Comparison

Math Shed vs Twinkl Formation & Handwriting

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

Head to head
About

Math Shed

Practice essential math skills with this fun and easy-to-use application. It covers a range of topics from number bonds and times tables to addition, subtraction, and decimals, offering multiple gameplay levels for learners of all abilities.

Highlights
  • Number bonds practice
  • Times tables drills
  • Addition and subtraction
  • Decimal and powers of ten
  • Counting through zero
  • Multiple gameplay levels
Features
Read full description

Developed by a team of teachers including maths specialists, Math Shed gives a fun and easy-to-use way to practice math skills. The app includes: - Number bonds - Time tables - Related times tables facts - Powers of ten with and without decimals - Addition and Subtraction up to 4 digit numbers - Counting through zero The app also provides three levels of gameplay with Easy and Medium having more scaffolding to support learners where needed.

About

Twinkl Formation & Handwriting

This app helps young learners develop essential handwriting skills by practicing letter and number formation, and shapes. It offers a fun, engaging, and prep-free experience for children, with customizable word lists and offline functionality.

Highlights
  • Letter and number formation practice
  • Shape tracing
  • Fine motor skill development
  • Customizable word lists
  • Offline functionality
  • Multi-language support
Features
Read full description

Take the hassle out of handwriting lessons with the Twinkl Formation & Handwriting app! It’s a fun-filled, prep-free way to help your little learners form letters, numbers and shapes, and build those all-important fine motor skills. So, why will you love the Twinkl Formation & Handwriting app? Your weekend is safe. Just set them up and watch them practice. You get back the time you’d spend prepping tracing sheets for lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers 1-100, and simple shapes. No more begging to practice! The kids are actually asking to use it. That's a win-win. From the classroom to the car. It works on any device and keeps the learning consistent, no matter where they are. It's built by people who get it. The app has been developed by expert lead teachers and senior practitioners , so you can have total confidence in its standards. Phonics panic, solved. Phase 2/3 sounds and over 100 CVC words are ready-to-go, so you have exactly what you need for your next lesson. Cater to all your learners, wherever you are in the world. The app has specific fonts and professional audio in English for the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand, along with Welsh, Spanish, Arabic and Afrikaans. Stress-free screen time. The app works completely offline, so you can breathe easy knowing the kids are safe and the content is secure. Adaptable to your needs. Create your own custom word lists to personalize the experience for your learners. Full support for your teaching. The app is compatible with a great range of supporting printable resources from the Twinkl website. How to access the Twinkl Formation & Handwriting app: Twinkl Ultimate members get full access to the app and all of Twinkl’s other mobile and web apps as part of your membership. If you just want app access without the wider benefits of Twinkl, you can take out an in-app subscription. Or, if you want to see how it works, you can try some of the features of the app for free in Try! Mode. Got questions? You can contact our lovely Twinkl Cares team 24/7, and you can always speak to a real human - that’s the Twinkl difference. Our Privacy Policy: https://www.twinkl.com/legal#privacy-policy Our Terms and Conditions: https://www.twinkl.com/legal#terms-and-conditions Apple Standard Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Rated 3+ by the Indonesia Game Rating System (IGRS)

Screenshots

Math Shed4 screens
Twinkl Formation & Handwriting4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Math Shed at none against Twinkl Formation & Handwriting's 2. Math Shed also leads on review sentiment (64% vs 41%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). Twinkl Formation & Handwriting's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 4.2). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Twinkl Formation & Handwriting sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.49 per month. Math Shed asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Twinkl Formation & Handwriting holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 69 and 61 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 64% of Math Shed's written reviews are positive against 41% of Twinkl Formation & Handwriting's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Math Shed ships an update every 2 months, Twinkl Formation & Handwriting every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Math Shed versus Twinkl Formation & Handwriting: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMath ShedTwinkl Formation & Handwriting
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (69 ratings)4.5 (61 ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.2% of reviews — better41.2% of reviews
Number of ratings69 — better61
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size70 MB225 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEducation Shed LtdTwinkl Limited

Customer experience

Math Shed

All ratings69 ratings
Positive76.8%
Neutral11.6%
Negative11.6%
Written reviews67 reviews
Positive64.2%
Neutral6.0%
Negative29.9%

Twinkl Formation & Handwriting

All ratings61 ratings
Positive86.9%
Neutral3.3%
Negative9.8%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive41.2%
Neutral23.5%
Negative35.3%

Bugs and requests

Math Shed

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Keyboard not working
  • Timer continues when paused
  • App crashes
  • Bugs in latest update (score discrepancies)
  • Hard to close the app

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add an extreme mode
  • Option to switch timer on/off
  • Add KS2 content
  • Add an avatar
  • Remove timer for children with anxiety/autism
Show 2 more
  • App for Amazon Fire
  • Option to restrict store/leaderboards during assignments

Twinkl Formation & Handwriting

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Math Shed

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Twinkl Formation & Handwriting

Subscriptions2
  • Twinkl Monthly Subscription$0.491 Month
  • Annual Subscription$2.991 Year

Questions

Is Math Shed free?
Math Shed is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Twinkl Formation & Handwriting free?
Twinkl Formation & Handwriting is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Math Shed or Twinkl Formation & Handwriting?
Twinkl Formation & Handwriting is rated higher. Math Shed averages 4.2 out of 5 from 69 ratings, while Twinkl Formation & Handwriting averages 4.5 from 61 ratings.
Do Math Shed or Twinkl Formation & Handwriting have ads?
Neither Math Shed nor Twinkl Formation & Handwriting shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Math Shed or Twinkl Formation & Handwriting?
Math Shed ships an update every 2 months, and Twinkl Formation & Handwriting every 6 weeks. Most recently, Math Shed was updated on October 13, 2026 and Twinkl Formation & Handwriting on October 12, 2026.

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