Writing Wizard vs Handwriting Success
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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"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/
Handwriting Success
This app brings a popular handwriting program to your tablet, offering digital workbooks for instruction and practice. Users can write, erase, and practice repeatedly with customizable pen tools. It's designed for students, adults, and professionals seeking legible, modern handwriting.
- Interactive digital workbooks
- Customizable pen color, width, and opacity
- Digital eraser for repeated practice
- Screen rotation and pinch-zoom
- Bookmark creation
- Screenshot sharing for teachers
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Welcome to handwriting in the 21st century. Compatibility: iPad Pro 12.9", iPad Pro 11", iPad Air 10.9" or iPad 10.2". Requires iOS 13.0 or later, and the use of Apple Pencil or similar paired stylus with palm-rejection features. The Getty-Dubay® Handwriting Success App brings the popular Getty-Dubay® handwriting program in eight workbooks to your tablet and stylus. Each ebook is a complete program that you can write in, with pages and pages of instruction and practice. You’ll be able to use the worksheets over and over by digitally erasing your previous sessions — practice to your heart's content. Free ebook samples come with the download. Full content is available via the in-app bookstore, with monthly and yearly subscription options, each with a free trial period. All nine Getty-Dubay® handwriting ebooks are available via in-app purchase or subscription. Free samples allow you to try before you buy. There’s a responsive drawing engine, screen rotation for smaller tablets and pinch-zoom. The Getty-Dubay® Handwriting Success App is simple to use. Turn pages, scroll, navigate and create bookmarks in the same way you would with an ebook. The fun comes when you touch your stylus to the screen. Now you can select the color, width and opacity of your pen line. Trace and copy the handwriting models, reading the instructions and tips as you go. Redo your work and practice more by selecting the eraser icon, or by erasing the entire page at once. Teachers and parents, with the Getty-Dubay® Italic Handwriting Series ebooks you can now incorporate technology into your handwriting instruction with seven age-appropriate workbooks (Books A-G) and an Instruction Manual. Books A through G are available on this app as one-year subscriptions. Adults and professionals, with the WRITE NOW ebook you can learn to use your stylus with confidence and ease to produce notes that you feel good about sharing, and that your colleagues & friends (and your handwriting recognition software) can read. This is not your grandparent's handwriting. For over 40 years, the authors Barbara Getty and Inga Dubay have been teaching people — from medical professionals to school children — how to have legible, handsome handwriting without the loops and curlicues of conventional looped cursive. Getty-Dubay® Italic is already enjoyed by tens of thousands of adults and students worldwide. It's real handwriting, for real life. The App content takes you step-by-step through the printed italic alphabet (lowercase and capitals) and numerals, then onto joining these letters for flowing, legible cursive italic writing. And the books walk the talk: All are handwritten by the authors. Students can take a screenshot of their work to send to their teacher. This App replaces the need for the paperback workbook, which means you're saving paper and the resources that would have gone into producing and shipping the product. While you may experience improved handwriting after just a few sessions, most gains will come from repeated practice over time. As you use this app, try out your new handwriting on whiteboards, or with pen and paper for thank you notes, other correspondence or school work. For help, and to access the free online resources that come with this app: www.handwritingsuccess.com/app-support Privacy Policy: https://handwritingsuccess.com/privacy-policy/ Terms of Use: https://handwritingsuccess.com/app-terms-of-use/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Writing Wizard at 74% against Handwriting Success's 26%. Writing Wizard also leads on rating (4.4 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (5.2K vs 235). Handwriting Success's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). 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
Both are free to download. Writing Wizard sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month and Handwriting Success sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Writing Wizard holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Writing Wizard has 5.2K ratings behind it against 235, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Writing Wizard's written reviews are positive against 26% of Handwriting Success's.
Writing Wizard ships an update every 4 months, Handwriting Success every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Writing Wizard | Handwriting Success |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (5.2K ratings) — better | 4.0 (235 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 73.7% of reviews — better | 26.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5.2K — better | 235 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 68 MB | 157 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pierre Abel | Handwriting Success, LLC |
Customer experience
Writing Wizard
Handwriting Success
User reviews
Writing Wizard
From 5.2K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Handwriting Success
From 235 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great handwriting resource
- 👍 Improves handwriting
- 👍 Engaging for children
- 👍 Good for adult learners
- 👍 Helpful tips and workshops
Room to improve
- 💸 Expensive in-app purchases
- 💸 Subscription required for use
- 💸 Misleading advertising (free app)
- 💸 Paid content lost after update
- 💸 Duplicate pricing (app vs. workbooks)
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
Handwriting Success
Reported bugs
3 issues- Restore button not working
- Lost purchased content after update
- Content inaccessible after purchase
Requested features
7 requests- Make app usable without immediate payment
- Disclose purchase requirements before download
- Allow users to try full app before buying
- Make app compatible with VoiceOver
- Provide PDF versions of books
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Clarify pricing in app description
- Offer alternative writing formats (e.g., paper sheets)
In-app purchases
Writing Wizard
- Full Access - Monthly$2.491 Month
- All Letters and Numbers$5.99
- Add Your Words and Word Lists$5.99
- Lifetime Full Access$9.99
Handwriting Success
- Book B Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Book A Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Book A Monthly (Legacy)7 Days trial$2.991 Month
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- WRITE NOW Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$3.991 Month
- WRITE NOW Monthly (Legacy)3 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Book A Annual Subscription7 Days trial$8.991 Year
- WRITE NOW Annual Subscription3 Days trial$12.991 Year
- WRITE NOW Annual (Legacy)3 Days trial$12.991 Year
- Handwriting curriculum age 5-6$8.99
- Handwriting Success for adults$12.99
Questions
Is Writing Wizard free?
Is Handwriting Success free?
Which has better reviews, Writing Wizard or Handwriting Success?
Do Writing Wizard or Handwriting Success have ads?
Which is updated more often, Writing Wizard or Handwriting Success?
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