Making Change USD vs Brainy Bucks
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Making Change USD
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This program teaches the student about changing (converting) larger denominations of currency into smaller ones, such as breaking a dollar bill into four quarters or ten dimes or any other collections of coins that add up to the dollar. The screen has a top box showing the coin or bill for which change is needed. To the right of the top box is a counter giving the value of the currency in the top box. Under the top box are more boxes in the middle of the screen with spaces for the coins or bills that the student is using to make change for the money in the top box. To the right of the middle boxes is a counter giving the value of the change in the middle boxes. At the bottom is another set of boxes with a coin or bill in each box. The student clicks on these coins or bills to make change for the coin or bill in the top box. Change Made The student clicks this button when he/she thinks the correct change has been placed in the boxes in the middle. Settings Mode Test Select this option to measure the studentβs progress. The βReportβ button under βTestβ mode is enabled. Report This displays results of the βTestβ. The report Holds Only 20 Records. Grade On/Off: If it is on, app will monitor correct and wrong responses by the student Correct Answer: When a student response to a question with correct answer Wrong Answer: When a student response to a question with wrong answer Number of Total Attempt: Number of times a student tried to answer questions in the app. Bar Chart: Represents the student's performance graphically. View Records: If there are old test results, they will be shown on this screen. The current test result is always on top. Print: This will print the grade or data on the screen. Clear Data: This button erase all the data that was stored and free up the memory that data was occupying. Display the Value of the Coins or Bills is on This is the default setting. The value of the coin or bill (such as "10Β’" under a dime) appears under the coin or bill. Display the Value of the Coins or Bills is off The value of the coin or bill (such as "10Β’" under a dime) will not appear under the coin or bill. Command Text This option is selected by default. When this is checked, text appears at the bottom of the screen instructing the student to (for instance) βHere is five dollars. Please make change with 4 one-dollar bills and the rest in quarters.β If not checked, the command text does not appear. Congratulatory Animation This is selected by default. When the student makes the correct change and clicks on the "Change Made" button, there will be a congratulatory animation. Click anywhere on the screen or press the space bar to stop the congratulatory animation. When not checked, the animation will not appear. Selection Here the teacher/therapist can select the coins and/or bills that the student can use to make change. By default "Select All" is checked. Select All This selects all coins and bills.
Brainy Bucks
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Turn math and reading practice into a short, playful learning adventure. Brainy Bucks gives kids a quick daily quest of math, reading and phonics questions, with a Brain Buddy that grows as they learn. Parents get a plain-language weekly summary and a short learning plan built from their child's real answers. One adaptive quest is free every day. No ads. No accounts. WHAT KIDS PLAY - Today's Quest: a 5, 10 or 15 minute mix of new skills, review and earlier mistakes - Boss battles, 90-second Brain Sprints and combo streaks - 15 original Brain Buddies with 5 growth stages, plus pets hatched from a Mystery Egg - A Weekly Vault opened by reaching the weekly practice goal - Every reward is earned by practicing. Nothing is sold to children. WHAT THEY PRACTICE Math: counting, place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, money, time, measurement, geometry, data, word problems, ratios and early algebra. Reading: phonics, rhyming, sight words, spelling patterns, vocabulary, main idea, sequencing, inference, context clues and short original passages. Content spans Pre-K to Grade 8, with the deepest coverage from Kindergarten to Grade 4. Difficulty adapts to the answers your child actually gives. MISTAKES BECOME COMEBACKS No lives lost and no red X. A wrong answer gets a clue and a second try. Missed questions come back in later quests, and skills that went well are checked again days later to see whether they were remembered. READ-ALOUD Tap the speaker to hear any question and its answer choices, read on-device and offline. Helpful for early and developing readers. WHAT PARENTS SEE - A one-sentence weekly summary of what your child practiced - This Week's Learning Plan: up to three short suggestions, each with the reason, time and how to start. Accept, replace or postpone any of them. - Plain skill statuses: Introduced, Practicing, Consistent, Retained, or Needs review - Screen-free parent-and-child activities with materials, steps, and easier and harder versions - Real-life rewards you create and price, redeemed only with your parent PIN Statuses are based only on answers given in the app. They are not a formal assessment. FREE, EVERY DAY - One adaptive Today's Quest every day, with no time limit - 3 extra quests a day - Hints, second tries and spaced review - Weekly summary and learning plan - A Brain Buddy, one real-life reward and a starter activity set BRAINY BUCKS PLUS (OPTIONAL) Unlimited extra quests, the full practice library, weekly and monthly reports, the full activity collection, all buddy growth stages and unlimited rewards. Family Plus supports up to 4 child profiles, each with separate progress, buddy and rewards. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Learning data stays on your device. No accounts, no ads, no chat and no third-party analytics. Child Mode shows no prices or purchase buttons; purchases and settings sit behind a parent PIN. Works offline. FREE SAMPLE QUEST Try a 5-question quest in your browser before downloading: brainy-bucks.rork.app/free-quest SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Plus is available as monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscriptions, plus a one-time Lifetime option. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID settings. Created by an Ontario Certified Teacher. Brainy Bucks is an independent family app and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Ontario College of Teachers or any school board. Terms: https://brainy-bucks.rork.app/terms Privacy: https://brainy-bucks.rork.app/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Brainy Bucks at every 2 weeks against Making Change USD's every 17 months. Making Change USD's advantage is iOS requirement (11 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Making Change USD sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Brainy Bucks sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Making Change USD ships an update every 17 months, Brainy Bucks every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Making Change USD | Brainy Bucks |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 17 months | Every 2 weeks β better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad β better |
| Requires iOS | 11 β better | 18.0 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 75 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Blooming Kids Software LLC | James Gray |
In-app purchases
Making Change USD
- Making Change USD$3.99
Brainy Bucks
- Brainy Bucks Plus$9.991 Month
- Family Plus$12.991 Month
- Brainy Bucks Plus Yearly$59.991 Year
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- Family Plus Yearly$79.991 Year
- Lifetime Plus$129.99
Questions
Is Making Change USD free?
Is Brainy Bucks free?
Do Making Change USD or Brainy Bucks have ads?
Which is updated more often, Making Change USD or Brainy Bucks?
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