Comparison

Counting Dots vs Main Idea

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

Head to head
About

Counting Dots

An engaging game designed to boost counting skills in children. It transforms learning into an adventure with colorful dots, building numerical understanding and confidence. Optimized for visual learning with sensory feedback and customizable settings.

Highlights
  • Tap to count colorful dots
  • Build numerical understanding
  • Vibrant colors for visual learning
  • Spoken number sounds and vibrations
  • Child-friendly interface
  • Customizable counting settings
Features
Read full description

Unlock the joy of numbers with "Counting Dots," an engaging, vibrant game designed to boost counting skills in children from the ground up. This game transforms learning into an adventure, inviting kids to tap their way through a kaleidoscope of colorful dots, arranging them from the smallest to the biggest. It's not just about counting; it's about building a foundation of numerical understanding and confidence that can scale from one to one million! Celebrated by eSpark Learning's Top of the Class list as one of the best 15 apps within a vast curriculum of 750, "Counting Dots" is hailed as a beacon of educational excellence. This recognition underscores its effectiveness and appeal in the learning community, making it a must-have tool for teachers, parents, and therapists alike. Testimonials from users like HappyFather858 and Mom2tyler echo its success, sharing heartwarming stories of children's growing counting prowess and enthusiasm. It's more than an app; it's a doorway to a world where numbers are friends, not foes. Features that make "Counting Dots" stand out: - Eye-catching, vibrant colors tailored to stimulate visual learning. - Enticing spoken number sounds and vibrations (for iPhone users) that provide sensory feedback. - A child-friendly interface that makes navigation and gameplay seamless. - Diverse settings to customize the learning experience, including the ability to start counting from any number, and options to count by 1s, 5s, or 10s. What's more: - Optimized for both iPad and iPhone, ensuring a splendid visual experience. - Smooth animations that keep children engaged and entertained. - An ad-free environment, making it perfectly safe and suitable for young kids. Your feedback is invaluable to us! If you have great suggestions for Ellie's Games, reach out at Erik@ElliesGames.com. Embark on a counting adventure with "Counting Dots" and watch as your child's numerical skills flourish!

About

Main Idea

This app helps children in grades 2-5 improve their reading comprehension by teaching them to identify the main idea of sentences. It uses a fun, game-like environment with step-by-step learning and a reward system to keep kids motivated.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step skill building
  • Incremental learning with unlocked levels
  • Frustration-free guided learning
  • Engaging reward center
  • Parental review and reporting
  • Over 600 examples
  • Timed levels for fluency
Features
Read full description

** Featured on Appolicious.com & iHeartThisApp.com ** 'Main Idea -Sentences' helps kids who have trouble with reading comprehension. Identifying the main idea is a key part of reading comprehension. 'Main Idea -Sentences' builds this comprehension skill in a fun, game-like environment. The skill is developed step-by-step until mastery. *** Happy Frog Apps is a Mom's Choice Award winner! *** ***** 5 Stars - Thank you for this app! Other software I’ve used has moved too quickly for my son. This one worked! Can’t wait for the next Main Idea app…it’s coming, right? ***** 5 Stars - This app is one the best education apps I have used with my little one. It really helps to improve his reading abilities. He is obsessed with passing the levels and it never let him disappointed. One of the few apps that worth to upgrade to premium version. 'Main Idea - Sentences' is designed for children in Grades 2-5 who can read the words, but don't understand what they read. Beginning readers in earlier grades can also benefit from the targeted skill development. 'Main Idea - Sentences' develops the skill of knowing what a sentence is about. This skill must be firmly established before a child can determine what a paragraph or page is about. Key Benefits: - Builds comprehension skills step-by-step until mastery. - Incremental learning. New levels are unlocked only when your child is ready. - Frustration-free learning. Your child will always be guided to the correct answer. - Fun and engaging Reward Center to increase motivation. - Easy parental review. Just check out the stars to see how your child is doing. - Contains over 600 examples, with content designed by professional teachers and researchers. - Advanced levels include timers to ensure fluency. Research shows fluency in the foundation skills is critical to reading comprehension. - Can be used independently (just hand it over: your child will know what to do!) or with a therapist/parent for reading intervention. - Provides extensive reporting for up to 10 students to suit the needs of parents, teachers and therapists. Our apps are designed for and tested by typical and special needs children. Testers include children with Autism and other special needs. Our apps work for them! This 'School Edition' app has no in-app purchases. To evaluate the app, download the free version, which has 4 free levels. Additional levels and additional players can be accessed with in-app purchase. If you prefer no in-app purchases, download the School Edition of this app. While you're thinking about reading, check out our other apps that target WH questions, inferencing and answer identification skills. Learn more about reading comprehension and research at our website www.HappyFrogApps.com. Drop us a note, we'd love to hear from you! We take customer service very seriously! If you ever have a problem or find that we've missed something, contact us at our website and we will do our best to fix the problem. We are a member of the Moms With Apps program that promotes privacy in children's apps. We collect NO private information in our apps and our apps do not allow unrestricted web access.

Screenshots

Counting Dots4 screens
Main Idea4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Counting Dots at $2.99 against Main Idea's $6.99. Counting Dots also leads on ratings volume (38 vs 6). Main Idea's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 7 months) and review sentiment (85% vs 76%). On rating, ads, in-app purchases 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

Counting Dots costs $2.99 and Main Idea $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Counting Dots against 4.3 for Main Idea. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Counting Dots has 38 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Counting Dots's written reviews are positive against 85% of Main Idea's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Counting Dots ships an update every 7 months, Main Idea every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Counting Dots versus Main Idea: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCounting DotsMain Idea
Price$2.99 — better$6.99
Rating4.4 (38 ratings) — better4.3 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews76.2% of reviews84.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings38 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.012.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEllie's Games, LLCJanine Toole

Customer experience

Counting Dots

All ratings35 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral5.7%
Negative8.6%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive76.2%
Neutral21.4%
Negative2.4%

Main Idea

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive84.6%
Neutral7.7%
Negative7.7%

In-app purchases

None

Counting Dots

No in-app purchases

None

Main Idea

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Counting Dots free?
Counting Dots costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Main Idea free?
Main Idea costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Counting Dots or Main Idea?
Counting Dots is rated higher. Counting Dots averages 4.4 out of 5 from 38 ratings, while Main Idea averages 4.3 from 6 ratings.
Do Counting Dots or Main Idea have ads?
Neither Counting Dots nor Main Idea shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Counting Dots or Main Idea?
Counting Dots ships an update every 7 months, and Main Idea every 3 months. Most recently, Counting Dots was updated on November 1, 2026 and Main Idea on November 6, 2026.

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