READING MAGIC 2 vs Counting 123
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
Counting 123
This app offers a playful and engaging way for children to learn counting and number recognition. It features four distinct mini-games designed to make learning fun and interactive, with colorful animations and illustrations.
- Learn numbers 1-10
- Pronunciation of digits
- Tap & catch fish counting game
- Spot the differences memory game
- Interactive grasshopper activity
- Dresses fashion show game
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Your ultimate counting teacher!!! Watch your children as they play & quickly learn how to count and recognize numbers in this fun and simple children’s game. Your children will be counting in no time!!! Completely FREE & packed with 4 different mini-games Fish Tap challenge, Spot the Differences, Jumping Grasshopper and a Dresses Fashion Show. Enjoy remarkable animation technology which introduces a first look at numbers for the whole family to enjoy. What’s Inside - Learn to count 1 to 10 with 4 mini-games: > Numbers - Fun to learn digits and pronunciation > Tap & catch the fish - catch & count your fish > Spot the Differences - memorize & find the differences > Help the Grasshopper leap through the snow - interactive activity > Dresses Fashion Show - a celebration of colors Features: > Beautiful HD illustrations and a rich narrative on every page > Enjoy numerous engaging and fun animations on each page ABOUT TabTale With over 1.5 billion downloads and growing, TabTale has established itself as the creator of pioneering virtual adventures that kids and parents love. TabTale’s apps spark children’s imaginations and inspire them to think creatively while having fun! Visit us: http://www.tabtale.com/ Like us: http://www.facebook.com/TabTale Follow us:@TabTale Watch us: http://www.youtube.com/Tabtale CONTACT US Let us know what you think! Questions? Suggestions? Technical Support? Contact us 24/7 at: WeCare@TabTale.com. FOR PARENTS The app is free to play but certain in-game items may require payment. You may restrict in-app purchases by disabling them on this device. The app may include advertising for TabTale and certain third parties which will redirect users to our sites, apps or third-party sites. Your privacy matters. The app may enable collection of limited user data by TabTale or its carefully selected providers (e.g. ad networks and analytics) for limited purposes described in our Privacy Policy (e.g. respond to support queries; enable, analyze and improve the app’s features and services; serve contextual ads and measure their performance). For more information (notably on the providers), please read our Privacy Policy: https://tabtale.com/privacy-policy/ . By downloading, updating or using the app you consent (in your personal capacity and for other users of your device) to this collection and use of limited device information for ad display and reporting purposes and you accept our Terms of Use: https://tabtale.com/terms-of-use/.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: READING MAGIC 2 at 81% against Counting 123's 28%. READING MAGIC 2 also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.9). Counting 123's advantage is update cadence (every 4 months vs every 19 months) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 13.7). On price, ratings volume, 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
Both are free to download. READING MAGIC 2 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Counting 123 sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
READING MAGIC 2 holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 21 and 14 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of READING MAGIC 2's written reviews are positive against 28% of Counting 123's.
READING MAGIC 2 ships an update every 19 months, Counting 123 every 4 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.
| Parameter | READING MAGIC 2 | Counting 123 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (21 ratings) — better | 3.9 (14 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 81.3% of reviews — better | 28.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 21 — better | 14 |
| Update frequency | Every 19 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.7 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 258 MB | 76 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY | KID BABY TODDLER LTD. |
Customer experience
READING MAGIC 2
Counting 123
Bugs and requests
READING MAGIC 2
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Counting 123
Reported bugs
7 issues- Ads cover tap locations
- Paid features locked after purchase
- App crashes occasionally
- Inappropriate ads shown
- App restarts each time it's entered
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- Loading time increased
- Unable to purchase message persists
Requested features
4 requests- Move ads to a less intrusive location
- Add an ads bar below gameplay
- Improve game engagement for older children
- Offer more stages or challenges
In-app purchases
READING MAGIC 2
- Deluxe Upgrade$3.99
Counting 123
- Remove Ads!$0.99
- Unlock 12 Jigsaw Puzzles$1.99
- Unlock 4 Match It Games$1.99
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Unlock 12 Coloring Pages$1.99
- Super Deal!$3.99
Questions
Is READING MAGIC 2 free?
Is Counting 123 free?
Which has better reviews, READING MAGIC 2 or Counting 123?
Do READING MAGIC 2 or Counting 123 have ads?
Which is updated more often, READING MAGIC 2 or Counting 123?
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