Comparison

ABA vs Writing Wizard

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

Head to head
About

ABA

This app helps young children develop problem-solving skills by identifying the item that doesn't belong in a group of four. It uses real photographs and customizable content to teach concepts like colors, shapes, and characteristics in an engaging, multi-sensory way.

Highlights
  • Identify the item that doesn't belong
  • Teaches colors, shapes, and characteristics
  • Add custom voice and items
  • Uses real photographs
  • Dynamic difficulty adjustment
  • Multi-sensory learning
Features
Read full description

"Wow... this one is an awesome problem solving app and great at teaching concepts such as colors, up and down, left and right." Endorsed by tens of thousands of satisfied parents, teachers, and kids the world over. Touch and Learn is a powerful new gaming platform that allows you to introduce new concepts in a fun and exciting new way. You can use Touch and Learn to teach basic concepts such as new shapes or advanced concepts such as colors or characteristics (e.g. big, bigger, small, smaller, etc.). The possibilities are truly endless and just up to your imagination. This game comes pre-loaded with hundreds of unique images to provide hours of learning and entertainment. What's unique about the Touch and Learn - What does not belong apps? The "what does not belong apps" do the opposite of the basic Touch and Learn applications. Instead of asking kids to find "the circle" or the "red square" the "what does not belong apps" display 4 images and require the child to identify the one item that is different. The difference could be due to the color, name of the object, type of object or concept being presented. This app can be challenging or easy depending on the difficulty that you select and is ideal for ages 2 to 4. FEATURES • Add your own voice - now your toddler can learn everything in mommy's or daddy's voice • Add your own items - take pictures of your child's favorite items to make the game more fun and personal • Add your own concepts - you can add an unlimited number of new concepts and associate them with any picture or item to add exciting new levels and hours of fun • Learn by sight, sound, and touch • Uses real, crisp photographs that are carefully hand picked and selected vs. cartoonish illustrations • Uses advanced algorithms that automatically makes the teaching of concepts fun and easy to grasp (i.e when teaching the concept of yellow circle, the app will present both a circle that is not yellow and another item that is yellow but is not a circle). • Fun & engaging voice artist keeps kids engaged • Dynamic game play adjust difficulty automatically to keep kids both challenged and entertained vs. getting bored. If you select progressive game play then the game starts with easy concepts (e.g. touch the circle) and proceeds to advanced concepts (touch the bigger circle) automatically. • Wrong answers do not interfere with gameplay, the child can immediately try again and touch the correct answer (most other games are too slow to keep kids interested by slowly repeating the desired question). • Multi-sensory learning tool - combining audio, voice, and written words • Don't like some of the existing items... no problem, just delete or turn them off to cover only what you like • Multi-language support - since you can edit existing items and add new items, you can record everything in your native tongue 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@grasshopperapps.com

About

Writing Wizard

This app helps children learn to trace letters, numbers, and words with a fun, motivating system. It offers customizable tracing practice, interactive games, and progress reports for parents and educators.

Highlights
  • Trace letters, numbers, and words
  • Customizable tracing practice
  • Interactive games and animated stickers
  • Create custom word lists with audio
  • Progress reports for tracking
  • Printable PDF worksheets
Features
Read full description

"Fantastic, customizable tracing practice with fun rewards." 5 Stars - Common Sense Media 500,000+ units sold (including 300,000+ to schools) ! Writing Wizard is designed to help every child learn how to trace letters, numbers, and words through a fun system carefully designed to maintain motivation. • Show and enforce how to trace letters correctly • Letter names and phonics (customizable) • 16 Fonts available (including 3 most popular in the US) • Fun tracing using 50+ animated stickers, sound effects and interactive games that animate letters at the end of tracing • Uppercase & lowercase letters, numbers, and words • Ability to create your own word lists (and record audio for each word) • Fully customizable to suit every child’s needs (letter size, difficulty,...) • Check progress thanks to reports that display what the child has traced • Shapes tracing activity for toddlers • Create PDF Worksheets and print them to help your child to write on paper • Use Apple pencil to write at a very small size All the shapes, the first 7 letters, numbers, and words are free. The remaining letters and the ability to add your own words can be unlocked with a one-time purchase or a monthly subscription. _______ ACCOLADES • "Writing Wizard is the most complete and intelligent letter tracing app we’ve seen"" AppoLearning.com • "This brand-new app should be the go-to for every parent, teacher and therapist to work on handwriting" - TOP PICKS - 5 stars - SmartAppsForKids.com • "Writing Wizard by L’Escapadou is everything a parent wants in a handwriting app, and more." 5/5 - kids-app-reviews.com • "L’Escapadou has made handwriting fun." AppyMall.com 5/5 • Listed in "20 best educational iPhone and iPad apps for kids of 2013" - appsplayground.com • Editor's Choice Award for Excellence in Design - Children's Technology Review _______ PERFECT FOR KIDS Kids want to have fun, and Writing Wizard offers a lot of fun to keep them motivated in the learning process! • They can trace using 50+ animated stickers and sound effects • Once tracing is complete, they can interact with them on 4 games that animate letters • They can trace any word - like their name - and record their voice for each word • They can collect stars in 5-Stars play mode _______ PERFECT FOR PARENTS & TEACHERS • Ability to create your own word lists (and record audio for each word) • Detailed reports provide information on what kids have done, including the ability to replay and export the tracings to view kids' progress • Share word lists via iCloud Drive or other cloud providers, adhoc network, or email • Multiple parameters to customize the app according to the child’s current education level (e.g. letter size, difficulty, show/hide model, allow to stop between key points, etc.) • 3 most popular fonts in the US (ZB, DN & HWT) and 13 international fonts (UK, Scandinavia, Australia, Germany and France) • Upper and lower case letters, numbers (and word lists) • Letter names and letter sounds (which can be customized) • A customizable 5-Stars play mode prompting the child to trace a letter or a word 5 times using different parameters (each step is more challenging) • Create an unlimited number of users • Many settings to customize the app (sound, game time limit, black background,...) • In the A-Z section, special graphics available to match letters (e.g. ant graphic for A/a) _______ Privacy Policy KNOW WHAT'S INSIDE As a Moms with Apps member, we follow the "Know what's inside" best practices for kids’ apps L’Escapadou takes children’s privacy seriously. We believe you should not have to worry about your kids being tracked by apps or websites. This app: • Does not collect any user information (we do not use data collection tools) • External Links : Before accessing a parent section, an operation must be solved so that young kids cannot access it. Terms of use : https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

