Spelling Shed vs NumBots
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Spelling Shed
This educational game makes spelling fun and accessible for children worldwide. Designed by teachers, it helps improve spelling, reading, vocabulary, and typing speed through engaging gameplay and customizable support. It offers a unique phonics system and curriculum coverage for comprehensive learning.
- Phonics spelling system
- Customizable difficulty levels
- Speed bonuses and hot streaks
- OpenDyslexic font support
- League-based scoring and rewards
- Curriculum-aligned word lists
- Avatar customization
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Spelling Shed is the #1 spelling game enjoyed by over 2.5 million children every month! Spelling Shed’s multi-award-winning app is the leading spelling app and has been #1 in several countries. Designed by a team of teachers, our platform enables everyone to succeed with spelling and enjoy the process! Used in thousands of schools across the globe, our games make spelling enjoyable, accessible, and achievable. As well as improving spelling, our app significantly impacts reading ability, vocabulary acquisition, and writing. Created by EdShed, the multi-award-winning EdTech company trusted by over 170,000 educators and enjoyed by millions of children worldwide. Improve Results ‣ Spelling Shed is proven to improve results by up to 80%. ‣ Proven to improve student engagement. ‣ Makes spelling fun, effective, and meaningful. ‣ Reduces teacher workload. Play a variety of games ‣ Feed Hungry Horses, shoot your shot in Penalty Spell-out, take on a Shed Load, or play the original Spelling Bee game. The choice of how you practice spelling is yours. ‣ Avoid the lava and beat Chipper. Squirrel Scurry allows you to play solo or against the computer and choose to reach the top or enjoy endless gameplay. ‣ Includes bonus Bee Keeper and Buzz Words games. ‣ Boost vocabulary acquisition by playing Missing Words or Definitions games. ‣ Choose from 4 different levels: easy, medium, hard, and extreme! Play Hive Games ‣ Hive games are multi-player games that allow you to play with your friends or classmates in real-time. ‣ Create your own hives or join others. ‣ See real-time league statistics between each word spelled. ‣ Includes a range of levels and play options. Empowering Every Learner ‣ Inclusive and accessible for all students. ‣ Includes multi-modal learning options such as audio assistance and being able to read the word before spelling it. ‣ Choose from 4 different levels: easy, medium, hard, and extreme! ‣ Choose the amount of support needed to succeed. ‣ Ensures every learner experiences success to further motivate them. ‣ Gives instant feedback and rewards. ‣ Clear interface reduces cognitive load and makes navigation simple. ‣ Proven to be effective for students with ADHD, dyslexia, and autism. Play anytime, anywhere ‣ Online and offline play enables you to play anytime, anywhere. ‣ Play with classmates from home. ‣ Perfect for in-class practice or home learning. ‣ No in-app downloads required. ‣ Engaging games that fit around busy schedules. 100% Curriculum Coverage ‣ Choose from over 1,000,000 word lists. ‣ Provides full curriculum coverage for spelling. ‣ Subscribers (via website) can use alongside Spelling Shed’s evidence-based spelling curriculum. ‣ Create your own custom word lists. Unique Phonics Spelling System ‣ Choose to spell using graphemes or letters. ‣ Select ‘phonics on’ to spell words using graphemes. ‣ Support phonics learning ‣ Support home learning of phonics. The Science of Spelling ‣ Use alongside Spelling Shed’s evidence-based spelling curriculum for maximum impact. Subscribe via Spelling Shed’s website. ‣ Support phonological knowledge. ‣ Develop orthographical knowledge. ‣ Strengthen morphological knowledge. Celebrate Success ‣ Receive instant feedback. ‣ Honeypots are awarded immediately. ‣ Honeypots are EdShed’s currency, which can be spent on customizing your avatar. ‣ Harder levels and bonuses give more points and honeypots. ‣ More points gives a higher league position in class league. ‣ More points also mean a higher class/group position in school and world leagues!
NumBots
This platform helps children master mental addition and subtraction, moving them from counting to calculating. It focuses on building understanding, recall, and fluency in these core math skills. Designed for early learners, it offers an engaging way to achieve mathematical proficiency.
- Master mental addition
- Master mental subtraction
- Build understanding
- Develop recall
- Achieve fluency
- Transition from counting to calculating
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Addition & Subtraction. Solved. From the innovators who bring you Times Tables Rock Stars, comes a highly engaging platform for learning to add and subtract… NumBots! NumBots is all about every child achieving the “triple win” of understanding, recall and fluency in mental addition and subtraction, so that they move from counting to calculating. Suitable from Year 1 (UK) or Kindergarten (US) upwards. Younger players will be able to access the early stages from a mathematical point of view but will find it increasingly harder to reach the level of fluency required to make continued progress.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: NumBots at Free against Spelling Shed's $2.99. NumBots also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (66% vs 52%). Spelling Shed's advantage is chart position (#24 vs unranked). On ratings volume, 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
NumBots is free to download; Spelling Shed costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
NumBots holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 525 and 322 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Spelling Shed's written reviews are positive against 66% of NumBots's.
Spelling Shed ships an update monthly, NumBots every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Spelling Shed | NumBots |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (525 ratings) | 4.7 (322 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 52.0% of reviews | 66.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 525 — better | 322 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #24 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 206 MB | 30 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Education Shed Ltd | Maths Circle Ltd |
Customer experience
Spelling Shed
NumBots
User reviews
Spelling Shed
From 525 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Helpful for learning spellings
- 🤩 Fun and engaging way to learn
- 🏫 Good for education purposes
- 🎓 Improves spelling skills
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🤔 Unclear voice pronunciation
- 💰 Expensive customization options
- 🤖 Poor explanation of words
NumBots
From 322 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great for learning math
- 🚀 Fun and engaging
- 💡 Helpful for improving math skills
- 💡 Customizable robot feature
- 👍 Useful for kids aged 4-7
Room to improve
- 🐛 Glitches and bugs
- 🔍 Unclear progression system
- ⏱️ Strict time limits
- 🤔 Repetitive levels
- 🤔 Not challenging enough for older kids
Bugs and requests
Spelling Shed
Reported bugs
4 issues- Login issues and lost progress
- Compatibility problems with updates
- Inconsistent performance on different devices
- Difficulty adding and managing spelling lists
Requested features
4 requests- Allow customization of spelling lists
- Improve audio quality and clarity
- Add more game modes and features
- Provide better progress tracking
NumBots
Reported bugs
5 issues- Coins and stars not tracking correctly
- Login issues across devices
- Keyboard not showing up on tablets
- Levels randomly locked or missing
- App crashing and freezing
Requested features
5 requests- More advanced levels and content
- Ability to skip to appropriate level
- Less emphasis on speed, more on accuracy
- Family account support
- Improved login and persistence
In-app purchases
Spelling Shed
No in-app purchases
NumBots
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Spelling Shed free?
Is NumBots free?
Which has better reviews, Spelling Shed or NumBots?
Do Spelling Shed or NumBots have ads?
Which is updated more often, Spelling Shed or NumBots?
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