# Bluster! vs HB Phonological Awareness

The clearest difference is rating: Bluster! at 4.5 against HB Phonological Awareness's 3.4. Bluster! also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). HB Phonological Awareness's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 9) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 13 months). On price, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bluster! sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. HB Phonological Awareness asks for nothing beyond the download.

Bluster! holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 24 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Bluster!'s written reviews are positive against 67% of HB Phonological Awareness's.

Bluster! ships an update every 13 months, HB Phonological Awareness every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bluster! | HB Phonological Awareness |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (8 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bluster/id416160693/reviews)** | [3.4 (24 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hb-phonological-awareness/id667457445/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 8 | **24** |
| Positive reviews | **72.7% of reviews** | 66.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 13 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 21 MB | 239 MB |
| Requires iOS | **8.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [McGraw-Hill School Education Group](https://appshunter.io/developer/413312889) | [Super Duper Publications](https://appshunter.io/developer/427263142) |

## What reviewers say

### Bluster!

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bluster/id416160693)

This word matching game enhances vocabulary and word comprehension for school-aged children and adults. Engage in single-player practice, team collaboration, or competitive head-to-head battles with weather-themed attacks. It offers over 800 words and various skill-building activities.

**Highlights:** Vocabulary building, Word matching, Single-player mode, Two-player collaboration, Head-to-head versus mode, Over 800 vocabulary words, Grade-level appropriate content

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Base Words | $0.99 | one-time |
| Extra Rhyming Words | $0.99 | one-time |
| Extra Prefixes | $0.99 | one-time |
| Extra Synonyms | $0.99 | one-time |
| Extra Words | $0.99 | one-time |
| Extra Word Roots | $0.99 | one-time |
| Extra Adjectives | $0.99 | one-time |


### HB Phonological Awareness

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hb-phonological-awareness/id667457445)

This educational app helps students improve listening and phonological awareness skills through interactive sound-based activities. Students learn to segment, blend, and manipulate sounds to build a virtual rock band, with a multi-level program that gradually increases in difficulty.

**Highlights:** Targets nine phonological awareness skills, Systematic sound segmentation and blending, Multi-level program with increasing difficulty, Monitors progress and provides feedback, Teaches listening skills for reading, Customizable program settings

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bluster! free?

Bluster! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is HB Phonological Awareness free?

HB Phonological Awareness is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Bluster! or HB Phonological Awareness?

Bluster! is rated higher. Bluster! averages 4.5 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while HB Phonological Awareness averages 3.4 from 24 ratings.

### Do Bluster! or HB Phonological Awareness have ads?

Neither Bluster! nor HB Phonological Awareness shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bluster! or HB Phonological Awareness?

Bluster! ships an update every 13 months, and HB Phonological Awareness every 2 months. Most recently, Bluster! was updated on October 15, 2026 and HB Phonological Awareness on October 23, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*