Comparison

Hairy Maclary vs Eggy Phonics 1

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

About

Eggy Phonics 1

This educational app makes learning phonics engaging for young children. It focuses on the first 100 short-vowel words through interactive levels that incorporate seeing, hearing, reading, spelling, and writing. A variety of rewards and games are included to keep children motivated.

Highlights
  • Focuses on first 100 short-vowel words
  • 20 fun and interactive levels
  • Multisensory learning approach
  • See, hear, read, spell, and write words
  • Variety of rewards including badges and critters
  • Includes a fun reward game
Features
Read full description

Phonics is an essential part of learning to read and Eggy Phonics 1 makes phonics fun and rewarding. This app focuses on the first 100 short-vowel words, such as cat, dog and bus. Each of the 20 fun and interactive levels use a multisensory approach to learning. Children see, hear, read, spell and write each word to reinforce learning and develop a range of essential early reading skills. Each level consists of 5 words and a revision set. The app includes a variety of rewards to keep children motivated including badges, 20 critters to hatch and a fun reward game. Children will love learning to read and write with Eggy Phonics 1. Eggy Phonics 2 (long vowels) and 3 (harder words) also available.

Screenshots

Hairy Maclary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Eggy Phonics 1 at free against Hairy Maclary's paid. Eggy Phonics 1 also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 13.0). Hairy Maclary's advantage is review sentiment (54% vs 23%) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 8 months). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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

Hairy Maclary costs $1.99 and Eggy Phonics 1 $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hairy Maclary ships an update every 3 months, Eggy Phonics 1 every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Hairy Maclary versus Eggy Phonics 1: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHairy MaclaryEggy Phonics 1
Price$1.99$1.99
Rating4.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews53.7% of reviews — better22.9% of reviews
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 8 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS13.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size217 MB107 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKiwa Digital LimitedBlake eLearning

Customer experience

Hairy Maclary

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews41 reviews
Positive53.7%
Neutral14.6%
Negative31.7%

Eggy Phonics 1

Written reviews35 reviews
Positive22.9%
Neutral5.7%
Negative71.4%

In-app purchases

None

Hairy Maclary

No in-app purchases

None

Eggy Phonics 1

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hairy Maclary free?
Hairy Maclary costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Eggy Phonics 1 free?
Eggy Phonics 1 costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Hairy Maclary or Eggy Phonics 1 have ads?
Neither Hairy Maclary nor Eggy Phonics 1 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hairy Maclary or Eggy Phonics 1?
Hairy Maclary ships an update every 3 months, and Eggy Phonics 1 every 8 months. Most recently, Hairy Maclary was updated on October 17, 2026 and Eggy Phonics 1 on October 14, 2026.

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