Comparison

Writing Wizard vs Alphablocks World

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

Head to head
About

Writing Wizard

This app helps children learn to trace letters, numbers, and words with a fun, motivating system. It offers customizable tracing practice, interactive games, and progress reports for parents and educators.

Highlights
  • Trace letters, numbers, and words
  • Customizable tracing practice
  • Interactive games and animated stickers
  • Create custom word lists with audio
  • Progress reports for tracking
  • Printable PDF worksheets
Features
Read full description

"Fantastic, customizable tracing practice with fun rewards." 5 Stars - Common Sense Media 500,000+ units sold (including 300,000+ to schools) ! Writing Wizard is designed to help every child learn how to trace letters, numbers, and words through a fun system carefully designed to maintain motivation. • Show and enforce how to trace letters correctly • Letter names and phonics (customizable) • 16 Fonts available (including 3 most popular in the US) • Fun tracing using 50+ animated stickers, sound effects and interactive games that animate letters at the end of tracing • Uppercase & lowercase letters, numbers, and words • Ability to create your own word lists (and record audio for each word) • Fully customizable to suit every child’s needs (letter size, difficulty,...) • Check progress thanks to reports that display what the child has traced • Shapes tracing activity for toddlers • Create PDF Worksheets and print them to help your child to write on paper • Use Apple pencil to write at a very small size All the shapes, the first 7 letters, numbers, and words are free. The remaining letters and the ability to add your own words can be unlocked with a one-time purchase or a monthly subscription. _______ ACCOLADES • "Writing Wizard is the most complete and intelligent letter tracing app we’ve seen"" AppoLearning.com • "This brand-new app should be the go-to for every parent, teacher and therapist to work on handwriting" - TOP PICKS - 5 stars - SmartAppsForKids.com • "Writing Wizard by L’Escapadou is everything a parent wants in a handwriting app, and more." 5/5 - kids-app-reviews.com • "L’Escapadou has made handwriting fun." AppyMall.com 5/5 • Listed in "20 best educational iPhone and iPad apps for kids of 2013" - appsplayground.com • Editor's Choice Award for Excellence in Design - Children's Technology Review _______ PERFECT FOR KIDS Kids want to have fun, and Writing Wizard offers a lot of fun to keep them motivated in the learning process! • They can trace using 50+ animated stickers and sound effects • Once tracing is complete, they can interact with them on 4 games that animate letters • They can trace any word - like their name - and record their voice for each word • They can collect stars in 5-Stars play mode _______ PERFECT FOR PARENTS & TEACHERS • Ability to create your own word lists (and record audio for each word) • Detailed reports provide information on what kids have done, including the ability to replay and export the tracings to view kids' progress • Share word lists via iCloud Drive or other cloud providers, adhoc network, or email • Multiple parameters to customize the app according to the child’s current education level (e.g. letter size, difficulty, show/hide model, allow to stop between key points, etc.) • 3 most popular fonts in the US (ZB, DN & HWT) and 13 international fonts (UK, Scandinavia, Australia, Germany and France) • Upper and lower case letters, numbers (and word lists) • Letter names and letter sounds (which can be customized) • A customizable 5-Stars play mode prompting the child to trace a letter or a word 5 times using different parameters (each step is more challenging) • Create an unlimited number of users • Many settings to customize the app (sound, game time limit, black background,...) • In the A-Z section, special graphics available to match letters (e.g. ant graphic for A/a) _______ Privacy Policy KNOW WHAT'S INSIDE As a Moms with Apps member, we follow the "Know what's inside" best practices for kids’ apps L’Escapadou takes children’s privacy seriously. We believe you should not have to worry about your kids being tracked by apps or websites. This app: • Does not collect any user information (we do not use data collection tools) • External Links : Before accessing a parent section, an operation must be solved so that young kids cannot access it. Terms of use : https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Alphablocks World

This app uses videos, games, and interactive books featuring alphabet characters to teach children aged 3+ how to read. It focuses on phonics and builds reading confidence through engaging content.

Highlights
  • Phonics-based learning
  • Interactive reading books
  • Educational videos and songs
  • Letter and sound identification
  • Word spelling practice
  • Ad-free and safe environment
Features
Read full description

