Understood vs STAR/CHILD
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Understood
This app helps parents understand and manage their child's big emotions, especially for those with learning and thinking differences. It offers a behavior tracker, personalized insights, and skill-building lessons developed by psychologists to improve responses and build confidence.
- Behavior Tracker
- Personalized Insights
- Skill-building Lessons
- Psychologist-developed strategies
- Real-time Guidance
- De-escalation Techniques
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Having big emotions is part of growing up for any child. But for kids who learn and think differently, they may be more frequent and intense. This can be overwhelming for both the parent and the child. That’s where the Understood app comes in. This Behavior Tracker was developed by psychologists to help parents understand and effectively respond to their child’s big emotions. It’s based on proven approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Log your child’s challenging behaviors to get personalized insights, learn new strategies, and track your child’s progress — all at your own pace and on your own schedule. ▶ WHAT TO EXPECT ◀ [ DEVELOPED BY PSYCHOLOGISTS ] • Our Behavior Tracker and lessons were developed by psychologists and are grounded in science-based approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). They were designed to help parents of kids with ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning and thinking differences manage outbursts and big emotions. [ BEHAVIOR TRACKER ] • In just a few clicks, log your child’s challenging behaviors using the Behavior Tracker. See patterns emerge that’ll give you clues about the root causes. [ TAILORED INSIGHTS ] • The more you log in the Behavior Tracker, the more personalized insights you’ll get. Insights help you identify common situations and share tips to address them — so you can see improvement in your child’s behavior over time. [ SKILLBUILDING LESSONS ] • Struggling to understand your child’s behavior? Learn techniques and practice new skills developed by psychologists. Figure out what your child is trying to tell you. Then you can decide on the best way to respond. [ GAIN NEW PERSPECTIVES ] • Feel closer to your child and gain new perspectives on why they act out. It may have more to do with their learning and thinking differences (ADHD, dyslexia, etc.) than you might realize. [ GET REAL-TIME GUIDANCE ] • Get answers in seconds, tailored advice or a quick role-play session to prep for tough moments. The Understood Assistant provides real-time guidance to help you confidently apply new strategies to your unique family situations. [ INCREASE CONFIDENCE ] • Parenting is chaotic enough. Gain confidence supporting your child when they have big emotions or outbursts. Use new skills and strategies, made just for you. [ DE-ESCALATION TECHNIQUES ] • Emotional regulation skills can help you tame outbursts and meltdowns as they happen. With practice, your responses could even prevent them from happening in the future. [ PRACTICE NEW SKILLS ] • Put your new skills into practice. And continue to log behaviors to see how new strategies are helping improve your child’s behavior, or to get a refresher on skills you’ve learned. ▶ WHAT OUR PARENTS SAY ◀ • "[...] “Lots of useful information for the stressed out momma, some tools and reminders included. I have enjoyed the material provided by professionals.” - Kayla, mom • "[...] So far loving this app. Great resources from reliable sources… Hopeful this will help our family function better and help my son with ADHD to be the best version of himself. - Christina, mom • "[...] Awesome! I had this app for all of 10 mins and already I have strategies to support my grandson's challenges. - Theresa, grandmother ▶ OUR PROMISE TO YOU ◀ The Understood app is accessible on any smartphone, anytime. Understand the root causes of your child’s challenging behavior. Track their behaviors, recognize patterns, and discover effective parenting strategies. See improvements in their outbursts over time using proven science-based approaches. Download the Understood app today to get started.
STAR/CHILD
This app provides personalized astrological insights for parents, offering detailed relationship breakdowns and birth chart analyses for your entire family. It delivers daily horoscopes, audio readings, and weekly previews to help you understand your children's needs and enhance your parenting style.
