Comparison

Line 'em Up vs READING MAGIC 3

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

Head to head
About

Line 'em Up

This educational app helps children master number order through a digital version of a classroom activity. Users arrange number tiles from least to greatest, with customizable options for the number of tiles and starting range. Advanced features allow for work with hundreds and negative numbers.

Highlights
  • Number order mastery
  • Digital classroom activity
  • Customizable tile count
  • Adjustable number range
  • Supports hundreds and negatives (iPad)
Read full description

Designed to promote mastery of number order. This app replicates a simple classroom activity in which children place number tiles in order from least to greatest. Options include using 10, 15, or 20 number tiles and designating a range of beginning numbers. Includes options in the iPad version to designate the beginning number as well as setting options to worth with hundreds and negative numbers. Designed as part of the Number Sense Project at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL.

About

READING MAGIC 3

This app makes learning to read an exciting adventure for children. It uses interactive activities and science-backed methods to help master words with two or more syllables, building essential literacy skills.

Highlights
  • Science of Reading methodology
  • Focus on multi-syllable words
  • Blending and segmenting skills
  • Phonemic awareness development
  • Three engaging learning modes
  • Interactive reading games
  • Progress tracking
Features
Read full description

Unlock the Magic of Reading with READING MAGIC 3! Transform your child into a confident reader with READING MAGIC 3! This app makes learning to read an exciting adventure through interactive activities focused on short vowel words containing multiple syllables. Meticulously designed to provide an advanced boost to your child’s phonemic awareness, this app combines three foundational pillars of literacy science into one powerful, interactive ecosystem: Blending (Listening), Segmenting (Speaking), and Decoding (Reading). Grounded firmly in Science of Reading principles and utilizing University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) guidelines, READING MAGIC provides specific, precise training with extensive repetitions to help young brains bridge the gap between spoken sound units and complete words. IDEAL FOR BOTH BEGINNING PRE-READERS AND STRUGGLING READERS For Beginning Pre-Readers: A stress-free launchpad. By practicing words through pure sound sequences first, your child masters the internal mechanics of reading without cognitive overload. This keeps them from being frustrated by trying to learn separate, difficult skills at the same time. For Struggling or Remedial Readers: If your child's reading is hesitant or choppy, or if they guess at words, this app provides the targeted intervention recommended by modern reading science to help young brains bridge the gap. THREE CRITICAL SKILL-BUILDING PILLARS While many phonics programs completely overlook the auditory mechanics of reading, our program systematically guides your child through the complete progression of decoding: Skill 1: Blending (Listening): Interactive listening activities train your child’s neural processing ability to hear isolated sounds in words and join them together mentally. This builds the vital auditory runway required for future fluency. Skill 2: Segmenting (Speaking): True spelling and reading independence require the ability to pull spoken words apart into their individual sound units. These exercises build explicit awareness of the acoustic structure of language. Skill 3: Decoding (Reading): The ultimate bridge to literacy. Your child applies their mastery of blending and segmenting directly to text, smoothly moving from spoken sounds to visual words. STRUCTURAL SPACING & INSTRUCTION (Science-Backed Layout) Our app builds the actual findings of reading science directly into the user interface for maximum visual clarity: Anti-Crowding Design: Peer-reviewed research, including Marinus et al. (2016) and Wery & Diliberto (2017), demonstrates that generous letter spacing is critical for early decoding. By placing each letter on its own isolated card with distinct physical gaps, our layout eliminates visual crowding, allowing your child to isolate each sound unit cleanly. True Comprehension: The app strictly discourages picture guessing, forcing children to rely purely on their decoding skills to foster true comprehension and build lasting confidence. INDEPENDENT LEARNING & AESTHETIC SIMPLICITY Distraction-Free: Our minimalist design eliminates overstimulating audio-visual clutter, excessive sound effects, and animations to keep your child entirely focused on the mechanics of reading. Stress-Free Growth: Built-in natural feedback loops offer gentle corrections, nurturing self-discovery and independent learning at your child's own pace. EXPERT RESEARCH BACKING "Before a child can read fluently with their eyes, they must be able to blend fluently with their ears. Weakness in auditory blending is one of the strongest early predictors of later reading failure." — Dr. Joseph Torgesen, Florida State University. "Teaching students to blend and segment benefited their reading much more than did a multiple-skills approach... and teaching phonemic awareness with letters created effect sizes almost twice as large as teaching children without letters." — The National Reading Panel (NRP) Meta-Analysis

Screenshots

Line 'em Up4 screens
READING MAGIC 34 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: READING MAGIC 3 at 4.9 against Line 'em Up's 4.2. READING MAGIC 3 also leads on review sentiment (89% vs 63%) and ratings volume (16 vs 5). Line 'em Up's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 9 months vs every 22 months). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. READING MAGIC 3 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Line 'em Up asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

READING MAGIC 3 holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 16 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Line 'em Up's written reviews are positive against 89% of READING MAGIC 3's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Line 'em Up ships an update every 9 months, READING MAGIC 3 every 22 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Line 'em Up versus READING MAGIC 3: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLine 'em UpREADING MAGIC 3
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (5 ratings)4.9 (16 ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.5% of reviews89.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings516 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 months — betterEvery 22 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better13.7
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB250 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperClassroom Focused SoftwarePRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY

Customer experience

Line 'em Up

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral25.0%
Negative12.5%

READING MAGIC 3

All ratings13 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive89.5%
Neutral5.3%
Negative5.3%

In-app purchases

None

Line 'em Up

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

READING MAGIC 3

One-time1
  • Deluxe Upgrade$3.99

Questions

Is Line 'em Up free?
Line 'em Up is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is READING MAGIC 3 free?
READING MAGIC 3 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Line 'em Up or READING MAGIC 3?
READING MAGIC 3 is rated higher. Line 'em Up averages 4.2 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while READING MAGIC 3 averages 4.9 from 16 ratings.
Do Line 'em Up or READING MAGIC 3 have ads?
Neither Line 'em Up nor READING MAGIC 3 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Line 'em Up or READING MAGIC 3?
Line 'em Up ships an update every 9 months, and READING MAGIC 3 every 22 months. Most recently, Line 'em Up was updated on November 1, 2026 and READING MAGIC 3 on November 6, 2026.

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