Alphablocks World is a fun, educational, KidSAFE certified app filled with videos, games, songs and unique interactive books to help kids aged 3+ learn to read. Who better to show you how words work than the letters of the alphabet themselves? Learning to read is easy when you're having fun and taking in key phonics ideas every minute. Alphablocks World is a fun with phonics video on demand and story app, brought to you by the BAFTA award-winning team at Alphablocks Ltd. and Blue Zoo Animations Studio. With the option to stream or download the videos you and your child can enjoy Alphablocks from home or out and about. How does Alphablocks World help your child? "Alphablocks World is a brilliant interactive companion to learning phonics, helping children to identify each letter and sound, building their confidence in a friendly careful way until they start to spell words." Professor Rhona Stainthorp, Early Years Phonics expert and advisor on Alphablocks 1. More than 80 episodes of fantastic characters, exciting escapades and singalong songs help children master their letters and sounds and conquer increasingly challenging words. 2. Alphablocks is the hit BBC TV show first aired on CBeebies that’s helped millions of children learn to read through adventures, songs and laughter. It’s a ton of fun with letters and words – all built on a firm foundation of key phonics skills. 3. Every episode has been carefully crafted with the help of literacy experts to ensure a best-practice approach to phonics, ensuring that Alphablocks is compatible with early years curricula − and lovingly brought to life by multi-award-winning Blue Zoo Animation Studio. 4. This app is fun, educational and safe, being COPPA and GDPR-K compliant and 100% ad-free. 5. All presented through a safe, 100% ad-free, digital world for your child to explore. N.B. Episode length might vary in different regions. Featuring… • Five easy to follow levels, which introduce your child to the letters of the alphabet, letter blends, letter teams (digraphs and trigraphs) and long vowels. 60 second clips from the full Alphablocks series • Enjoyable songs, to help increase your child's understanding of phonics • 30 unique, interactive books, designed to help your child grow in confidence as they practise reading. N.B. Episode length might vary in different regions. Alphablocks Subscription • Alphablocks World offers a free 7 day trial. • Subscription lengths vary from Monthly to Yearly. • The price of the subscription might differ depending on the plan you choose and the region you are in. • Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at the time of purchase. • You can cancel your subscription at any time through your App Store account settings and turn off auto renewal through your App Store account settings. • Any unused amount of a free trial period, when offered, will be forfeited at the point when a user purchases a subscription, where applicable. • Accounts will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Privacy & Safety At Alphablocks 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

Writing Wizard4 screens
Alphablocks World4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Writing Wizard at 73% against Alphablocks World's 30%. Writing Wizard also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and ratings volume (5.2K vs 260). Alphablocks World's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Writing Wizard sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month and Alphablocks World sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Writing Wizard holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Writing Wizard has 5.2K ratings behind it against 260, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Writing Wizard's written reviews are positive against 30% of Alphablocks World's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Writing Wizard ships an update every 4 months, Alphablocks World fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Writing Wizard versus Alphablocks World: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWriting WizardAlphablocks World
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (5.2K ratings) — better4.2 (260 ratings)
Positive reviews73.4% of reviews — better29.5% of reviews
Number of ratings5.2K — better260
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB459 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPierre AbelBlue-Zoo

Customer experience

Writing Wizard

All ratings5,152 ratings
Positive84.3%
Neutral6.1%
Negative9.6%
Written reviews207 reviews
Positive73.4%
Neutral6.8%
Negative19.8%

Alphablocks World

All ratings260 ratings
Positive76.9%
Neutral7.3%
Negative15.8%
Written reviews193 reviews
Positive29.5%
Neutral16.1%
Negative54.4%

User reviews

Writing Wizard

From 5.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 🚀 Engaging animations
  • 💡 Customizable word lists
  • 👍 Helpful for children with special needs
  • 👍 Effective for improving handwriting

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Locked features behind paywall
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • 🔒 Paid version not working as expected
  • 💰 Expensive for the limited features

Alphablocks World

From 260 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Fun and engaging learning experience
  • 💡 Helpful for teaching reading with phonics
  • 🚀 Great episodes and content

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent bugs and glitches
  • 🔍 Missing or incomplete features
  • 💰 Subscription model issues

Bugs and requests

Writing Wizard

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when trying to access locked features
  • Purchased content not unlocking properly
  • Inconsistent letter formation guidance

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more letters, numbers, and shapes
  • Allow recording of custom voice instructions
  • Improve compatibility with stylus/digital pens
  • Provide more customization options

Alphablocks World

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Videos not loading
  • Levels and progress not working properly
  • Subscription not functioning as expected
  • Crashes and freezes on various features

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more Alphablocks and letter teams
  • Improve video loading and stability
  • Allow offline content downloads
  • Fix subscription and unlock issues

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Writing Wizard

Subscriptions1
  • Full Access - Monthly$2.491 Month
One-time3
  • All Letters and Numbers$5.99
  • Add Your Words and Word Lists$5.99
  • Lifetime Full Access$9.99
2 purchases

Alphablocks World

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$30.991 Year

Questions

Is Writing Wizard free?
Writing Wizard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Alphablocks World free?
Alphablocks World is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Writing Wizard or Alphablocks World?
Writing Wizard is rated higher. Writing Wizard averages 4.4 out of 5 from 5.2K ratings, while Alphablocks World averages 4.2 from 260 ratings.
Do Writing Wizard or Alphablocks World have ads?
Neither Writing Wizard nor Alphablocks World shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Writing Wizard or Alphablocks World?
Writing Wizard ships an update every 4 months, and Alphablocks World fortnightly. Most recently, Writing Wizard was updated on October 16, 2026 and Alphablocks World on October 15, 2026.

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