Comparison

now>press>play vs School Spider Staff

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

Head to head
About

now>press>play

Features
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A now>press>play Experience is normally delivered by a primary school teacher to a class, as part of classroom lessons. Our library of Experiences covers a wide array of curriculum topics, teaching the central learning objectives and providing rich follow-on activities for afterwards. This app forms part of a school’s access package or free trial to now>press>play services. HOW IT WORKS In a now>press>play Experience every child is given a pair of wireless headphones. Immersed in sound, they become the main character in a story, meeting people, discovering places and solving problems on an educational adventure they’ll never forget. From climbing through layers of rainforest canopy in the Amazon, to fighting a woolly mammoth in the Stone Age, these audio-only adventures are uniquely designed to stimulate children’s imaginations. now>press>play can be used as a whole class activity or with smaller groups for intervention work. Through a child-centred approach to learning, they extend children’s life experiences and are a fun and inclusive way to engage children in the curriculum. CONTENT There are currently 80 curriculum-based Experiences for EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 (i.e. 3 to 11 years old) covering a broad range of subjects across literacy, maths, history, geography, science, PSHE/SEL, religious education and foreign languages. The app gives you access to all our immersive audio adventures in one place, along with their follow-on resources: every Experience includes SATs-style Reading Comprehensions, Writing Opportunities, Quizzes, Storyboards and Discussion Questions, making it simple to plan and deliver quality lessons. WHAT EACH SCHOOL GETS Access to 80 immersive audio Experiences for EYFS, KS1 and KS2 Topics include Maths, Science, History, Geography, PSHE, RE, MFL, and Literacy Follow-on resources for each Experience: Glossary, Storyboard, Quiz, Reading Comprehension, Writing Opportunities, and post-Experience Discussion Questions β€˜How It Works’ guides to get the best out of now>press>play for your class Opportunity to access all now>press>play content offline for use in various settings REVIEWS 'now>press>play is an experience the children will never forget; it brings to life for them the topic work, in a way which quite frankly I could never have achieved, in such a direct and engaging manner.' Year 6 Teacher, West Drayton Primary School β€˜I was blown away by how the pupils in Year 5 responded to this magnificent Experience. They were plunged into the middle of World War 2, and embraced and internalised every second without question! It has had such an incredible impact on their learning. This is a resource we will continue to utilise at every opportunity.’ Year 5 Teacher, Marshfield School RATINGS & AWARDS ***** 4.9/5 EdTech Impact rating ERA 2020 Winner Bett Awards 2019 Winner

About

School Spider Staff

Features
Read full description

Stay connected & make communication between staff members simple School Spider Staff allows you and other members of staff at your school to communicate instantly with each other. Create any number of groups and send unlimited messages all within the security of the School Spider App allowing your school to take back control of staff messaging.

Screenshots

now>press>play4 screens
School Spider Staff4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: now>press>play at every 2 months against School Spider Staff's every 7 months. On price, ads, 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

now>press>play ships an update every 2 months, School Spider Staff every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on September 13, 2026 and September 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Β· 5 level
now>press>play versus School Spider Staff: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameternow>press>playSchool Spider Staff
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 months β€” betterEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size27 MB16 MB
Age rating4+17+
Developernow>press>playSchoolSpider

In-app purchases

None

now>press>play

No in-app purchases

None

School Spider Staff

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is now>press>play free?
now>press>play is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is School Spider Staff free?
School Spider Staff is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do now>press>play or School Spider Staff have ads?
Neither now>press>play nor School Spider Staff shows ads.
Which is updated more often, now>press>play or School Spider Staff?
now>press>play ships an update every 2 months, and School Spider Staff every 7 months. Most recently, now>press>play was updated on September 13, 2026 and School Spider Staff on September 11, 2026.

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