Comparison

ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5 vs English 101

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

Head to head
About

ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5

This educational app helps children develop foundational reading skills by teaching the alphabetic principle, phonemic awareness, and letter-sound correspondence. It uses a sequential learning approach with three levels and focuses on the most common sounds of letters to build strong reading readiness.

Highlights
  • Develops phonemic awareness
  • Teaches letter-sound correspondence
  • Sequential learning levels
  • Focuses on common letter sounds
  • Lowercase and uppercase letter recognition
  • Auditory discrimination practice
Features
Read full description

Learn The Alphabetic Principle. Develop Phonemic Awareness. Learn How Sounds Relate to Words. Learn Letter-Sound Correspondence. Learn How to APPLY Letter Sound Correspondence. Gain proficiency in the use of the sounds of the letters. Gain Proficiency with Auditory Discrimination. This app has features and components necessary to give your child strong phonemic awareness. This app has features and components necessary to give your child strong letter awareness. This app will start your child off on the path to reading success. This game is part of the ABC MAGIC PHONICS series. We recommend the other ABC MAGIC apps as a means to expand and reinforce your child’s phonemic awareness and letter awareness. This app has 3 levels of sequential learning for English learners to master. The sequence is designed to take the learner from the concrete to the abstract; from not knowing anything about letters to having good phonemic awareness. The app starts with using sounds and finishes with the letter symbols for both lowercase and uppercase letters. This has 3 lessons that each focus on a particular step of the Alphabetic Principle. Lesson 1. Sounds to Images Lesson 2. Sounds to Lowercase Letters Lesson 3. Lowercase Letters to Images This app features 4 words pictures for each letter. Each word in each of the groupings uses only the most common sound for each letter. For instance, igloo and inchworm would be used for the letter i, but not ice nor ivy as those begin with long i (the second most used sound for the letter i). It is important to start by teaching just the most commonly used sound for each letter. Sometimes unfamiliar words are used, in this app, to ensure that 4 words were used for each letter. Use this as a vocabulary building time. Even if the child does not know the word, the child can still listen for the beginning sound of that image. Another point is that this app is not a vocabulary quiz nor an object guessing game. Some pictures may seem indiscernible, but don’t worry, the objects, when touched, will ALWAYS say their name. The child NEVER has to know what the picture is ahead of time. Tapping on the image box will ALWAYS play the audio file that names the picture. Please note, that in this app, only the SOUNDS of the letters are used and NEVER the names of the letters. A child can actually read without knowing the common names of the letters, but a child only knowing the names of the letters cannot phonetically read. The ubiquitousness of the ABC song both at home and at school will surely give children the ability to name the letters. Many children, however, are not given the much-needed explicit instruction of the SOUNDS that the letters make. This app, therefore, is dedicated to helping children learn the SOUNDS that the letters make. These games are designed so that children can do them independently after being given the basic instructions of how to play the games. The app has built-in feedback mechanisms to help the child to work independently. These mechanisms allow the child to learn at their own pace and in their own way. The child does not need to be constantly supervised and told what the right answer is. This frees up the adult to be an observer of their child’s learning and to give assistance when invited. Upgrade to the Full version to get 12 words/pictures per letter. Upgrade to the Full version to get 7 more Lessons.

About

English 101

Master English alphabets and numbers through interactive tracing, pronunciation, and AI-powered feedback. Reinforce learning with quizzes and word examples. Share your progress and enjoy an ad-free experience with optional full access via a one-time purchase.

Highlights
  • Alphabet and number tracing
  • Pronunciation guidance
  • AI-powered writing feedback
  • Interactive quizzes
  • Word examples
  • Progress sharing
Features
Read full description

Learn to write and pronounce English alphabets and numbers with our fun, interactive app! • EASY mode offers a guiding hand to help you trace alphabets. • NORMAL mode allows you to enhance your writing precision. • FREESTYLE mode lets you write in your own style, with AI-powered feedback. Reinforce your learning with interactive quizzes that put your knowledge to the test. With word examples, see the alphabets come to life in actual words. As you master new alphabets and numbers, share your scores with friends and family directly from the app. Celebrate your progress and inspire others! Enjoy a completely ad-free experience, ensuring seamless learning. Try a selection of content for free, and unlock full access with a one-time in-app purchase. We’d love to hear from you! Share your suggestions or request new features via the support link. If you enjoy the app, spread the word to friends and family. Thank you for your support!

Screenshots

ABC MAGIC PHONICS 54 screens
English 1014 screens

Verdict

The call

ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5 and English 101 both sit at 4.3 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of English 101's written reviews are positive against 83% of ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5's. ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5's advantage is ratings volume (718 vs 217) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.5). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and English 101 sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5 against 4.3 for English 101. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 718 and 217 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5's written reviews are positive against 100% of English 101's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5 ships an update every 6 months, English 101 every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5 versus English 101: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterABC MAGIC PHONICS 5English 101
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (718 ratings)4.3 (217 ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings718 — better217
Update frequencyEvery 6 months — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size165 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPRESCHOOL UNIVERSITYAspul Studios LLC

Customer experience

ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5

All ratings716 ratings
Positive81.0%
Neutral10.3%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

English 101

All ratings216 ratings
Positive84.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5

One-time1
  • Full Version$1.99
4 purchases

English 101

One-time4
  • Capital Letters pack$0.99
  • Numbers pack$0.99
  • Alphabets & Word Example Pack$1.99
Show 1 more
  • Alphabets & Numbers Pack$2.99

Questions

Is ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5 free?
ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is English 101 free?
English 101 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5 or English 101?
English 101 is rated higher. ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5 averages 4.3 out of 5 from 718 ratings, while English 101 averages 4.3 from 217 ratings.
Do ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5 or English 101 have ads?
Neither ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5 nor English 101 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5 or English 101?
ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5 ships an update every 6 months, and English 101 every 11 months. Most recently, ABC MAGIC PHONICS 5 was updated on October 23, 2026 and English 101 on October 22, 2026.

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