Comparison

READING MAGIC 2 vs Hello Crayons

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

Head to head
About

READING MAGIC 2

This app helps children master consonant blends, a key skill for reading success. It offers interactive modes for blending sounds, segmenting words, and independent reading practice with over 300 words and engaging themes.

Highlights
  • Blending Mode for sound practice
  • Segmenting Mode for word breakdown
  • Reading Mode for independent word reading
  • Focus on CCVC and CVCC words
  • Advanced consonant blend practice
  • Over 300 words with male/female voices
  • Themed lessons for engagement
Features
Read full description

Unlock the Magic of Reading with READING MAGIC 2! Transform your child into a confident reader with READING MAGIC 2! This app makes learning to read an exciting adventure with interactive activities focused on CCVC (Consonant-Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) and CVCC short-vowel blend words. 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

About

Hello Crayons

This app offers a fun and easy drawing experience for children, featuring realistic crayon and marker pen simulations. It includes cool drawing sounds and an intuitive interface, with free coloring sketches available.

Highlights
  • Realistic crayon and marker pen simulation
  • Cool drawing sound effects
  • Intuitive user interface
  • Free coloring sketches
  • Part of a drawing series
Features
Read full description

Hello crayon is an easy & fun drawing APP for children. It provides realistic crayons and marker pens. Features - Realistic look & feel of crayons and marker pens - Cool drawing sound - Intuitive user interface - Free 8 coloring sketches for coloring Check out our hello drawing series. - Hello Crayons - Hello Color pencils - Hello Chalk Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hello-Crayon/128107603937551

Screenshots

READING MAGIC 24 screens
Hello Crayons4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: READING MAGIC 2 at 4.8 against Hello Crayons's 4.0. Hello Crayons's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 19 months) and ratings volume (68 vs 21). On price, review sentiment, 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

Both are free to download. READING MAGIC 2 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Hello Crayons sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

READING MAGIC 2 holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 21 and 68 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 81% and 82% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

READING MAGIC 2 ships an update every 19 months, Hello Crayons every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
READING MAGIC 2 versus Hello Crayons: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterREADING MAGIC 2Hello Crayons
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (21 ratings) — better4.0 (68 ratings)
Positive reviews81.3% of reviews81.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2168 — better
Update frequencyEvery 19 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.79.3 — better
Further details — not scored
Size258 MB84 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPRESCHOOL UNIVERSITYRaysoft.co

Customer experience

READING MAGIC 2

All ratings21 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral9.5%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive81.3%
Neutral6.3%
Negative12.5%

Hello Crayons

All ratings58 ratings
Positive70.7%
Neutral10.3%
Negative19.0%
Written reviews283 reviews
Positive81.6%
Neutral7.4%
Negative11.0%

Bugs and requests

READING MAGIC 2

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Hello Crayons

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • App crashes on startup or during use
  • Blank white screen after loading
  • Pictures not saving to camera roll despite showing saved
  • Coloring books disappear after app update
  • Purchased extras lost after updates
Show 5 more
  • App freezes when accessing store or in-app purchases
  • Facebook sharing integration causes crashes
  • Email function occasionally crashes app
  • Crashes when opening coloring book section
  • Incompatibility with iPad 2 after updates

Requested features

10 requests
  • Zoom in and out capability
  • Multiple crayon/marker tip sizes
  • More colors and drawing tools
  • Import and trace pictures feature
  • More coloring book pages
Show 5 more
  • Music playback while using app
  • Highlighters and pencils options
  • Paint and watercolor tools
  • Ability to color inside the lines education mode
  • Wider color palette

In-app purchases

1 purchases

READING MAGIC 2

One-time1
  • Deluxe Upgrade$3.99
10 purchases

Hello Crayons

One-time10
  • 32 color crayons$0.99
  • 32 color marker pens$0.99
  • Coloring book #1$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Coloring Book #2$0.99
  • Coloring Book #3$0.99
  • Coloring Book #4$0.99
  • Flood Fills & Brush Pens$0.99
  • crayon_cbook5$0.99
  • crayon_cbook6$0.99
  • crayon_cbook7$0.99

Questions

Is READING MAGIC 2 free?
READING MAGIC 2 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hello Crayons free?
Hello Crayons is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, READING MAGIC 2 or Hello Crayons?
READING MAGIC 2 is rated higher. READING MAGIC 2 averages 4.8 out of 5 from 21 ratings, while Hello Crayons averages 4.0 from 68 ratings.
Do READING MAGIC 2 or Hello Crayons have ads?
Neither READING MAGIC 2 nor Hello Crayons shows ads.
Which is updated more often, READING MAGIC 2 or Hello Crayons?
READING MAGIC 2 ships an update every 19 months, and Hello Crayons every 6 weeks. Most recently, READING MAGIC 2 was updated on November 10, 2026 and Hello Crayons on November 1, 2026.

Other comparisons