Comparison

LetterSchool vs Cursive Words

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

Head to head
About

LetterSchool

This app helps young children learn to write letters, numbers, and shapes through interactive tracing and engaging animations. It offers progress tracking and is designed by educational professionals to be safe and fun for toddlers and preschoolers.

Highlights
  • Block and cursive letter tracing
  • Uppercase and lowercase letters
  • Numbers 1-10 tracing
  • Geometric shape tracing
  • Progress tracking for multiple players
  • Interactive animations and sound effects
  • CVC, CVCC, and long sound word practice
Features
Read full description

The #1 alphabet tracing and words spelling app for toddlers & pre-schoolers. Recommended and used by parents, teachers, and occupational therapists! Loved & played by more than 2 million kids and used at more than 5,000 schools! - Winner of 'National Parenting Product Awards' - NAPPA Awards - ‘Best Mobile App Platinum Award’ nominee! – BMA SPECIAL FEATURES: - Block & Cursive Letters, - Uppercase and Lowercase, - Numbers 1-10, - 24 geometric shapes for toddlers! - Keep track of your child’s progress, - Unlock Golden Levels! - 72 CVC words, 36 CVCC words, and 39 long sound words! - Progress and settings stored for up to three players on the same device, - Interactive and visually attractive fun animations, - Available for both iPads and iPhones! IMPORTANT: The first five letters of the alphabet (both uppercase and lowercase), five shapes, and the first three CVC flashcards (nine words) are completely for free. They can be played entirely (on 3 game steps). Enjoy this trial and have fun! PERFECT FOR KIDS: Kids want to have fun and LetterSchool offers an educational journey with the most engaging and entertaining educational material! - Learn while engaging with over 20+ exciting animations, graphics, and sound effects. - Associate letters with words, master and memorize tracing directions and the correct formation of each character. - Learn phonics, the formation of words, understand syllable formations, and spell entire words. - Perfect for home-schooling kids and kindergartens. A user-friendly app for children with special educational needs. PERFECT FOR PARENTS & TEACHERS: - Choice of the three most popular font families in handwriting education (Handwriting Without Tears, D’Nealian, and Zaner-Bloser). - Complete a set of letters, numbers, or shapes to unlock the Golden Levels! - Golden Level allows progress tracking and displays exactly how the letter was drawn! - A new challenge at every step: Your child traces a letter, number or shape 3 times using different parameters. SAFE: - An educational app created together with parents and educational professionals. - NO ADS! - Advanced settings or purchases only accessible by an adult! - Extremely committed Customer Support ready to answer all questions and fix any issues. LET'S PLAY & LEARN! Join LetterSchool on this exciting educational journey! Download the app and allow your toddler to discover the magical world of letters and words. Before you know it, your kid will become a pro in writing and spelling! SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS: LetterSchool offers several auto-renewing subscription options: per month. quarter, and year. - You can cancel your subscription anytime without an extra cancellation fee. - Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. - The account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours before the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during an active subscription period. - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. - Your iTunes account will be charged automatically after the 7-day free trial. CONTACT For more reviews and information, visit our website www.letterschool.com If you have any question or suggestions, please contact us at support@letterschool.com You can also check our FAQ page on https://www.letterschool.com/en/help. Terms of service and privacy policy: https://www.letterschool.com/legal/terms-of-use & https://www.letterschool.com/legal/privacy-policy

About

Cursive Words

Practice cursive writing with this educational app designed for families. Customize settings to tailor the learning experience and play until mastery is achieved. It's a fun way to improve handwriting skills.

Highlights
  • Cursive writing practice
  • Family-friendly
  • Customizable settings
  • Mastery-based gameplay
  • Educational tool
Features
Read full description

Cursive Words is a great way for the family to practice cursive writing. Select the options in the "Settings" screen. Play until you master the game. If you like this app, please consider giving it a rating. Your support will help keep the updates coming! Thank you for your support!

