Comparison

Abbotsleigh vs Smata

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

Head to head
About

Abbotsleigh

Features
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Welcome to your new Abbotsleigh app for parents. Receive instant information about Abbotsleigh, push notifications for urgent updates, school newsletters and more. Key features of the Abbotsleigh app: Notices: the Notices module provides Abbotsleigh with the ability to keep their community informed with important information, with push notifications for urgent school notices Calendar: the Calendar module displays all events occurring in the current week or those that are up-and-coming. Events can easily be subscribed to, shared and saved for later Newsletter: the Newsletter module allows Abbotsleigh to share electronic newsletters, directly to the app Other features such as a quick and easy Contact Directory help you to reach Abbotsleigh with the tap of a button Settings allows you to manage the frequency and type of notifications that you receive from Abbotsleigh. Developed by Digistorm - Software for Smarter Schools.

About

Smata

This app helps educators observe and record student learning data through photos, videos, and notes. It visualizes this 'small data' to build a comprehensive picture of student progress, informing teacher planning and supporting a learner-centered pedagogy.

Highlights
  • Capture photos, video, and audio of learning moments
  • Link observations to specific students and learning areas
  • Visualize learning data with graphs
  • Track student strengths, gaps, and areas for growth
  • Inform teacher planning with visual data
  • Review past observations for deeper understanding
Features
Read full description

Designed for teachers, Smata supports the cycle of observing, noticing and responding to learning that is central when embracing a learner centred pedagogy. By capturing and visualising small data, Smata builds a fuller picture of student learning. How does Smata work? Teachers take photos, video or audio of learning moments, and make teacher notes, which they then link to students and learning areas. Teachers decide whether what they have captured is evidence of emerging or rich learning in that area or areas. This captured small data is graphed to show learning strengths, gaps and areas for increased richness. This informs teacher planning. Teachers are able to review past observations to deepen their understanding of student and class learning. The Benefits of Using Smata: Place observation at the centre of your practice. Capture small data in the moment of observing and noticing, which can be reviewed later to inform responsive teacher actions. Make the curriculum, not assessment, the focus of learning. Because Smata enables the capture of small data related to specific learning areas, a picture of curriculum linked learning is built for the class and each student. Easily keep track of learning. Teachers decide the learning areas they want to keep track of. Smata graphs the captured small data to provide a visual representation of the learning teachers are noticing and its degree of richness. Plan for responsive teacher actions. View either whole class or individual student graphs. Instantly see where learning is rich, where it is emerging, or where no learning has been noticed. Review previously captured moments, including teacher notes. Spotlight questions generated by Smata highlight interesting points of reflection unique to the class. Supports a growth focused, learner centred pedagogy. A barrier to the adoption of a learner centred pedagogy is the difficulty teachers experience keeping track of who is doing what. Smata solves that problem. The emerging to rich scale orientates planning on the growth focused question, β€˜What can I do to add richness to student learning?’ Simple, intuitive and fast. Smata is designed for ease of use. Observation information is captured in the moment of learning, in a matter of seconds, minimising the need to enter learning data after the fact. The graph makes learning instantly visible and the planning focus clear.

Screenshots

Abbotsleigh2 screens
Smata3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Abbotsleigh at none against Smata's shown. Smata's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 14 months) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Abbotsleigh ships an update every 14 months, Smata monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and June 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 5 level
Abbotsleigh versus Smata: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAbbotsleighSmata
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviewsβ€”100.0% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 14 monthsMonthly β€” better
AdsNo β€” betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetizationβ€”Ad-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.011.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size29 MB68 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperABBOTSLEIGH SCHOOLPoint Zero Limited

In-app purchases

None

Abbotsleigh

No in-app purchases

None

Smata

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Abbotsleigh free?
Abbotsleigh is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Smata free?
Smata is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Abbotsleigh or Smata have ads?
Smata shows ads; Abbotsleigh does not.
Which is updated more often, Abbotsleigh or Smata?
Abbotsleigh ships an update every 14 months, and Smata monthly. Most recently, Abbotsleigh was updated on September 22, 2026 and Smata on June 4, 2026.

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