Comparison

Counting Ants Lite vs SPELLING MAGIC 4

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

Head to head
About

Counting Ants Lite

This app helps toddlers learn to count to ten through engaging minigames featuring animated ants. It also introduces young children to new languages with interactive scenes and a simple interface.

Highlights
  • Counting to ten practice
  • Interactive minigames
  • Introduction to multiple languages
  • Toddler-friendly interface
  • Engaging animated characters
Features
Read full description

Counting Ants Lite is a great app for early learning - perhaps the best way to help your toddler practice counting to ten on the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. It's also a great way to introduce your kids to a second (or third!) language. This app features adorable ants that zip around in their cars, while teaching kids the basics of counting. The app automatically rotates through five minigames to keep your toddler engaged while they learn to count. Minigames include: • Count the ducks • Count the fish • Count the fruit • Count the train cars • Find the number The minigames and toddler-friendly interface make learning incredibly easy and fun. The scenes are fully interactive and simple for young children to control even if they don't yet know how to read. Counting Ants Lite includes both English and Spanish and also offers support for additional languages via in-app purchase. Supported languages include Chinese, Japanese, Russian, French, Italian, Hungarian, Ukrainian and German. Please let us know if there's additional content you'd like to see added - we're excited to add support for more languages and happy to take requests. Happy Counting! -- Counting Ants Lite is one of the first releases from Playtend, a new creative play shop formed by The Guys In The Booth and twistcone. Learn more about our new company, Playtend at http://playtend.com Playtend is a member of Moms with Apps, a collaborative group of family-friendly developers seeking to promote quality apps for kids and families. Recommended Ages: 1-3,3-6 Categories: Early Learning, Counting, Numbers, Foreign Language

About

SPELLING MAGIC 4

This app teaches children silent final 'e' words using phonics principles and interactive games. It helps build phonemic awareness and expand vocabulary through word building and exploration activities.

Highlights
  • Silent final 'e' word focus
  • Word building activities
  • Moveable alphabet exploration
  • Pronunciation aid with pictures
  • Phonics and phonemic awareness games
  • Science of Reading principles
Read full description

Introducing SPELLING MAGIC 4 – a dynamic app that focuses on teaching silent final e words to children. SPELLING MAGIC 4 incorporates the main principles of the Science of Reading. In the "Word Building" section, kids get to use the letters of the word to construct it, while the "Moveable Alphabet" section allows them to explore word construction using the entire alphabet. SPELLING MAGIC 4 offers ample opportunities for practicing building silent e words, including words that may not be part of a young learner's everyday vocabulary. This provides a unique chance to expand their word bank and vocabulary. The app also pronounces the word when the user taps on pictures, aiding in pronunciation and comprehension. SPELLING MAGIC 4 is committed to time-tested phonics principles to help children develop solid reading skills. It provides direct experience with letters and sounds to build phonemic awareness, improve phonological processing ability, and lay strong foundations in reading. The app includes games that focus on essential pre-reading skills such as blending and segmenting, offering meaningful challenges to strengthen phonemic awareness. Developed by a team of educators using accelerated learning techniques and Montessori principles, SPELLING MAGIC 4 has been thoroughly tested and approved by preschool children and their teachers in various settings. Your feedback and suggestions are highly valued as we continue to refine and enhance the app for an optimal learning experience. SPELLING MAGIC 4 is perfect for young children learning intermediate reading skills and those who are learning the foundations of English as their second language. Join us on this exciting learning journey and give your child the gift of strong reading skills that will set them up for success in school and in life.

Screenshots

Counting Ants Lite4 screens
SPELLING MAGIC 44 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: SPELLING MAGIC 4 at 100% against Counting Ants Lite's 61%. SPELLING MAGIC 4 also leads on rating (4.4 vs 4.2). Counting Ants Lite's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 33 months) and ratings volume (93 vs 10). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Counting Ants Lite sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and SPELLING MAGIC 4 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

SPELLING MAGIC 4 holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Counting Ants Lite has 93 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of Counting Ants Lite's written reviews are positive against 100% of SPELLING MAGIC 4's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Counting Ants Lite ships an update every 2 months, SPELLING MAGIC 4 every 33 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Counting Ants Lite versus SPELLING MAGIC 4: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCounting Ants LiteSPELLING MAGIC 4
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (93 ratings)4.4 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews61.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings93 — better10
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 33 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS4.0 — better12.4
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB169 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPlaytend Apps LLPPRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY

Customer experience

Counting Ants Lite

All ratings93 ratings
Positive75.3%
Neutral11.8%
Negative12.9%
Written reviews31 reviews
Positive61.3%
Neutral9.7%
Negative29.0%

SPELLING MAGIC 4

All ratings10 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Counting Ants Lite

One-time9
  • French Language Pack$0.99
  • German Language Pack$0.99
  • Italian Language Pack$0.99
Show 6 more
  • Chinese Language Pack (Mandarin)$0.99
  • Japanese Language Pack$0.99
  • Hungarian Language Pack$0.99
  • Russian Language Pack$0.99
  • Ukrainian Language Pack$0.99
  • Master Language Pack$1.99
1 purchases

SPELLING MAGIC 4

One-time1
  • Deluxe Upgrade$1.99

Questions

Is Counting Ants Lite free?
Counting Ants Lite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SPELLING MAGIC 4 free?
SPELLING MAGIC 4 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Counting Ants Lite or SPELLING MAGIC 4?
SPELLING MAGIC 4 is rated higher. Counting Ants Lite averages 4.2 out of 5 from 93 ratings, while SPELLING MAGIC 4 averages 4.4 from 10 ratings.
Do Counting Ants Lite or SPELLING MAGIC 4 have ads?
Neither Counting Ants Lite nor SPELLING MAGIC 4 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Counting Ants Lite or SPELLING MAGIC 4?
Counting Ants Lite ships an update every 2 months, and SPELLING MAGIC 4 every 33 months. Most recently, Counting Ants Lite was updated on October 31, 2026 and SPELLING MAGIC 4 on November 1, 2026.

Other comparisons