SPELLING MAGIC 3 vs Friendly Shapes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SPELLING MAGIC 3
This app helps children develop reading skills by focusing on multi-syllable words. It teaches letter sounds and word building through engaging activities and themed categories. Offers two challenge levels and a DELUXE version with expanded vocabulary and customization.
- Multi-syllable word focus
- Science of Reading principles
- Word building activities
- Themed vocabulary categories
- Two challenge levels
- Pronunciation aid via pictures
- Progress tracker (DELUXE)
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Introducing SPELLING MAGIC 3 – the key to unlocking your child's future reading success! SPELLING MAGIC 3 incorporates the main principles of the Science of Reading. SPELLING MAGIC 3 is designed to focus on words with multiple syllables, providing an engaging platform for learning. From everyday words like "pretzel" and "button" to compound words such as "bobcat" and "hotdog," this app covers a wide range of vocabulary, all grouped into themed categories for easy organization and enhanced interest. With a strong emphasis on teaching letter sounds and word building, SPELLING MAGIC 3 not only helps children learn the sounds of the alphabet but also indirectly teaches essential reading skills like segmenting. The app offers two levels of challenge to cater to different learning abilities. In the "Word Building" section, children use the components (letters) of the word to build it, while the "Moveable Alphabet" section allows them to use the entire alphabet for word construction. It's important to note that SPELLING MAGIC 3 aims to provide ample opportunities for practicing building multiple-syllable words, even including words that may not be part of a young learner's everyday vocabulary. This presents a unique chance to expand their word bank and vocabulary. Additionally, tapping on pictures will prompt the app to pronounce the word, aiding in pronunciation and comprehension. The free version of SPELLING MAGIC 3 offers 72 words, while the DELUXE version boasts an impressive 335 words, along with a range of customizable options such as two types of voices, three types of fonts, two letter color styles, a special feature to connect the letters, and a lesson progress tracker. This version includes over 260 additional words compared to the free version, providing an even more comprehensive learning experience. This app was developed by a team of educators using the Science of Reading Principles, accelerated learning techniques and Montessori principles. SPELLING MAGIC 3 has been thoroughly tested and approved by preschool children and their teachers in various settings. Your feedback and suggestions are highly valued as we continue to refine and enhance the app for an optimal learning experience.
Friendly Shapes
This interactive storybook app teaches young children about shapes and music through a festive Christmas adventure. Kids can engage with characters, build toys, and play mini-games, all within a winter wonderland setting.
- Teaches multiple shapes and instruments
- Interactive Christmas storybook
- Jigsaw puzzles and coloring pages
- Memory and placement games
- Counting and find-the-item activities
- Read-to-me and read-it-myself modes
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Our Super Popular Friendly Shapes Do Christmas This Year! Back by Demand and Downloaded more than 200,000 times! ~~> This Cute & Clever Christmas Tale Teaches Kids Multiple Shapes ~~> Gorgeous HD illustrations Makes Shapes Come Alive in a Winter Wonderland ~~> Happy, Cheerful Shapes Make Learning Fun in this Adorable & Smart Christmas Story! Kids Learn Music and Instruments through the Friendly Shape Symphony! Meet Oval, Heart, Triangle, Rectangle & Square in this clever Christmas Tale that teaches young children all about shapes. From toddlers to kindergartners - children will LOVE this smart and fun storybook app. In this sweet Christmas story, young kids will learn their shapes as they build a snowman, make snow angels and join Santa’s elves to make toys in his workshop. The Friendly Christmas shapes make music too! Build instruments with the friendly shapes and listen to the shapes as they play music and perform: play with the shapes and build a guitar, a piano, a bell and more! Join Santa on his sleigh as he gets ready to deliver presents on Christmas Eve. The Friendly Christmas interactive story app shares a wonderful Christmas story in a brilliant and compelling way young children will adore. What's inside: > Interact with several shapes including: triangle, oval, heart, rectangle, square, star > Built toys from basic shapes and watch them come alive! > Decorate a Christmas tree, take a ride with Santa and his sleigh, build a snowman > Jigsaw puzzles - Awesome puzzles enhance the story and promote critical thinking skills > Paint-a-Picture - Dozens of coloring pages and paints > Get crafty with your kids and show their masterpieces with friends! > Counting - 1 to 10 counting game is cool and fun > Memory Match - Fire up your child’s memory skills with this smart activity! > Placement Puzzle - Place a character in their puzzle piece > Find the Item - Critical thinking skills and memory come together in this activity > Memorize and Place - A great memory game that relates to the story and sharpens retention > Gorgeous Animations on each page > Deliver presents with Santa Features: > “Play” - Automatically reads each page of the story to you > “Read it Myself” - Allows you to control the reading yourself > “Auto Play” - Automatically reads the entire story to you > Enjoy tons of fun interactions 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 rating: SPELLING MAGIC 3 at 3.9 against Friendly Shapes's 3.6. Friendly Shapes's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 12.4). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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. SPELLING MAGIC 3 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Friendly Shapes sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
SPELLING MAGIC 3 holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 9 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of SPELLING MAGIC 3's written reviews are positive against 75% of Friendly Shapes's.
SPELLING MAGIC 3 ships an update every 5 months, Friendly Shapes every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SPELLING MAGIC 3 | Friendly Shapes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (11 ratings) — better | 3.6 (9 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews — better | 75.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 11 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months — better | Every 9 months |
| 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 | 12.4 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 184 MB | 102 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY | Kids Games Club by TabTale |
Customer experience
SPELLING MAGIC 3
Friendly Shapes
In-app purchases
SPELLING MAGIC 3
- Deluxe Upgrade$1.99
Friendly Shapes
- Remove Ads$0.99
- Unlock 12 Jigsaw Puzzles$1.99
- Unlock 4 Match It Games$1.99
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- Unlock 12 Coloring Pages$1.99
- Full Version$3.99
Questions
Is SPELLING MAGIC 3 free?
Is Friendly Shapes free?
Which has better reviews, SPELLING MAGIC 3 or Friendly Shapes?
Do SPELLING MAGIC 3 or Friendly Shapes have ads?
Which is updated more often, SPELLING MAGIC 3 or Friendly Shapes?
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