Cotter AL Abacus vs Letter Tiles for Learning
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cotter AL Abacus
This educational tool uses a unique double-sided abacus to teach arithmetic concepts through visualization and quantity recognition. It helps learners develop mental strategies for faster mastery of basic math skills.
- Double-sided abacus design
- Grouped in fives and tens
- Focuses on quantity recognition
- Develops mental math strategies
- Supports visual learning
- Includes sample lessons
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Cotter AL Abacus, used with the RightStart™ Mathematics program, now available on your iPhone and iPad! This abacus will teach, not calculate like the Japanese and Chinese abacus, while using subitizing (quantity recognition) and visual strategies to support learning and understanding. Perfect for visual learners! This unique double-sided abacus is grouped in fives and tens for quick recognition of quantities. The second side of the abacus focuses on trading to the thousands. Learn the facts easily by: * visualizing quantities, * minimizing counting, and * developing mental strategies. Those learning arithmetic with the Cotter AL Abacus have a better understanding of basic concepts and need less time to master arithmetic. Although children do enjoy using the abacus, it does not become a crutch. Stan, age 5, was asked how much is 11 plus 6. He replied, “17!” When he was asked how he knew, he replied with a grin, “I’ve got the abacus in my mind.” App has links to sample addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division lessons as well as detailed use information.
Letter Tiles for Learning
Build words, divide them into syllables, and explore phonogram sounds. This educational tool supports specific reading and spelling programs, offering relevant letter tiles for each lesson. Ideal for interactive learning on tablets.
- Build words
- Divide words into syllables
- Hear phonogram sounds
- Supports All About Reading
- Supports All About Spelling
- Lesson-specific letter tiles
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This app is designed for tablets. It is not recommended for phones. Our Letter Tiles app lets you build words, divide words into syllables, and hear the sounds of the phonograms. Just choose your program from the menu (All About Reading or All About Spelling) and select which lesson number you are currently teaching. The appropriate letter tiles for that lesson will appear, making it easy for you to teach and easy for your child to learn. The app contains all the phonograms, suffixes, and word parts taught in the All About Reading and All About Spelling lesson plans. Suitable for all ages and learning styles! Please Note: This app does not read words aloud.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Cotter AL Abacus at $1.99 against Letter Tiles for Learning's $19.99. Cotter AL Abacus also leads on rating (3.5 vs 3.2) and review sentiment (47% vs 38%). Letter Tiles for Learning's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 9 months) and ratings volume (93 vs 6). On ads, in-app purchases, chart position 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
Cotter AL Abacus costs $1.99 and Letter Tiles for Learning $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Cotter AL Abacus holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Letter Tiles for Learning has 93 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 47% of Cotter AL Abacus's written reviews are positive against 38% of Letter Tiles for Learning's.
Cotter AL Abacus ships an update every 9 months, Letter Tiles for Learning every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cotter AL Abacus | Letter Tiles for Learning |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $19.99 |
| Rating | 3.5 (6 ratings) — better | 3.2 (93 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 47.1% of reviews — better | 37.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 93 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #175 | #61 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 43 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Activities for Learning inc. | All About Learning Press, Inc. |
Customer experience
Cotter AL Abacus
Letter Tiles for Learning
Bugs and requests
Cotter AL Abacus
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Letter Tiles for Learning
Reported bugs
50 issues- Drop-down menu not staying down
- Blank white screen
- App crashes constantly
- Tiles go missing when splitting syllables
- Spaces appear randomly in words
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- Replacing letters moves them to end
- Cannot drag tiles to top
- App crashes on opening after update
- App not working after update
- New version not compatible with curriculum
- Letters freeze up constantly
- Cannot clear tiles easily
- Tapping letters to appear on screen not working
- Sound stopped working
- Difficulty downloading app components
- Dragging syllable tags is difficult
- Cannot get syllable tags to move
- App orientation locked
- Cannot put two separate words on same line
- Cannot play 'change the word' activity
- Drop-down for picking lesson not working
- Hardly ever works, difficult to select level/lesson
- Stuck on white screen
- App freezes
- Can't see all letters on screen, cut off
- Let you switch out letters fluidly
- Word building area cut off by letter tiles
- Child cannot hold on a letter blend to hear sound
- Child cannot hold built word to see spelling
- Interface difficult to use
- Tiles don't always respond to touch
- Tiles go missing
- Clears for no reason
- Cannot find sounds, don't fit on screen
- Letters too large
- Constantly have to swipe to get to vowel teams
- Cannot drag them up there, have to fling
- App unusable for many activities
- App keeps closing itself
- Letters freeze up
- Cannot get any of it to work
- Too sensitive to clear tiles
- Tapping letters doesn't work
- Cannot divide syllables easily
- Cannot put divided syllables back together
- Difficult to slide screen to access syllable tags
- Cannot drag tiles on iPad
- Issues dragging tiles
- Cannot get tiles to respond
- Words popping up on screen within lessons
Requested features
14 requests- Undo feature
- Tile scramble mode
- Apple Pencil/stylus support
- Card quiz feature
- Option to adjust tile size
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- Ability to write on whiteboard
- Sound out words in lessons
- Add end mark punctuation
- Add 'q' tile for advanced learners
- Fix /r/ and /er/ sound issue
- Add 'are you sure?' for deleting tiles
- Allow multiple words on one line
- Fix first line bug
- Allow user to adjust keyboard area size
In-app purchases
Cotter AL Abacus
No in-app purchases
Letter Tiles for Learning
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Cotter AL Abacus free?
Is Letter Tiles for Learning free?
Which has better reviews, Cotter AL Abacus or Letter Tiles for Learning?
Do Cotter AL Abacus or Letter Tiles for Learning have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cotter AL Abacus or Letter Tiles for Learning?
Which is more popular, Cotter AL Abacus or Letter Tiles for Learning?
Other comparisons