Screenshots

LetterSchool4 screens
Cursive Words4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: LetterSchool at 4.5 against Cursive Words's 3.8. LetterSchool also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 12 months). On price, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. LetterSchool sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Cursive Words sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

LetterSchool holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: LetterSchool has 17K ratings behind it against 353, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 54% of LetterSchool's written reviews are positive against 57% of Cursive Words's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LetterSchool ships an update every 2 months, Cursive Words every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and July 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
LetterSchool versus Cursive Words: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLetterSchoolCursive Words
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (17K ratings) — better3.8 (353 ratings)
Positive reviews54.4% of reviews57.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings17K — better353
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 12 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size156 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLetterschool Enabling Learning B.V.Horizon Business, Inc.

Customer experience

LetterSchool

All ratings16,967 ratings
Positive87.6%
Neutral6.1%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews250 reviews
Positive54.4%
Neutral8.0%
Negative37.6%

Cursive Words

All ratings353 ratings
Positive66.6%
Neutral11.9%
Negative21.5%
Written reviews86 reviews
Positive57.0%
Neutral10.5%
Negative32.6%

User reviews

LetterSchool

From 17K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Engaging and interactive
  • 🚀 Helps improve handwriting
  • 💡 Supports multiple writing styles (print, cursive, d'nealian)
  • 👍 Motivating with rewards and animations
  • 👍 Useful for children with learning challenges

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Subscription issues (app reverts to lite version, need to restore purchases)
  • 🐛 Glitches and crashes (especially with Dari letters)
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 🔍 Limited free version
  • 🔍 Inconsistent letter formation (not aligned with school standards)

Cursive Words

From 353 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful for learning cursive
  • 🤩 Great for practicing cursive writing
  • 💕 Enjoyable and fun to use
  • ✨ Smooth brush stroke
  • 🆓 Completely free with no ads

Room to improve

  • 🙏 Needs more words and longer words
  • ❌ Doesn't check if writing is correct
  • 💻 Harder to use on electronic devices vs paper
  • 🥱 Can get repetitive and boring
  • 🤔 Lacks different difficulty levels

Bugs and requests

LetterSchool

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Dari letter (پ) keeps glitching
  • Subscription issues (app reverts to lite version, need to restore purchases)
  • Incompatibility with older devices
  • Login screen freezes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more languages (Russian, Serbian, Thai, Korean, Hebrew, Hindi, etc.)
  • Allow creating custom words/names to practice
  • Improve letter sound pronunciations
  • Add more visual options (fonts, themes, etc.)
  • Integrate with International Phonetic Alphabet

Cursive Words

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashes or stops working after a few days of use
  • Occasional freezing or unresponsiveness

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add uppercase letters and more advanced words
  • Implement feedback/correction on writing
  • Allow use of pen/stylus instead of just finger
  • Incorporate mini-games or challenges to make it more engaging
  • Introduce different difficulty levels or progression

In-app purchases

14 purchases

LetterSchool

Subscriptions10
  • Monthly Access Pass7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • LetterSchool - Monthly Pass7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Monthly Access Pass7 Days trial$9.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • Quarterly Access Pass7 Days trial$12.993 Months
  • LetterSchool - Monthly Pass7 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Quarterly Access Pass7 Days trial$19.993 Months
  • Annual Access Pass7 Days trial$44.991 Year
  • LetterSchool - Annual Pass$59.991 Year
  • Yearly Access Pass7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • LetterSchool - Annual Pass7 Days trial$74.991 Year
One-time4
  • Unlock All Shapes$2.99
  • Unlock Full Block Alphabet$6.99
  • Unlock Full Cursive Alphabet$6.99
Show 1 more
  • All-in-one Package$79.99
2 purchases

Cursive Words

One-time2
  • Remove Ads$4.99
  • Uppercase Words$4.99

Questions

Is LetterSchool free?
LetterSchool is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cursive Words free?
Cursive Words is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, LetterSchool or Cursive Words?
LetterSchool is rated higher. LetterSchool averages 4.5 out of 5 from 17K ratings, while Cursive Words averages 3.8 from 353 ratings.
Do LetterSchool or Cursive Words have ads?
Cursive Words shows ads; LetterSchool does not.
Which is updated more often, LetterSchool or Cursive Words?
LetterSchool ships an update every 2 months, and Cursive Words every 12 months. Most recently, LetterSchool was updated on September 25, 2026 and Cursive Words on July 29, 2026.

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