Comparison

PocketPhonics (basic edition) vs Math Practice, age 3

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

Head to head
About

PocketPhonics (basic edition)

This app teaches young children essential early reading and writing skills, focusing on letter sounds and handwriting. It's designed to help kids master phonics and begin reading simple storybooks with interactive exercises and progress tracking.

Highlights
  • Teaches letter sounds
  • Handwriting practice
  • Word blending
  • Interactive storybooks
  • Progress monitoring
  • Audio pronunciation of words
Features
Read full description

“PocketPhonics teaches the basics of reading and writing to young kids. Most surprising? It seems to work.” 148apps.com PocketPhonics teaches kids letter sounds, first words and handwriting. It is used in hundreds of elementary schools and pre-schools, and tens of thousands of homes. It is aligned with the Common Core State Standards, and independent research (see appsinmypocket.com/research) found children learnt nine times faster using PocketPhonics compared to a classroom lesson.  "One of my children’s favorite early reading apps" New York Times “This app feels much like a private tutoring session for early readers with emphasis on letter sounds and writing.” everythingmom.com -“If you are working on phonics for your kids, this is the best application to have.” Technology in Education -“This app feels much like a private tutoring session for early readers with emphasis on letter sounds and writing.” everythingmom.com -“PocketPhonics is seriously educational and I think it’s a terrific tool for helping early readers. You can tell that a ton of thought and research was put into it and best of all, they talked and listened to teachers. It shows.” iPhoneMom.com -“When it comes to learning apps for young learners and early readers, there is no better choice than PocketPhonics." ipad-applications.neiia.com PocketPhonics is split in to 12 groups of letter sounds, each group is followed by a set of storybooks that use those letter sounds. Kids read storybooks that are on the right level for them. The phonics levels are included in the price of this "basic edition", but the storybooks cost extra. PocketPhonics Stories (full edition) includes the stories in the price. Phonics (letter sounds) help children to read by understanding the sounds that letters make. The National Reading Panel concluded that “children who have phonics instruction read better and spell better than other children”. In the first group of letter sounds, there are six sounds to master before the child will be able to read their first storybook. Most children aged 4+ start to read their first storybook within 10 weeks if they use the app for 15 mins everyday. Parents and teachers can easily monitor children’s progress online. Teachers and parents are emailed a certificate when a child completes a task. Children can tap an unfamiliar word in a story, and the app will sound out the letters to help the child understand what the word says. They can tap again to hear the actual word and see a picture that illustrates its meaning. As the child reads a story, the app tests whether they can read some of the key words. At the end of the story, it quizzes the child on all new words in that story. Children master the following skills: writing letters recognising 72 letter sounds (e.g. ‘ch’ are the letters that make the initial sound in ‘chat’) * blending letter sounds together to make words (e.g ‘ch-a-t’) * hearing a word and selecting its written form (e.g. the app says, “chat”, the child has to select ‘chat’ from a group of words) How it works * The phonics levels are included in the price. * The books are extra, but can be tried for free. $1.49 monthly and $14.49 annual subscriptions unlock access to all books for an unlimited number of children * The subscription gives you access to more books as they are added * Once subscribed, your subscription auto-renews each month or annually. However, you can easily turn auto renew off via the Settings app * Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase * Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period * Cannot cancel current subscription during its subscription period Privacy policy: http://appsinmypocket.com/privacy Terms of use: http://appsinmypocket.com/terms

About

Math Practice, age 3

This app offers engaging games and activities to reinforce early math concepts for children aged 3-5. It covers ten core topics, including counting, sorting, and basic addition, with quizzes and certificates to track progress.

Highlights
  • Reinforces early math concepts
  • Ten core math topics covered
  • Fun games and activities
  • Progress quizzes
  • Certificates of completion
  • Repetitive practice for consolidation
Features
Read full description

Math Practice is designed to help your child practice what they have learned in our main app, Math age 3-5 - covering the same ten topics, but with all-new activities and graphics. Each topic features several fun games and activities, intended to consolidate learning through repetition and practice, followed by a quiz to test the child’s knowledge, and a certificate when they get all the questions right. Our math apps have been proven to be effective. An independent study by the University of Nottingham in the UK showed that 6 weeks of using the onebillion math app was as effective as 18 months of standard classroom practice. In fact, one week of using the onebillion software for 30 minutes a day equalled three months of formal education. As a nonprofit organisation, all of our app proceeds go directly to delivering transformational education to young children around the world, in their own language. Topics covered: 1 Sorting and matching 2 Counting to 3 3 Lines and patterns 4 Counting 4 to 6 5 Where is it? 6 Counting 7 to 10 7 Patterns and shapes 8 Counting 1 to 10 9 Comparing 10 Add and take away

Screenshots

PocketPhonics (basic edition)4 screens
Math Practice, age 34 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PocketPhonics (basic edition) at 89% against Math Practice, age 3's 33%. PocketPhonics (basic edition) also leads on rating (4.4 vs 3.0) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 7 months). Math Practice, age 3's advantage is price (Free vs $6.99) and iOS requirement (9.3 vs 11.0). On ads, in-app purchases, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Math Practice, age 3 is free to download; PocketPhonics (basic edition) costs $6.99 up front. PocketPhonics (basic edition) sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month and Math Practice, age 3 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PocketPhonics (basic edition) holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PocketPhonics (basic edition) has 68 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of PocketPhonics (basic edition)'s written reviews are positive against 33% of Math Practice, age 3's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PocketPhonics (basic edition) ships an update every 5 weeks, Math Practice, age 3 every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and June 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
PocketPhonics (basic edition) versus Math Practice, age 3: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocketPhonics (basic edition)Math Practice, age 3
Price$6.99Free — better
Rating4.4 (68 ratings) — better3.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews88.7% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings68 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.09.3 — better
Further details — not scored
Size778 MB178 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperApps in My Pocket Ltdonebillion

Customer experience

PocketPhonics (basic edition)

All ratings68 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral4.4%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews301 reviews
Positive88.7%
Neutral3.3%
Negative8.0%

Math Practice, age 3

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

PocketPhonics (basic edition)

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Incorrect answer verification
  • Sudden subscription changes
  • Login issues and account sync problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more words and practice
  • Allow custom word lists
  • Improve letter tracing accuracy feedback
  • Provide letter names along with sounds
  • Add more game-like elements

Math Practice, age 3

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

PocketPhonics (basic edition)

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly subscription for books$1.491 Month
  • Annual subscription for books$14.491 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime subscription - books$16.99
1 purchases

Math Practice, age 3

One-time1
  • All Topics$11.99

Questions

Is PocketPhonics (basic edition) free?
PocketPhonics (basic edition) costs $6.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Math Practice, age 3 free?
Math Practice, age 3 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PocketPhonics (basic edition) or Math Practice, age 3?
PocketPhonics (basic edition) is rated higher. PocketPhonics (basic edition) averages 4.4 out of 5 from 68 ratings, while Math Practice, age 3 averages 3.0 from 1 ratings.
Do PocketPhonics (basic edition) or Math Practice, age 3 have ads?
Neither PocketPhonics (basic edition) nor Math Practice, age 3 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PocketPhonics (basic edition) or Math Practice, age 3?
PocketPhonics (basic edition) ships an update every 5 weeks, and Math Practice, age 3 every 7 months. Most recently, PocketPhonics (basic edition) was updated on September 26, 2026 and Math Practice, age 3 on June 10, 2026.

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