SPELLING MAGIC 3 vs Learning Patterns
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.
Learning Patterns
This interactive game helps children develop critical thinking and mental reasoning skills by teaching them to recognize and complete various patterns. It offers two learning modes with adjustable difficulty and a wide variety of objects for engaging, long-term learning.
- Pattern recognition and completion
- Two learning modes
- Adjustable difficulty levels
- Variety of object collections
- Automatic session summaries
- Supports 8 unique patterns
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"This app is the gold standard if you want to help your little one learn how to have fun while learning patterns." Sonja - mom and teacher Learning Patterns helps your child develop critical thinking and mental reasoning skills thus expanding a very important part of their mind. Plus, even adults will have fun playing with this app at the more advanced levels. :-) Approved by parents, teachers, and kids the world over. Learning Patterns is an exciting interactive game that helps you learn how to recognize and complete patterns all with just the touch of your finger. Pattern recognition and completion represents an important developmental skill for kids of all ages. The interface is so easy to use that even a toddler will delight in moving their first objects around the page. The app supports two modes to learning patterns. In the first mode, you decide the type of objects you want to use to learn to recognize patterns such as numbers, letters, images, etc. Once you start, the app will start with the most basic patterns such as ABABAB and it automatically increases the difficulty based on the users skills. The difficulty increases in two ways. First, the patterns get increasingly difficulty. Second, the missing tile moves from the last place to the second place and later the last two tiles are missing. The second mode allows you to zero in on specific patterns and lets students master that pattern with a huge variety of different images. The patterns included in this app are: ABABAB AABBAA ABBABB AABAAB AAABBB ABCABC ABCDAB ABCCBA IF there are other types of patterns you would like us to add please let us know and we can easily get them added. In total, the app focuses on 8 unique patterns and includes 3 levels of difficulty for each pattern like this: ABABA? A?ABAB ABAB?? The app also comes with over 25 unique collections of items to learn patterns. This way you can learn patterns by letters, numbers, colors, shapes, dots, balloons, hats, fruits, vegetables, animals, vehicles, etc. The huge variety of patterns and collections means that there are almost an infinite way of learning patterns which ensures to keep kids excited and engaged vs. getting bored by always staring at the same content. Not only that, at the end of every session you automatically get a beautiful summary to see exactly how your little one did. HEROIC SUPPORT Heroic Support is not just what we do. It's really what makes us, well, us. It's that drive to make a difference in your life - no matter how big or small. Really, it's our way of life because we want you to be our customer for a lifetime of fun and learning. Have questions? We are here to help. Email us at support@alligatorapps.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Learning Patterns at 4.3 against SPELLING MAGIC 3's 3.9. Learning Patterns also leads on ratings volume (174 vs 11) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 12.4). SPELLING MAGIC 3's advantage is update cadence (every 5 months vs every 22 months). 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
Both are free to download. SPELLING MAGIC 3 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Learning Patterns sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Learning Patterns holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Learning Patterns has 174 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 80% of SPELLING MAGIC 3's written reviews are positive against 78% of Learning Patterns's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
SPELLING MAGIC 3 ships an update every 5 months, Learning Patterns every 22 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SPELLING MAGIC 3 | Learning Patterns |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (11 ratings) | 4.3 (174 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews — better | 78.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 174 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months — better | Every 22 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 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 184 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY | Innovative Mobile Apps |
Customer experience
SPELLING MAGIC 3
Learning Patterns
Bugs and requests
SPELLING MAGIC 3
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Learning Patterns
Reported bugs
4 issues- App suddenly stopped working
- Screen bounces when scrolling
- Incompatible with older iPads (requires iOS 6+)
- App will not allow object selection/movement at times
Requested features
9 requests- More patterns on paid version
- Option to permanently own the app
- Educational version for schools (VPP compatible)
- Option to keep completed pattern visible
- Longer patterns with three repeats
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- Option to choose specific pattern types (e.g., ABAB)
- Easier/medium/harder difficulty levels
- Option to choose pictures for patterns
- Slide and drop selection instead of immediate selection
In-app purchases
SPELLING MAGIC 3
- Deluxe Upgrade$1.99
Learning Patterns
- ABC - Hard Game$0.99
- Shapes - Easy Game$0.99
- Shapes - Hard Game$0.99
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- Colors - Easy Game$0.99
- Animals - Easy Game$0.99
- Animals - Hard Game$0.99
- Food - Hard Game$0.99
- Pattern 8 Game$0.99
- Food - Easy Game$0.99
- Unlock All Games$1.99
Questions
Is SPELLING MAGIC 3 free?
Is Learning Patterns free?
Which has better reviews, SPELLING MAGIC 3 or Learning Patterns?
Do SPELLING MAGIC 3 or Learning Patterns have ads?
Which is updated more often, SPELLING MAGIC 3 or Learning Patterns?
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