Hairy Maclary vs I Can Count
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hairy Maclary
An interactive digital book featuring a beloved children's story with narration by David Tennant and sign language interpretations. Children can touch words to hear them spoken and spelled, color pages, and record their own narration.
- Interactive narration by David Tennant
- Video narration in 3 sign languages (NZSL, AUSLAN, ASL)
- Touch words to hear and see them spoken and spelled
- Coloring and painting mode
- Record your own narration
- Swipe-to-Read™ and Auto Play features
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The immensely popular Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy is now available as an interactive KIWA Book with wonderful narration by David Tennant (Good Omens, Doctor Who). It has also had video narration in 3 sign languages; NZSL, AUSLAN & ASL Run your fingers over the text to hear the story and touch any word to hear and see it spoken and spelt. You can even colour in pages of the story and record your own voice. Hear the barking dogs and the ferocious yowl of Scarface Claw, all part of the interactive experience, giving children and parents’ hours of fun. This is not only a marvellous story, but a superb aid for early learning and literacy development. It was thirty years ago that a small black dog stepped out of the imagination of author and illustrator Lynley Dodd and onto the pages of a picture book. This book, Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy, is now famous the world over and the 20 titles in the Hairy Maclary and friends series have now sold more than six million copies worldwide. Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy combines simple narrative storytelling with virtuoso use of rhythm and rhyme, and Dodd’s gentle but energetic watercolour illustrations depict characters that are as well loved as they are mischievous. Features: • Tap the language button to view the new "Australian sign language" feature. • Swipe-to-Read™ the words to hear and playback the story at your own pace. • Touch-to-Hear™ individual words spoken. • Touch-to-Spell™ to hear the letters that spell each and every word. • Auto Play to enjoy the narration. • Use the My Narration function to read and record the story yourself and customize your book. • Paint mode can be used on each story page! • Paint has a paint palette, brush width, move and zoom, and undo abilities! • Tap the paint palette icon and tap a color to change the paint color! • Tap the brush palette icon and change the slider to change the brush size! This KIWA Book includes the narration, text, and user interface in this language: UK English narrated by David Tennant (Doctor Who) AUSLAN (Australian Sign) signed by Alex Jones ASL (American Sign) signed by Alex Jones NZSL (New Zealand Sign Language) signed by Josje Lelijveld PUFFIN BOOKS © & ™ Hairy Maclary and Friends, Lynley Dodd, 2010 licensed by Penguin Group (NZ) NEED HELP? Contact us: support@kiwadigital.com KIWA® is the world’s leading production house for experiential digital books. We partner with publishers and other content owners, using our patented technology to bring content to life in revolutionary new digital formats that deepen your child’s engagement and understanding. Check out our website: www.kiwadigital.com Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KiwaDigital
I Can Count
This app uses colorful animals and a friendly voice to help young children (ages 2-5) learn to count. It offers a relaxed, encouraging environment without timers or tracking, making it a fun supplementary tool for early math skills.
- Counting practice for ages 2-5
- Colorful animal characters
- Encouraging voice guidance
- No timers or tracking
- Supplementary learning tool
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I Can Count helps you teach your child (2-5 year old) how to count. Colorful animals make it fun. A friendly voice encourages them to go on, even when their count is not correct. There is no timing, or tracking. Children for whom this is helpful will not care about (or understand) either one. This is not intended to be the only tool a child uses to learn counting. Rather it is intended as one of a large number of colorful and entertaining ways to learn this crucial skill. I Can Count is completely free, no ads.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: I Can Count at Free against Hairy Maclary's $1.99. I Can Count also leads on iOS requirement (10.3 vs 13.0). Hairy Maclary's advantage is rating (4.0 vs 3.7) and review sentiment (54% vs 33%). On ratings volume, 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
I Can Count is free to download; Hairy Maclary costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Hairy Maclary holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of Hairy Maclary's written reviews are positive against 33% of I Can Count's.
Hairy Maclary ships an update every 3 months, I Can Count every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hairy Maclary | I Can Count |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.0 (4 ratings) — better | 3.7 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 53.7% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 14 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 10.3 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 217 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kiwa Digital Limited | NPC Unlimited |
Customer experience
Hairy Maclary
I Can Count
In-app purchases
Hairy Maclary
No in-app purchases
I Can Count
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Hairy Maclary free?
Is I Can Count free?
Which has better reviews, Hairy Maclary or I Can Count?
Do Hairy Maclary or I Can Count have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hairy Maclary or I Can Count?
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