Comparison

Thumsters vs HOW TO TALK

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

Head to head
About

Thumsters

This app helps parents foster positive behavior and build stronger connections with their children through a reward-based tracking system. It offers tools for habit formation, emotional coaching, and consistent parenting across multiple caregivers, designed for children aged 4-12.

Highlights
  • Real-time behavior tracking (thumbs up/down)
  • Kid-friendly chore list and reward system
  • Emotional coaching and awareness tools
  • Multi-device syncing for caregivers
  • Customizable reward system
  • Designed for ages 4-12
Features
Read full description

You didn’t sign up for tantrums, power struggles, or endless nagging. You just want your kids to listen, without losing your cool. Meet Thumsters – the award-winning parenting app that helps you build better behavior, calmer routines, and deeper connection with your kids. Whether you’re dealing with defiance, meltdowns, or chore resistance, Thumsters gives you a proven, easy-to-use system based on positive reinforcement and emotional coaching—not yelling or punishment. WHY PARENTS LOVE THUMSTERS Track behavior in real-time – Log thumbs up/down and reasons to see patterns at a glance. Create better habits – Reinforce routines and tasks with a kid-friendly chore list and reward system. Coach, don’t correct – Build your child’s confidence and emotional awareness with our Emotions Tracker. Stay consistent – Sync across multiple devices for caregivers, co-parents and therapists. Backed by science – Built with child professionals and recommended by therapists worldwide. HOW IT WORKS Use Thumsters to log your child’s behavior choices—good or bad. Assign tasks or daily routines. Set goals and rewards. Thumsters builds a clear picture of their progress, helping you parent with purpose and coach your child toward better emotional regulation and decision-making. BUILT FOR REAL FAMILIES Works with multiple kids & carers Includes a customizable reward system Designed for ages 4–12 Used by families, teachers, and therapists Recognized by the US National Library of Medicine for behavior support Join thousands of families who’ve said goodbye to chaos and hello to calm and connection. Download Thumsters today and transform your home—one thumbs up at a time. Terms of Use: https://www.thumsters.com/legal/terms-of-use

About

HOW TO TALK

This app offers instant, actionable advice for common parenting challenges like sibling rivalry, bedtime struggles, and tantrums. It guides users through questions to provide creative solutions and dialogue examples for various child behavior issues.

Highlights
  • Instant tips and advice
  • Guidance through user-selected categories
  • Solutions for difficult feelings
  • Alternatives to punishment
  • Conflict resolution strategies
  • Concrete examples and dialogue
Features
Read full description

Are you worn out by sibling strife, bedtime battles, food fights, and clean up conflicts? Are you tired of tantrums and meltdowns? Do you wish you had a button to press that would make kids just behave? We provide the buttons! Users choose from the following categories and click through questions that guide them to instant tips and advice. * I want to help my child with difficult feelings * I want my child to do something (or stop doing something) * I need some alternatives to punishment * I want to encourage my child * Help! My kids are fighting! When you're deep in the trenches with no time to think, this app will help you pull through. Whether your child is terrified of the neighbor’s toothless toy poodle, reluctant to brush his teeth, angry because she can’t play with your smartphone in the bathtub, or punching his brother in the stomach, you will find creative, effective, sometimes humorous solutions, with concrete examples and dialog to help you through the crisis.

Screenshots

Thumsters4 screens
HOW TO TALK4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Thumsters at 4.7 against HOW TO TALK's 4.0. Thumsters also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 11 months) and ratings volume (874 vs 23). HOW TO TALK's advantage is review sentiment (88% vs 69%) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Thumsters sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and HOW TO TALK sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Thumsters holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Thumsters has 874 ratings behind it against 23, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 69% of Thumsters's written reviews are positive against 88% of HOW TO TALK's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thumsters ships an update fortnightly, HOW TO TALK every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Thumsters versus HOW TO TALK: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThumstersHOW TO TALK
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (874 ratings) — better4.0 (23 ratings)
Positive reviews68.7% of reviews87.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings874 — better23
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.19.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size92 MB139 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperKØBEN digitalMYTHICOWL SP Z O O

Customer experience

Thumsters

All ratings873 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral5.0%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews134 reviews
Positive68.7%
Neutral14.9%
Negative16.4%

HOW TO TALK

All ratings23 ratings
Positive73.9%
Neutral4.3%
Negative21.7%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%

Bugs and requests

Thumsters

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when adding child profiles
  • Sync issues between devices
  • Thumbs up/down disappearing or not registering properly
  • Inconsistent behavior after app updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow kids to track their own progress
  • Add more customization options for goals and rewards
  • Implement better reporting and analytics
  • Improve Apple Watch integration
  • Simplify the process of giving thumbs up/down

HOW TO TALK

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Thumsters

Subscriptions7
  • Weekly Premium Subscription$1.997 Days
  • Monthly Premium Subscription3 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Monthly Premium Subscription14 Days trial$12.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • 6 Month Premium Subscription3 Days trial$39.996 Months
  • Yearly Premium Subscription7 Days trial$47.991 Year
  • 6 month premium subscription14 Days trial$59.996 Months
  • ThumbsUp full account - 1 year14 Days trial$79.991 Year
1 purchases

HOW TO TALK

One-time1
  • Unlock full version$3.99

Questions

Is Thumsters free?
Thumsters is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is HOW TO TALK free?
HOW TO TALK is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Thumsters or HOW TO TALK?
Thumsters is rated higher. Thumsters averages 4.7 out of 5 from 874 ratings, while HOW TO TALK averages 4.0 from 23 ratings.
Do Thumsters or HOW TO TALK have ads?
Neither Thumsters nor HOW TO TALK shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Thumsters or HOW TO TALK?
Thumsters ships an update fortnightly, and HOW TO TALK every 11 months. Most recently, Thumsters was updated on November 3, 2026 and HOW TO TALK on November 2, 2026.

Other comparisons