Showbie vs Boom Cards
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Showbie
This app streamlines classroom management by allowing teachers to assign, collect, and provide personalized feedback on student work. It supports digital portfolios and real-time assessment, making learning more effective for students and easier for educators.
- Personalized assignments and feedback
- Digital ink, text, and voice annotations
- Real-time assessment
- Digital student portfolios
- Parent communication
- Integration with thousands of iPad apps
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Used by over 3 million teachers and students worldwide, Showbie is the easiest and most effective digital learning app to personalise assignments and feedback on iPad. DNA of Learning: Your Foundation for Student Success Showbie supports the improvement of everyday teaching and learning by elevating four essential strands of effective classroom practice - direct instruction, independent practice, personalised feedback and real-time assessment - all in one platform. Find out how easy it is to assign, collect and review student work from thousands of compatible iPad apps, or have your students complete assignments with Showbie’s built in tools. Provide rich feedback using digital ink, text and voice annotations right on images and PDFs, and then add your students’ best work to personalized digital portfolios that can be securely shared with parents. WHAT EDUCATORS ARE SAYING “Showbie is my number one can't live without app! It makes the iPad workflow process a breeze! I especially love how it works seamlessly with so many other apps.” — Kristen Paino, Lead Technology Integrator at Avenues: The World School “I don't need to convince my colleagues that they need to use this app — it sells itself. I like that it gives me the flexibility in how I choose to grade my student's work, especially with the voice notes feature. There is no single third party app that I would rather champion.” — Suzanne Lustenhouwer, Teacher and iPad Coordinator, Apple Distinguished Educator “I love that Showbie is so versatile that the youngest of students can use it independently, yet it is appropriate for older grades as well. The ease of use makes it a great workflow solution for classes with iPads.” — Kristi Meeuwse, Kindergarten Teacher, Apple Distinguished Educator KEY FEATURES FOR TEACHERS & STUDENTS • Share work from thousands of compatible iPad apps in a few taps • Use the pen tool and pin text notes directly on any PDF or image • Gauge class understanding in real-time with minute-by-minute assessment • Instantly differentiate assignments and materials to specific students • Quickly distribute instructions and materials to your whole class • Chat privately with individual students to provide timely feedback • Record voice notes for verbal feedback or language exercises • Quickly review and assess batches of student work and provide rich, valuable feedback • Add student work to individual digital portfolios, or enable students to curate their own portfolios • Invite parents to view their student’s work and keep them informed of classroom activity • Can be used with any classroom subject • Available in 18 languages ENHANCED SHOWBIE PRO FEATURES • Record and track grades as numeric scores or letter grades, along with qualitative feedback • Provide richer feedback with more pen colours and line thicknesses, by typing on the page, or by pinning voice notes directly to student work • Record longer voice notes and videos and upload larger files • Lock assignments to control student access to documents and feedback • Give parents complete access to assignments in the classes you choose
Boom Cards
This app allows students to play interactive, self-grading digital flashcards on their iOS devices. It syncs with a teacher's account, enabling assignment of activities and performance tracking. Millions of educators trust this platform for engaging learning experiences.
- Self-grading digital flashcards
- Synchronizes with Boom Classroom
- Assign materials to classes
- Review student performance
- Access over 500,000 decks
- Detailed student reports
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Less prep. Less grading. More actual teaching. Boom Cards are flexible, easy to use, and designed to fit into real classrooms and therapy settings without adding to your workload. With Boom Cards, educators and therapists assign interactive, self-grading digital activities that collect student performance data. Progress is easy to review without extra work. Use the app to assign decks, manage students, and view detailed reports that show accuracy and latency—data that supports differentiation, intervention, enrichment, and data-informed instruction or therapy. A Boom account is required and available at wow.boomlearning.com. Boom Cards also work on most modern desktops, laptops, tablets, phones, and interactive whiteboards. Choose from over 500,000 decks covering a wide range of subjects and grade levels. Boom Cards support general education, special education, and therapy services, including English Language Learners and students receiving related services. Content areas include English Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Writing, Social Emotional Learning, Character Education, and more. Grade levels include Preschool through Transition and Adult.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Boom Cards at none against Showbie's 1. Boom Cards also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). Showbie's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 months) and rating (3.7 vs 3.3). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Showbie sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Boom Cards asks for nothing beyond the download.
Showbie holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Showbie has 241 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 36% of Showbie's written reviews are positive against 41% of Boom Cards's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Showbie ships an update every 8 days, Boom Cards every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Showbie | Boom Cards |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (241 ratings) — better | 3.3 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 35.5% of reviews | 40.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 241 — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 299 MB | 34 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Showbie Inc. | Omega Labs Inc. |
Customer experience
Showbie
Boom Cards
Bugs and requests
Showbie
Reported bugs
4 issues- Text boxes disappearing or moving unexpectedly
- Notifications not working correctly
- Assignments not uploading or disappearing
- Compatibility issues on older devices
Requested features
4 requests- Calendar view for assignments
- More annotation tools and customization
- Offline mode for accessing content
- Better integration with other apps
Boom Cards
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Showbie
- Showbie Pro$239.99
Boom Cards
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Showbie free?
Is Boom Cards free?
Which has better reviews, Showbie or Boom Cards?
Do Showbie or Boom Cards have ads?
Which is updated more often, Showbie or Boom Cards?
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