- Family relationship breakdowns
- Full birth charts and analysis
- Daily horoscopes for parents and kids
- Daily and weekly audio astrology readings
- Whole Sky horoscope tracking
- Downloadable parenting guides
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STAR/CHILD is the only astrology app just for parenting. It’s a complete parenting playbook based on your unique astrological chart and the charts of your whole family. Here’s what you get to work with: * Ultra-detailed relationship breakdowns that unpack what astrology says about your relationship with your kids and co-parents (and how they vibe with each other too) * Full birth charts for everyone in your family along with an extensive and highly specific analysis of what each of your placements has to say about your parenting style — and what your kids’ charts have to say about what exactly they’re likely to need most from you in order to thrive. * Daily horoscopes for you and each of your kids that take everything happening up in the sky and translate it into the essential things you need to know to make the most of your parenting life on any given day. * Daily audio readings to give you the essential rundown of the day: what's the vibe, what to expect, and how to make the most of it. * Weekly audio astrology previews to take you deep into the coming week's astrology and what it means for life with kids (and life in general). * Whole Sky horoscopes to show you where every planet, luminary, and node are in the sky on any given day: what sign they're in, what house they're in for you specifically, and what you need to know about each transit. * Downloadable guides that go in deep (we mean super deep) on what your Sun, Rising, and Moon signs say about your parenting superpowers, how you emotionally process things, what parts of life with kids might be challenging for you, and how to deal with all of it. Your family isn’t like anyone else’s. This is your super-detailed guidebook to life with your weird little crew, specifically. Just as they are, just as you are, explained by the astrology of the moment you were born, and every moment you’re living in now. Terms of Service: https://www.starchild.app/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://www.starchild.app/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Understood at none against STAR/CHILD's 3. Understood also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (70% vs 36%). On price, update cadence, monetization model and device support 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. STAR/CHILD sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Understood asks for nothing beyond the download.
Understood holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.2K and 401 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Understood's written reviews are positive against 36% of STAR/CHILD's.
Understood ships an update every 3 weeks, STAR/CHILD monthly. Both last shipped on October 20, 2026.
| Parameter | Understood | STAR/CHILD |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better | 4.4 (401 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 70.0% of reviews — better | 36.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K — better | 401 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 16.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 60 MB | 95 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Understood for All, Inc. | STAR/CHILD |
Customer experience
Understood
STAR/CHILD
User reviews
Understood
From 1.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Helpful for understanding ADHD and learning disabilities
- 👍 Provides useful parenting strategies
- 👍 Connects parents with experts and other families
- 👍 Informative and educational content
- 👍 Game-changing resource for parents
Room to improve
- 🔒 Privacy concerns with data collection
- 👎 Not user-friendly or intuitive interface
- 👎 Lacks customization options
- 👎 Doesn't cater to all ADHD types
- 👎 Overwhelming amount of text-based content
STAR/CHILD
From 401 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📚 Comprehensive and detailed astrological content
- 👨👩👧👦 Family-focused insights for parenting
- 🎨 Beautiful and intuitive user interface design
- 📖 In-depth guides and daily/weekly readings
- 💡 Thoughtful, balanced, and non-fear-mongering interpretations
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and glitches
- 🔄 Inconsistent content update timing
- 🔐 Persistent login and account issues
- ⏰ Daily readings not available early morning
- 📅 Date recognition problems and display errors
Bugs and requests
Understood
Reported bugs
2 issues- Login issues and app not loading properly
- Difficulties accessing and downloading resources
Requested features
4 requests- Add support for tracking multiple children
- Improve app aesthetics and interactivity
- Incorporate more visual and audio-based content
- Enhance community engagement and expert involvement
STAR/CHILD
Reported bugs
14 issues- App crashes on launch or when opening
- Login screen loops infinitely
- Users logged out repeatedly throughout the day
- Account data wiped requiring re-input of information
- New app update reverts to old interface
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Daily horoscopes not updating or loading late
- Weekly readings showing previous week's content
- Multiple family members showing identical horoscopes despite different signs
- Co-parent horoscopes lagging days behind other users
- Date adjustment feature not functioning properly
- Email sign-up code not being received
- Charts showing incorrect house placements
- Inconsistent data across different profiles
- App stuck on previous week's content
Requested features
13 requests- Multiple house system options (Placidus, Porphyry, Equal House)
- Synastry and composite chart analysis
- Relational analysis comparing parent-child charts
- Ability to add grandchildren and extended family
- Automatic daily reading uploads at consistent times
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Bulk weekly reading uploads
- Subtitles for audio-only features
- Email update functionality
- Visible logout button in settings
- Free trial period before paid subscription
- Educational content for children
- Aspect and placement details in charts
- Relationship analysis between family members
In-app purchases
Understood
No in-app purchases
STAR/CHILD
- Weekly$2.997 Days
- Monthly$10.001 Month
- Yearly$99.001 Year
Questions
Is Understood free?
Is STAR/CHILD free?
Which has better reviews, Understood or STAR/CHILD?
Do Understood or STAR/CHILD have ads?
Which is updated more often, Understood or STAR/CHILD?
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