ABA4 screens
Writing Wizard4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Writing Wizard at Free against ABA's $0.99. Writing Wizard also leads on update cadence (every 4 months vs every 72 months) and ratings volume (5K vs 32). ABA's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.6). On review sentiment, ads and device support 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

Writing Wizard is free to download; ABA costs $0.99 up front. Writing Wizard sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month. ABA asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Writing Wizard holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Writing Wizard has 5K ratings behind it against 32, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of ABA's written reviews are positive against 73% of Writing Wizard's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ABA ships an update every 72 months, Writing Wizard every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
ABA versus Writing Wizard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterABAWriting Wizard
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.2 (32 ratings)4.4 (5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews73.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings325K — better
Update frequencyEvery 72 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB68 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperInnovative Mobile AppsPierre Abel

Customer experience

ABA

All ratings32 ratings
Positive71.9%
Neutral15.6%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews54 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral13.0%
Negative20.4%

Writing Wizard

All ratings5,039 ratings
Positive84.2%
Neutral6.2%
Negative9.6%
Written reviews207 reviews
Positive73.4%
Neutral6.8%
Negative19.8%

User reviews

ABA

From 32 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for special needs students
  • 💡 Highly customizable options
  • 🧠 Good for critical thinking
  • 🧩 Useful for problem-solving
  • 🗣️ Helps with vocabulary

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App stalls after updates
  • 🐛 Crashes on concept level
  • 🐛 Voiceover mispronunciation
  • 🐛 Inappropriate image (marijuana leaf)
  • 🐛 Visuals are horrible/ugly

Writing Wizard

From 5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 🚀 Engaging animations
  • 💡 Customizable word lists
  • 👍 Helpful for children with special needs
  • 👍 Effective for improving handwriting

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Locked features behind paywall
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • 🔒 Paid version not working as expected
  • 💰 Expensive for the limited features

Bugs and requests

ABA

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Won't let me out of touch and learn segment
  • Stalls after 3 or 4 pages
  • Crashes on the concept level
  • Voiceover mispronounces 'belong'
  • One of the shapes is a marijuana leaf
Show 1 more
  • Kept force closing

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add accuracy percentage counter for documentation
  • Add data collection system
  • Create something with more vivid colors
  • Make it much harder
  • Make it more interesting to a toddler
Show 2 more
  • Add more interesting pictures and rewards
  • Track accuracy

Writing Wizard

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when trying to access locked features
  • Purchased content not unlocking properly
  • Inconsistent letter formation guidance

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more letters, numbers, and shapes
  • Allow recording of custom voice instructions
  • Improve compatibility with stylus/digital pens
  • Provide more customization options

In-app purchases

None

ABA

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Writing Wizard

Subscriptions1
  • Full Access - Monthly$2.491 Month
One-time3
  • All Letters and Numbers$5.99
  • Add Your Words and Word Lists$5.99
  • Lifetime Full Access$9.99

Questions

Is ABA free?
ABA costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Writing Wizard free?
Writing Wizard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ABA or Writing Wizard?
Writing Wizard is rated higher. ABA averages 4.2 out of 5 from 32 ratings, while Writing Wizard averages 4.4 from 5K ratings.
Do ABA or Writing Wizard have ads?
Neither ABA nor Writing Wizard shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ABA or Writing Wizard?
ABA ships an update every 72 months, and Writing Wizard every 4 months. Most recently, ABA was updated on September 28, 2026 and Writing Wizard on October 2, 2026.

Other comparisons