Comparison

Big or Small vs Main Idea

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

Head to head
About

Big or Small

This app helps young children, particularly those with language delays, learn fundamental concepts like size, quantity, and numbers through interactive play. It's designed to support early language development and comprehension using visuals and audio prompts.

Highlights
  • Teaches big, small, quantity, numbers, and position
  • Uses visuals and audio prompts for comprehension
  • Reinforcement based on ABA principles
  • Friendly interface for toddlers and preschoolers
  • Supports native language instructions
  • Includes letters A-Z and numbers 1-20
Features
Read full description

Big or Small is a calm, picture-based brain game for every age. Each day it picks three short activities for the player, reads every question aloud, and shows nothing but the pictures to choose from. It began as a concept game for young children, including children with language delays. The same gentle games are just as good for school-age players, adults, and older adults who want a pleasant daily routine, including people living with memory changes playing alongside a family member. EIGHT ACTIVITIES, EIGHT LEVELS EACH • Big or Small: which one is big? which one is small? • Biggest or Smallest: compare a whole row • Where Is It?: above, below, left, right, and "not" • Colour Order: remember the colours, then tap them back (backwards at the top levels) • What's Missing?: study the pictures, then find the one that disappeared • More or Fewer: which group has more? • Odd One Out: spot the one that's different • What Comes Next?: finish the pattern Levels adapt to each player, step by step, with an advanced tier for when it gets easy. MADE TO FEEL EASY • An empty screen with only the pictures: no clutter, no countdown • Every question is spoken; tap the screen to hear it again • 111 friendly pictures of everyday things: animals, food, toys, clothes, the weather and more • A gentle hint after a miss; the answer is shown, never scolded • Large text and targets, VoiceOver support, light and dark mode • Use the best voice on the device, or a family member's Personal Voice REWARDS THAT MOTIVATE • A token board fills as you play: tokens for getting it right, and for trying again • Spend tokens on sticker albums, avatars and play backgrounds • Grown-ups can set a real reward to save up for, like a trip to the park • No random rewards, no ads, nothing to buy inside the app PROGRESS FOR GROWN-UPS • A 24-question check-up you can repeat to see progress over time • Reports for 7, 30 or 90 days: accuracy by skill, response time, practice routine and the best time of day to play • Plain-language notes on strengths and what to practise next • Share a PDF report, or export every answer as a spreadsheet • Several players on one device, each with their own settings PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no sign-up, no ads and no tracking. Everything stays on your device and works offline. Big or Small is a practice and enjoyment app. It does not diagnose, treat or prevent any condition and is not a substitute for professional advice. Upgrading from Big or Small 2? Your recent progress comes across automatically. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://amemobile.ca/privacy/

About

Main Idea

This app helps children in grades 2-5 improve their reading comprehension by teaching them to identify the main idea of sentences. It uses a fun, game-like environment with step-by-step learning and a reward system to keep kids motivated.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step skill building
  • Incremental learning with unlocked levels
  • Frustration-free guided learning
  • Engaging reward center
  • Parental review and reporting
  • Over 600 examples
  • Timed levels for fluency
Features
Read full description

** Featured on Appolicious.com & iHeartThisApp.com ** 'Main Idea -Sentences' helps kids who have trouble with reading comprehension. Identifying the main idea is a key part of reading comprehension. 'Main Idea -Sentences' builds this comprehension skill in a fun, game-like environment. The skill is developed step-by-step until mastery. *** Happy Frog Apps is a Mom's Choice Award winner! *** ***** 5 Stars - Thank you for this app! Other software I’ve used has moved too quickly for my son. This one worked! Can’t wait for the next Main Idea app…it’s coming, right? ***** 5 Stars - This app is one the best education apps I have used with my little one. It really helps to improve his reading abilities. He is obsessed with passing the levels and it never let him disappointed. One of the few apps that worth to upgrade to premium version. 'Main Idea - Sentences' is designed for children in Grades 2-5 who can read the words, but don't understand what they read. Beginning readers in earlier grades can also benefit from the targeted skill development. 'Main Idea - Sentences' develops the skill of knowing what a sentence is about. This skill must be firmly established before a child can determine what a paragraph or page is about. Key Benefits: - Builds comprehension skills step-by-step until mastery. - Incremental learning. New levels are unlocked only when your child is ready. - Frustration-free learning. Your child will always be guided to the correct answer. - Fun and engaging Reward Center to increase motivation. - Easy parental review. Just check out the stars to see how your child is doing. - Contains over 600 examples, with content designed by professional teachers and researchers. - Advanced levels include timers to ensure fluency. Research shows fluency in the foundation skills is critical to reading comprehension. - Can be used independently (just hand it over: your child will know what to do!) or with a therapist/parent for reading intervention. - Provides extensive reporting for up to 10 students to suit the needs of parents, teachers and therapists. Our apps are designed for and tested by typical and special needs children. Testers include children with Autism and other special needs. Our apps work for them! This 'School Edition' app has no in-app purchases. To evaluate the app, download the free version, which has 4 free levels. Additional levels and additional players can be accessed with in-app purchase. If you prefer no in-app purchases, download the School Edition of this app. While you're thinking about reading, check out our other apps that target WH questions, inferencing and answer identification skills. Learn more about reading comprehension and research at our website www.HappyFrogApps.com. Drop us a note, we'd love to hear from you! We take customer service very seriously! If you ever have a problem or find that we've missed something, contact us at our website and we will do our best to fix the problem. We are a member of the Moms With Apps program that promotes privacy in children's apps. We collect NO private information in our apps and our apps do not allow unrestricted web access.

Screenshots

Big or Small4 screens
Main Idea4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Main Idea at 85% against Big or Small's 0%. Main Idea also leads on rating (4.3 vs 2.3) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 8 months). Big or Small's advantage is price ($4.99 vs $6.99). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Big or Small costs $4.99 and Main Idea $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Main Idea holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 6 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Big or Small's written reviews are positive against 85% of Main Idea's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Big or Small ships an update every 8 months, Main Idea every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Big or Small versus Main Idea: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBig or SmallMain Idea
Price$4.99 — better$6.99
Rating2.3 (3 ratings)4.3 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews84.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings36 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.012.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAME Mobile Inc.Janine Toole

Customer experience

Big or Small

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Main Idea

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive84.6%
Neutral7.7%
Negative7.7%

In-app purchases

None

Big or Small

No in-app purchases

None

Main Idea

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Big or Small free?
Big or Small costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Main Idea free?
Main Idea costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Big or Small or Main Idea?
Main Idea is rated higher. Big or Small averages 2.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Main Idea averages 4.3 from 6 ratings.
Do Big or Small or Main Idea have ads?
Neither Big or Small nor Main Idea shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Big or Small or Main Idea?
Big or Small ships an update every 8 months, and Main Idea every 3 months. Most recently, Big or Small was updated on November 1, 2026 and Main Idea on October 24, 2026.

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