Comparison

Bubbles & Friends vs CubTutor

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

Head to head
About

Bubbles & Friends

This app offers a safe, ad-free learning experience for preschoolers, blending interactive books, games, and videos to build confidence and school readiness. It focuses on developing early math, reading, and social-emotional skills through play and music.

Highlights
  • Interactive educational games
  • 300+ interactive books
  • Educational videos and songs
  • Early math and reading skill development
  • Social-emotional learning
  • Ad-free and safe environment
  • COPPA-compliant
Read full description

Start your child’s learning journey with Bubbles and Friends, a safe, ad-free preschool learning app designed to help children build confidence, curiosity, and school readiness through play. Created by The Learning Experience, a trusted leader in early childhood education, Bubbles and Friends blends expert-backed curriculum with music, storytelling, and interactive learning adventures that help children develop essential early learning skills while having fun. With 300+ interactive books, educational games, videos, and songs, children can explore at their own pace while building structure, independence, and a love of learning. LEARNING GAMES THAT BUILD EARLY MATH AND READING SKILLS Children strengthen foundational preschool and kindergarten readiness skills through hands-on educational games designed to support cognitive development and problem-solving. Kids practice: • Counting and number recognition • Patterns, shapes, and early math concepts • Phonics and letter sounds • Early reading and literacy development • Critical thinking and STEM skills • Memory, focus, and independent learning Each activity supports toddler learning and preschool education milestones through guided play that feels fun, rewarding, and confidence-building. INTERACTIVE BOOKS THAT SUPPORT LANGUAGE AND READING DEVELOPMENT Read along with Bubbles and Friends through engaging digital storybooks that help children develop vocabulary, comprehension, and listening skills. Interactive reading features help children: • Strengthen language development • Improve reading comprehension • Build storytelling and imagination skills • Encourage independent reading confidence • Support early childhood literacy growth Perfect for toddlers, preschoolers, and early readers beginning their reading journey. EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS AND MUSIC THAT REINFORCE LEARNING THROUGH MOVEMENT Join Bubbles and Friends on playful educational adventures that combine music, movement, and storytelling to support whole-child development. Children learn: • Social-emotional skills and friendship building • Emotional awareness and self-expression • Creativity and imaginative play • Motor skill development through music and dance • Curiosity, exploration, and discovery learning Music-based learning helps improve memory retention while encouraging active participation and joyful learning. STRUCTURE THAT SUPPORTS ROUTINES, PROGRESS, AND SCHOOL READINESS Bubbles and Friends helps families create healthy learning routines that support independence and developmental growth. Activities grow with your child, reinforcing key academic and social milestones that prepare them for kindergarten and beyond. A SAFE, AD-FREE LEARNING SPACE FOR KIDS Families can feel confident knowing Bubbles and Friends provides: • COPPA-compliant child privacy protection • 100% ad-free preschool learning • Age-appropriate preschool content • Safe independent exploration for children • Trusted early childhood curriculum FOR THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE FAMILIES Enrolled families can stay connected to their child’s classroom through built-in communication and center connection tools: • Receive photos, daily activity tracking, and progress updates • Follow classroom milestones and growth • Get real-time announcements and reminders • Access to secure entry for safe, streamlined check-in WHY PARENTS CHOOSE BUBBLES AND FRIENDS Bubbles and Friends blends trusted preschool curriculum with joyful educational entertainment. Through games, books, music, and interactive play, children build kindergarten readiness, social skills, and early academic foundations in a safe, structured environment designed for growing minds. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

CubTutor

This app integrates educational quizzes into a child's screen time, requiring them to answer questions before resuming app usage. Parents can customize which apps are paused, the number of questions, and the reward duration, while tracking their child's progress and areas of difficulty.

Highlights
  • Screen time integration with quizzes
  • Customizable app pausing
  • Adjustable question difficulty
  • Progress tracking by subject
  • Parental control over settings
  • Tutor-integrated question sets
Features
Read full description

The fight over screen time doesn't have to be a fight. CubTutor doesn't take the phone away. It puts a few questions in front of it. Your child opens the app they were going to open anyway — it pauses, asks a couple of questions, and play continues once they answer. The practice happens because the phone asked, not because you did. Nothing to negotiate. Nobody to nag. The rule is simply there, every day, and it does not need you standing over it. WHAT CHANGES AT HOME - You stop being the one who says no - Practice still happens on the days you are busy, tired, or not there - Screen time still happens too — your child earns it a few minutes at a time - No confiscated phones, no timers for you to police, no bargaining at bedtime YOU SET THE TERMS - Which apps pause, and which are left alone - How many questions unlock play, and how long the reward lasts - A day off whenever you want one — it switches back on by itself - Pause everything, or lift it, from your own phone, wherever you are WHAT YOU SEE - What your child has been practising, by subject and topic - Which questions they got wrong, so you know what is actually hard - How the week has gone SUBJECTS Math from kindergarten through grade 12, including Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Pre-Calculus, Calculus and SAT Math Prep. English, science and social studies for grades K-8. Questions match your child's grade, and you can change it any time. IF YOUR CHILD HAS A TUTOR Optional, and most families do not. If they do, and their tutor uses CubTutor, the questions become the ones that tutor set — the exact things they worked on this week — and the tutor sees which ones were missed. Everything above works the same either way. WHAT IS FREE, AND WHAT IS NOT Grade-level math is free for every child, for as long as you like. A Practice subscription unlocks English, science and social studies, the advanced math tracks, and shorter gaps between quiz breaks — for one child, two kids, or three or more, billed yearly through your Apple ID. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel any time in your Apple ID settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://cubtutor.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

Bubbles & Friends4 screens
CubTutor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: CubTutor at 100% against Bubbles & Friends's 54%. CubTutor also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Bubbles & Friends's advantage is ratings volume (13K vs 2) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and monetization model 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. Bubbles & Friends sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. CubTutor asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CubTutor holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bubbles & Friends has 13K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of Bubbles & Friends's written reviews are positive against 100% of CubTutor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Bubbles & Friends versus CubTutor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBubbles & FriendsCubTutor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (13K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews53.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size89 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Learning ExperienceCubTutor

Customer experience

Bubbles & Friends

All ratings12,370 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral1.8%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews243 reviews
Positive53.9%
Neutral10.7%
Negative35.4%

CubTutor

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Bubbles & Friends

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login and account issues
  • Disappearing photos and lost data
  • Inconsistent check-in/check-out time tracking
  • Compatibility problems with certain devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow two-way communication between parents and teachers
  • Provide more detailed information on child's activities, meals, and naps
  • Improve notification settings and customization
  • Add ability to view historical data and reports
  • Integrate payment and account management features

CubTutor

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Bubbles & Friends

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly1 Month trial$2.991 Month
  • Premium Annual$19.991 Year
None

CubTutor

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bubbles & Friends free?
Bubbles & Friends is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CubTutor free?
CubTutor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Bubbles & Friends or CubTutor?
CubTutor is rated higher. Bubbles & Friends averages 4.8 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while CubTutor averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Bubbles & Friends or CubTutor have ads?
Neither Bubbles & Friends nor CubTutor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bubbles & Friends or CubTutor?
Bubbles & Friends ships an update every 3 weeks, and CubTutor every 3 weeks. Most recently, Bubbles & Friends was updated on October 29, 2026 and CubTutor on October 29, 2026.

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