MathTappers vs Inference Ace
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MathTappers
This app helps learners develop an intuitive understanding of fractions by relating them to halves and using estimation in addition and subtraction problems. It emphasizes sense-making through visual models before procedural mastery, and is best used alongside classroom activities.
- Intuitive fraction understanding
- Estimation for addition/subtraction
- Visual models for fractions
- Sense-making before procedures
- Supports classroom learning
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MathTappers: Fraction Estimation is designed to help learners to build their intuitive understanding of fractions by helping them to relate fractions (both symbols and pictures) to the nearest half (e.g., 0, 1/2 1, 1 1/2, 2, etc.) and then to extend their understanding by challenging them to use fraction estimates in addition and subtraction problems. Learners should be able to master the challenges in this app before moving on to formal operations with fractions. We recommend that this app be used in conjunction with classroom or tutoring activities to support consolidation, mastery and fluency through a series of manageable challenges. The purpose of this app is to support learners as they are developing their understanding of fractions, fraction symbols and fraction operations by emphasizing sense-making through estimation and the use of visual models. Evidence suggests that if learners are taught formulas and procedures before they develop understanding, then they may not be motivated to spend the effort needed to make sense of what they are doing. We want to support sense-making before procedural mastery. This app is not intended to be mastered in one shot – rather levels should be assigned judiciously to support classroom learning activities. After introducing each fraction idea (fraction estimation, and estimation of sums and differences) in a classroom presentation, explanation or discussion this app may be used in small group and individual activities to support exploration, sense-making, consolidation and remediation. Design: Tim Pelton & Leslee Francis Pelton Programming: Mike Anderson, Joshua E. Smith & Garrett Reimer The designers of the MathTappers apps are math educators and researchers seeking to create simple games that will help learners to make sense of mathematics one concept at a time. We have designed MathTappers apps to support students in learning mathematics by providing relevant visual models, focused content linked games and helpful suggestions for parents and educators. Please check out all of our MathTappers apps (links found at MathTappers.com): MathTappers: MultiMatch--a matching app that challenges learners to match sets of cards placed on the table. This is our newest MathTappers app. Although it comes with a deck and you can download others from our website, it was really designed to encourage teachers and students make and share their own matching game decks to capture their understanding and challenge others. Please go to mathtappers.com and check out our instructions on the right to find out how to make your own decks MathTappers: Clock Master--learn to tell time MathTappers: Estimate Fractions--make sense of fraction sums and differences MathTappers: Find Sums--learn basic facts for addition and subtraction MathTappers: Multiples--learn basic facts for multiplication and division MathTappers: Equivalents--equivalent fractions, decimals and percents MathTappers: Numberline--find relative positions of numbers on a numberline, MathTappers: Carbon Choices--help students explore their carbon footprint.
Inference Ace
This app helps children in grades 2-5 improve their reading comprehension by teaching inference skills step-by-step. It uses a game-like environment with over 450 examples and a reward center to keep kids engaged. Detailed reporting is available for up to 10 students.
- Step-by-step inference skill building
- Game-like environment with reward center
- Over 450 examples designed by teachers
- Detailed reporting for multiple students
- Incremental learning with unlocked levels
- Guided learning for reduced frustration
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** Winner of prestigious Mom's Choice Award! Featured on Appolicious.com, iHeartThisApp.com ** Inference Ace helps kids who have trouble with reading comprehension. The app builds inference skills step-by-step until mastery in a fun, game-like environment. ***** 5 Stars - Nice app for practicing inference. Tons of examples. ***** 5 Stars - My son struggles with comprehension and doesn't like reading long passages. This app teaches a high level of skill in a format he enjoys. Thanks! Inference Ace is targeted to children in Grades 2-5 who can read the words (decode), but don't understand what they read. With over 450 examples, a fun and engaging reward center to increase motivation, and content designed by professional teachers and researchers, this app is bound to capture the attention of your kids. Best of all, there is detailed reporting for up to 10 students to meet the needs of teachers, therapists and parents. Key Features: - Incremental learning. New levels are unlocked only when your child is ready. - Guided learning for less frustration. Your child will always be guided to the correct answer. - Fun and engaging Reward Center to increase motivation. - Contains over 450 examples, with content designed by professional teachers and researchers. - Inferences are taught from multiple perspectives: what inferences are possible, which are not possible, multiple inferences per sentence, etc. - Our own Smart Sentence technology is used to infinitely vary the examples to prevent learning by rote. - Advanced levels include timers to ensure fluency. Research shows fluency in the foundation skills is critical to reading comprehension. Our apps are designed for and tested by typical and special needs children. Testers include children with Autism and other special needs. Our apps work for them! The free version of this app has 4 free levels for a single player. Remaining levels are unlocked by a single in-app purchase. Additional players can be purchased separately through an in-app purchase. Check out 'Inference Ace School Edition' if you prefer no in-app purchases. We are a member of the Moms with Apps program. We collect NO private information in our app, and our apps do not allow unrestricted web access. Inferencing is a key component of reading comprehension. If you can't infer fluently, you can't understand the story. Help your child now by getting started with our Inference Ace app. While you're at it, check out our other apps that target WH questions, identifying inference clues and identifying the main idea of a sentence or paragraph. We take customer service very seriously! If you ever have a problem or find that we've missed something, contact us at our website and we will do our best to fix the problem. ** Note: Inference Ace and Inference Clues intentionally use similar data sets. However, different skills are targeted. Also, when working through this app, you will encounter different variants of the same examples many times as we teach our players to derive multiple inferences from a single sentence -- just like expert readers do. This is an intentional feature, not a bug :-)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Inference Ace at 3.6 against MathTappers's 3.1. Inference Ace also leads on update cadence (every 7 months vs every 33 months) and review sentiment (89% vs 67%). MathTappers's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and ratings volume (80 vs 21). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. MathTappers sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Inference Ace sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Inference Ace holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 80 and 21 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of MathTappers's written reviews are positive against 89% of Inference Ace's.
MathTappers ships an update every 33 months, Inference Ace every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MathTappers | Inference Ace |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.1 (80 ratings) | 3.6 (21 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 88.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 80 — better | 21 |
| Update frequency | Every 33 months | Every 7 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 12.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Joshua Smith | Janine Toole |
Customer experience
MathTappers
Inference Ace
In-app purchases
MathTappers
- Expanded Version$0.99
Inference Ace
- Upgrade to 2 Players$1.99
- Inference Ace: Buy All Levels$2.99
- Upgrade to 10 Players$2.99
Questions
Is MathTappers free?
Is Inference Ace free?
Which has better reviews, MathTappers or Inference Ace?
Do MathTappers or Inference Ace have ads?
Which is updated more often, MathTappers or Inference Ace?
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