Comparison

Learn Handwriting 1st Grade 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

Learn Handwriting 1st Grade

This app provides interactive lessons to help children master fundamental handwriting skills, including letters, numbers, and words. It uses adaptive practice and gamification to make learning engaging and effective, even for children with learning difficulties.

Highlights
  • 30+ read-along lessons
  • Adaptive practice
  • Text-to-speech functionality
  • Auto-play lessons
  • Student and teacher profiles
  • Gamification elements
  • Progress tracking
Features
Read full description

Does your child's handwriting look like chicken scratch? Give them this app. It has everything kids need to master fundamental handwriting skills on their own. Learn Handwriting 1st Grade features 30+ simple lessons that teach writing uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and even whole words with correct spacing and shape, all without pencil and paper. It's been designed by an ex-Google product manager to maximize learning and minimize frustration. A stylus is recommended as it develops pencil holding skills, but also works with a finger. Watch your child's handwriting abilities improve with just a few minutes of regular practice. The content is so simple and the technology is so effective that even kids with learning disabilities and difficulties decoding text can learn on their own. Features: • 30+ simple ‘read-along’ lessons. Students can learn by themselves, at their own pace. • Effective, adaptive practice. Each student sees a different set of questions that get harder over time. When they make mistakes, the questions change in real-time to maximize learning and minimize frustration, following the ‘spaced repetition’ learning theory. • Text to speech. Tap on any word to have it read out loud. • Auto-play. Sit back and enjoy the whole lesson read to you. Even kids with difficulties decoding text or paying attention can learn spelling skills on their own. • Switch between up to separate student and teacher profiles. • Teacher View: Keep kids accountable for regular practice with minimal effort. Look at charts of useful metrics. See where students are struggling, and jump in to help. • Gamification. Medals, progress bars, and uplifting interfaces motivate students to do their best. Handwriting 1st Grade is a collective effort of veteran teachers, technologists, and student testers. ======= Handwriting 1st Grade is a member of the Class Ace family of apps. One subscription unlocks full access to all 2,500+ world-class Class Ace lessons across 15+ apps covering K-6 subjects. Subscription Info: • Unlimited access to all Class Ace lessons and apps (including this one) covering K-6 Common Core standards is $39.99 / year after a 1 week free trail and includes three student profiles and one teacher profile. • Cancel Anytime: You won't be charged if you cancel before the end of the trial period. • Renewal: Auto-renewal may be turned off anytime from Apple Subscription Manager. If your child needs to learn 1st grade handwriting skills but you simply can’t afford a Class Ace membership, please email support@classace.io. Subscriptions automatically renew unless they are turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period in account settings. Renewals are charged within 24-hours preceding the end of the current period. Payment is charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions are managed by the user. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to Learn Handwriting by Class Ace, where applicable. You can access Learn Handwriting without a subscription, but will be limited to 5 free lessons. ======= Help & Support Problems, questions, or want to get in touch? Contact us at support@classace.io Links: Terms of Service: https://classace.io/terms Privacy: https://classace.io/privacy

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

Learn Handwriting 1st Grade4 screens
Twinkl Formation & Handwriting4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Twinkl Formation & Handwriting at free with in-app purchases against Learn Handwriting 1st Grade's subscription. Twinkl Formation & Handwriting also leads on ratings volume (61 vs 16). Learn Handwriting 1st Grade's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 6 weeks) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 16.0). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. Learn Handwriting 1st Grade sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Twinkl Formation & Handwriting sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.49 per month. 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 Learn Handwriting 1st Grade against 4.5 for Twinkl Formation & Handwriting. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 16 and 61 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 33% of Learn Handwriting 1st Grade's written reviews are positive against 41% of Twinkl Formation & Handwriting's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Learn Handwriting 1st Grade ships an update every 5 days, Twinkl Formation & Handwriting every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Learn Handwriting 1st Grade versus Twinkl Formation & Handwriting: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLearn Handwriting 1st GradeTwinkl Formation & Handwriting
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (16 ratings)4.5 (61 ratings) — better
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews41.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1661 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size85 MB225 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperClass Ace LLCTwinkl Limited

Customer experience

Learn Handwriting 1st Grade

All ratings16 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

Twinkl Formation & Handwriting

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

In-app purchases

13 purchases

Learn Handwriting 1st Grade

Subscriptions13
  • Handwriting 1st - 1 Student7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Handwriting 1st - 2 Students7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Handwriting 1st - 3 Students7 Days trial$6.991 Month
Show 10 more
  • H1 Yearly - 1 Student$19.991 Year
  • H2 Yearly - 2 Students$29.991 Month
  • Handwriting 1 Yearly - 3 Seats7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Handwriting 1 Yearly - 4 Seats7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Handwriting 1 Yearly - 5 Seats7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Handwriting 1 Yearly - 6 Seats7 Days trial$69.991 Year
  • Handwriting 1 Yearly - 7 Seats7 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • Handwriting 1 Yearly - 8 Seats7 Days trial$89.991 Year
  • Handwriting 1 Yearly - 9 Seats7 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • Handwriting 1 Yearly -10 Seats7 Days trial$109.991 Year
2 purchases

Twinkl Formation & Handwriting

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

Questions

Is Learn Handwriting 1st Grade free?
Learn Handwriting 1st Grade is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Twinkl Formation & Handwriting free?
Twinkl Formation & Handwriting is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Learn Handwriting 1st Grade or Twinkl Formation & Handwriting?
Twinkl Formation & Handwriting is rated higher. Learn Handwriting 1st Grade averages 4.4 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while Twinkl Formation & Handwriting averages 4.5 from 61 ratings.
Do Learn Handwriting 1st Grade or Twinkl Formation & Handwriting have ads?
Neither Learn Handwriting 1st Grade nor Twinkl Formation & Handwriting shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Learn Handwriting 1st Grade or Twinkl Formation & Handwriting?
Learn Handwriting 1st Grade ships an update every 5 days, and Twinkl Formation & Handwriting every 6 weeks. Most recently, Learn Handwriting 1st Grade was updated on October 11, 2026 and Twinkl Formation & Handwriting on October 18, 2026.

Other comparisons