Comparison

Writing Wizard vs Cursive

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

Cursive

Practice cursive handwriting by tracing letters and words. Supports multiple languages with special characters and custom word additions. Offers extensive customization for a personalized learning experience.

Highlights
  • Trace to practice cursive
  • Uppercase and lowercase letters
  • Animated stroke order
  • Multi-language support
  • Custom word practice
  • Adjustable pen and font settings
  • Dark mode and theme customization
Features
Read full description

This app lets you practice cursive by tracing. It includes uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as words in multiple languages. You can also add your own words for custom practice. Practice Cursive - Trace to practice cursive writing. - Practice both uppercase and lowercase letters. - View animated stroke order for each letter. - Supports special characters in German and Spanish (ä, ö, ß, ü, ñ). - Practice words in multiple languages. - Includes over 100 words per language. - Supports words with accent marks. Cursive Languages - Switch between different cursive languages. - Supports English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese. - The app’s display language can be linked to the selected cursive language. - Use the search button to look up word meanings (opens in external browser). - You can also switch the search button to a share button. Custom Words - In “Custom,” you can display typed text in cursive. - Add typed text to "Custom Words" for practice. - Custom Words can be sorted and deleted. - Custom Words are shared across all cursive languages. Cursive Settings - Change the font of the example text. - Adjust the font size of the example text. - Switch example styles (with line, without line, or none). - Toggle between pen and eraser. - Change the pen’s thickness and color. - Enable or disable zooming. Customization - Supports dark mode. - You can also change the theme color. - Features a simple design based on Material Design.

Screenshots

Writing Wizard4 screens
Cursive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Writing Wizard at none against Cursive's shown. Writing Wizard also leads on review sentiment (73% vs 65%). Cursive's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, rating, ratings volume 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

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 Cursive 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Writing Wizard against 4.5 for Cursive. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5.2K and 4.9K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 73% of Writing Wizard's written reviews are positive against 65% of Cursive's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Writing Wizard ships an update every 4 months, Cursive every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 12, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Writing Wizard versus Cursive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWriting WizardCursive
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (5.2K ratings)4.5 (4.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.4% of reviews — better65.3% of reviews
Number of ratings5.2K — better4.9K
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB50 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPierre Abelenoiu

Customer experience

Writing Wizard

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

Cursive

All ratings4,880 ratings
Positive88.1%
Neutral5.1%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews118 reviews
Positive65.3%
Neutral12.7%
Negative22.0%

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

Cursive

From 4.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • ❤️ Helps improve handwriting
  • 🎨 Customizable themes
  • 🏆 Effective for learning cursive
  • 🕰️ Useful for practicing letters, words, and months
  • 📝 Enables writing practice

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitchy and buggy
  • 💸 Excessive ads and paywalls
  • 📵 Deletes writing progress
  • 🚫 Inappropriate content for children
  • 🖌️ Difficult to use with fingers

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

Cursive

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Writing input not responsive
  • Frequent app crashes
  • Unexpected pop-ups and notifications
  • Compatibility issues with certain devices
  • Loss of writing progress

Requested features

5 requests
  • Provide feedback on writing performance
  • Add more customization options
  • Improve writing experience with better tools
  • Expand content beyond just letters and words
  • Reduce ads and paywall restrictions

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
1 purchases

Cursive

One-time1
  • Upgrade to Pro version$2.99

Questions

Is Writing Wizard free?
Writing Wizard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cursive free?
Cursive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Writing Wizard or Cursive?
Cursive is rated higher. Writing Wizard averages 4.4 out of 5 from 5.2K ratings, while Cursive averages 4.5 from 4.9K ratings.
Do Writing Wizard or Cursive have ads?
Cursive shows ads; Writing Wizard does not.
Which is updated more often, Writing Wizard or Cursive?
Writing Wizard ships an update every 4 months, and Cursive every 5 weeks. Most recently, Writing Wizard was updated on October 12, 2026 and Cursive on October 12, 2026.

Other comparisons