Subtraction School ! ! vs READING MAGIC 5 for Schools
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Subtraction School ! !
Master subtraction with this educational app. It offers practice from single-digit to multi-digit problems, with guided tutorials and hints to help users learn step-by-step.
- 1 to 6 digit problems
- Random or custom problems
- Tutorial animation speed
- Step-by-step solution guide
- Hint button for guidance
- Help button for step completion
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Subtraction School ! ! is a great way to learn and practice subtraction. From simple 1-digit problems to more advanced multi-digit problems, Subtraction School ! ! will provide the user the necessary guidance and practice to master subtraction. Features of this version: 1) 1 to 6 digits 2) Random or custom user entered problems 3) Tutorial animation speed setting 4) "Play Tutorial" button to show the step by step solution for each problem 5) "Hint" button for instructional guidance on current step 6) "Help" button for automatic completion of current step If you like this app, please consider giving it a rating. Your support will help keep the updates coming! Thank you for your support!
READING MAGIC 5 for Schools
This educational app teaches children the rules of the silent final "e" in English phonics through engaging games. It helps develop essential reading skills like blending and segmenting, fostering phonemic awareness and strong reading foundations.
- Teaches silent final 'e' rules
- Develops phonemic awareness
- Engaging blending and segmenting games
- Sequenced curriculum and lesson tracking
- Discourages picture guessing
- Suitable for ESL learners
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Unlock the Magic of Reading with READING MAGIC 5! Transform your child into a confident reader with READING MAGIC 5! This app makes learning to read an exciting adventure through interactive activities focused on words containing silent final e 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
Screenshots
Verdict
Subtraction School ! ! and READING MAGIC 5 for Schools both sit at 5.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 88% of READING MAGIC 5 for Schools's written reviews are positive against 50% of Subtraction School ! !'s. READING MAGIC 5 for Schools also leads on ads (none vs shown) and price ($3.99 vs $4.99). Subtraction School ! !'s advantage is update cadence (every 12 months vs every 48 months). On rating, ratings volume, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Subtraction School ! ! costs $4.99 and READING MAGIC 5 for Schools $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Subtraction School ! ! against 5.0 for READING MAGIC 5 for Schools. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Subtraction School ! !'s written reviews are positive against 88% of READING MAGIC 5 for Schools's.
Subtraction School ! ! ships an update every 12 months, READING MAGIC 5 for Schools every 48 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Subtraction School ! ! | READING MAGIC 5 for Schools |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $3.99 — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 87.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 12 months — better | Every 48 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.7 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 203 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Horizon Business, Inc. | PRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY |
Customer experience
Subtraction School ! !
READING MAGIC 5 for Schools
In-app purchases
Subtraction School ! !
No in-app purchases
READING MAGIC 5 for Schools
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Subtraction School ! ! free?
Is READING MAGIC 5 for Schools free?
Which has better reviews, Subtraction School ! ! or READING MAGIC 5 for Schools?
Do Subtraction School ! ! or READING MAGIC 5 for Schools have ads?
Which is updated more often, Subtraction School ! ! or READING MAGIC 5 for Schools?
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