Comparison

Math Snacks HD 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

Math Snacks HD

This app offers engaging animated videos and interactive games to teach students in grades 4-8 about important math concepts like ratios, rates, and proportions. It includes extensive teacher and learner resources for classroom integration and offline use.

Highlights
  • Animated math concept videos
  • Interactive learning games
  • Offline accessibility
  • Teacher resources and guides
  • Learner guides and activities
  • Common Core standards alignment
Features
Read full description

Take these Math Snacks videos on the go, or use them in classrooms without an Internet connection. Supports learning about the number line, ratios, rates and proportions. Bad Date: Find true love with the right ratio. Overruled!: Kingdoms teeter on the brink of war over unit conversion. Atlantean Dodgeball: Face up in a battle of ratios. Scale Ella: Our heroine uses scale factor to reverse the antics of the evil Scaleo. Number Rights: Rally the numbers to fight for their rights. Ratey the Math Cat: He can't resist pointing out the rates and "purrportions" in daily life. We have a rich collection of teaching resources and “extras” to support you, available at mathsnacks.org You will find: • Companion "Teaching With" videos for each animation showing an experienced teacher using the animation in the classroom and integrating it into a content lesson. • Printable Teacher’s Guides with discussion questions, vocabulary, and companion activities. • Printable Learner’s Guides for students which helps them apply the concepts from the animations to problem-solving activities. • Printable Comic Book Transcripts which helps kids, especially English Language Learners, follow along with the animations or refer back to them during discussion. • Games for learning. • Information on mapping the Math Snacks animations and activities onto Common Core standards. All of the student-facing resources are available in both English and Spanish. Math Snacks have been designed to be integrated into instruction, as part of the curriculum you are already using in grades 4-8. Some Math Snacks address more than one content area and can be used in a variety of lessons at different grade levels. All Math Snacks products are aligned with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) and address the CCSSM Mathematical Practices when used as recommended. Produced by mathematics educators, researchers, and animators at the Learning Games Lab at New Mexico State University. The Learning Games Lab produces educational, research-based games and media for a wide variety of partners. Learning Games Lab products undergo a rigorous instructional design process, extensive user testing, and input from learners, teachers, and researchers. © 2009-2016 NMSU Board of Regents. All rights reserved. NMSU is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator. Math Snacks materials were developed in part with support from the National Science Foundation (0918794). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Some materials were originally prototyped or discussed as part of a cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Education (U295A050004).

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

READING MAGIC 34 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Math Snacks HD at none against READING MAGIC 3's 1. Math Snacks HD also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 22 months) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 13.7). READING MAGIC 3's advantage is review sentiment (89% vs 63%) and ratings volume (16 vs 1). On price, rating 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. READING MAGIC 3 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Math Snacks HD asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Math Snacks HD against 4.9 for READING MAGIC 3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: READING MAGIC 3 has 16 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 63% of Math Snacks HD's written reviews are positive against 89% of READING MAGIC 3's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Math Snacks HD ships an update every 2 months, READING MAGIC 3 every 22 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Math Snacks HD versus READING MAGIC 3: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMath Snacks HDREADING MAGIC 3
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.9 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews62.5% of reviews89.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings116 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 22 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better13.7
Further details — not scored
Size361 MB250 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLearning Games Lab, NM State UniversityPRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY

Customer experience

Math Snacks HD

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
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

Math Snacks HD

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

READING MAGIC 3

One-time1
  • Deluxe Upgrade$3.99

Questions

Is Math Snacks HD free?
Math Snacks HD 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, Math Snacks HD or READING MAGIC 3?
Math Snacks HD is rated higher. Math Snacks HD averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while READING MAGIC 3 averages 4.9 from 16 ratings.
Do Math Snacks HD or READING MAGIC 3 have ads?
Neither Math Snacks HD nor READING MAGIC 3 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Math Snacks HD or READING MAGIC 3?
Math Snacks HD ships an update every 2 months, and READING MAGIC 3 every 22 months. Most recently, Math Snacks HD was updated on November 6, 2026 and READING MAGIC 3 on November 6, 2026.

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