award winning math app includes counting games, numbers, shapes, telling time, problem solving, math puzzles, math games and so much more. Mathseeds: Fun Math Games make learning math fun for young kids. Designed by experienced educators, the program is proven to teach foundational early math skills in just 15 minutes a day. Children love the highly engaging lessons, interactive math games and fun rewards in Mathseeds, which keep kids motivated to keep learning and improving their skills. It’s the perfect way to nurture and early love of math and set them up for school success! Mathseeds includes: • 200 self-paced math lessons that take children from having no math skills to a Grade 3 level • A placement test which matches your child to the right level for their ability • Assessment tests like end-of-map quizzes and Driving Tests ensures your child achieves mastery • Detailed reports let you track your child’s progress • Hundreds of printable worksheets to supplement the online lessons and take their learning offline • And so much more! ABOUT THE MATHSEEDS APP • PROVEN TO WORK: Independent studies show that children who use Mathseeds outperform their peers within weeks of using the program. • SELF-PACED: children are matched to the perfect level in the program and progress at a steady pace. There is also the ability to repeat lessons at any time to reinforce key skills. • SEE REAL PROGRESS: view instant results in your dashboard and receive detailed progress reports, which show you exactly where your child is improving and where extra attention is needed. • CURRICULUM-ALIGNED: Mathseeds aligns to Common Core standards, covering the key skills needed for school success. • LOVED BY PARENTS AND TEACHERS: Mathseeds is used by thousands of parents, homeschoolers and teachers around the world! • LEARN MATH ON THE GO! Your child can learn and play anytime, anywhere on their iPad or desktop. Users must log in with their account details to access Mathseeds. Min requirements: • Wireless internet connection • iPad (5th Generation), iPad Air 2, iPad Pro 1st Generation • iPad Mini 4 • iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE (1st Generation) • iOS 12.0+ • An active trial or subscription. Recommended devices and iOS version: • Latest iPad, Latest iPad Air, Latest iPad Pro • Latest iPad Mini • Latest iPhone • Latest iOS Version. Note: Teacher accounts are currently not supported For assistance or feedback email: info@readingeggs.com MORE INFO • Each subscription provides access to Mathseeds for up to four children • The first month of a monthly subscription is free and includes bonus access to our reading programs • Subscriptions renew automatically; your Apple App Store account will be charged unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period • Cancel anytime in your Apple App Store Account Settings. Privacy Policy: http://readingeggs.com/privacy/ Terms and Conditions: http://readingeggs.com/terms/

Screenshots

Jolly Phonics Pro4 screens
Mathseeds4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Mathseeds at Free against Jolly Phonics Pro's $49.99. Mathseeds also leads on review sentiment (46% vs 34%). Jolly Phonics Pro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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

Mathseeds is free to download; Jolly Phonics Pro costs $49.99 up front. Mathseeds sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Jolly Phonics Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Jolly Phonics Pro against 4.6 for Mathseeds. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 232 and 253 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 34% of Jolly Phonics Pro's written reviews are positive against 46% of Mathseeds's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Jolly Phonics Pro ships an update every 3 months, Mathseeds every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Jolly Phonics Pro versus Mathseeds: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJolly Phonics ProMathseeds
Price$49.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (232 ratings)4.6 (253 ratings) — better
Positive reviews34.0% of reviews46.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings232253 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size227 MB235 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJolly LearningBlake eLearning

Customer experience

Jolly Phonics Pro

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

Mathseeds

All ratings253 ratings
Positive89.3%
Neutral3.2%
Negative7.5%
Written reviews39 reviews
Positive46.2%
Neutral10.3%
Negative43.6%

User reviews

Jolly Phonics Pro

From 232 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for learning phonics
  • 👍 Helps children learn letters and words
  • 👍 Addictive yet educational
  • 👍 Good for non-native English speakers
  • 👍 Interactive and fun

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes frequently
  • 🐛 No sound for some letters/words
  • 🐛 Paid version offers no added value over free
  • 🐛 Expensive for limited content
  • 🐛 Poor implementation and glitches

Mathseeds

From 253 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤩 Engaging for kids
  • 👍 Great for learning math
  • 🚀 Positive screen time
  • 💡 Variety of activities
  • 📈 Improves math skills

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sound issues
  • 🐛 App glitches
  • 🐛 Unnecessary steps in problems
  • 😠 Too hard for some
  • 💰 Too expensive

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

Mathseeds

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Sound stops working
  • App glitches and lags
  • Unnecessary steps in math problems
  • Loading screen issues
  • App crashes
Show 3 more
  • Cannot access the app
  • Links to other apps/websites
  • Audio problems on iPad

Requested features

6 requests
  • Make math problems simpler
  • Add new arcade games
  • Fix sound issues
  • Improve app performance
  • Ensure app stability
Show 1 more
  • Allow access to Mathseeds

In-app purchases

None

Jolly Phonics Pro

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Mathseeds

Subscriptions4
  • Mathseeds Monthly1 Month trial$6.991 Month
  • Mathseeds+Reading Eggs Monthly1 Month trial$13.991 Month
  • Mathseeds Yearly$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Mathseeds+Reading Eggs Yearly$99.991 Year

Questions

Is Jolly Phonics Pro free?
Jolly Phonics Pro costs $49.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mathseeds free?
Mathseeds is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Jolly Phonics Pro or Mathseeds?
Mathseeds is rated higher. Jolly Phonics Pro averages 4.5 out of 5 from 232 ratings, while Mathseeds averages 4.6 from 253 ratings.
Do Jolly Phonics Pro or Mathseeds have ads?
Neither Jolly Phonics Pro nor Mathseeds shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Jolly Phonics Pro or Mathseeds?
Jolly Phonics Pro ships an update every 3 months, and Mathseeds every 2 months. Most recently, Jolly Phonics Pro was updated on October 29, 2026 and Mathseeds on October 27, 2026.

Other comparisons