Comparison

The Family. vs Stack Trainer

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

Head to head
About

The Family.

Access a comprehensive learning platform for sleight-of-hand magic, featuring over 450 video tutorials, new monthly routines, and live sessions. This membership provides a supportive community and in-depth theory to help you master magic with everyday objects.

Highlights
  • 450+ expert tutorials
  • New magic added monthly
  • Live Q&As
  • Global community
  • Offline viewing
  • Intuitive content organization
Read full description

The Family is Studio52’s complete learning platform for sleight-of-hand magicians. Whether you’re just starting out or refining years of experience, this membership gives you full access to over 450 high-quality video tutorials, new monthly routines, live sessions, deep dives into theory, and one of the most thoughtful and welcoming communities in magic. Inside, you’ll learn powerful, real-world magic with everyday objects—no gimmicks, no filler. Everything is designed to help you perform confidently under real conditions, with routines and techniques rooted in deep thinking, expert craftsmanship, and live performance experience. With new content added every month, you’ll always find something fresh to inspire you. But nothing disappears—everything stays in The Family Library so you can learn at your own pace and revisit past routines anytime. Features include: • 450+ expert tutorials covering moves, theory, and full routines • New magic and training added monthly • Jam sessions and behind-the-scenes footage • Live Q&As and exclusive guest content • A global community of passionate, supportive magicians • Offline viewing and intuitive content organization The Family is more than just a subscription—it’s a growing ecosystem designed to help you master your craft, connect with others, and rediscover why you fell in love with magic in the first place. Join today and see what happens when learning is treated as seriously—and joyfully—as the magic itself. -- For more information see our: -Terms of Service: https://studio52magic.uscreen.io/terms -Privacy Policy: https://studio52magic.uscreen.io/privacy

About

Stack Trainer

Enhance your memorized deck skills with daily practice sessions. This app offers guided learning for card sequences, detailed progress tracking, and various training modes to improve recall and fluency. It's designed for magicians to master their decks efficiently.

Highlights
  • Daily practice sessions
  • Guided PAO learning course
  • Card-to-position and position-to-card recall
  • Speed and accuracy training modes
  • Progress tracking with focus cards
  • Support for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch
Features
Read full description

Learn your memorized deck, then keep it sharp with a few minutes of practice a day. Practicing Mnemonica is free. Stack Trainer is built for magicians who use a memorized deck. Practice daily, build a streak, and see exactly which cards are slipping, so every session goes where it's needed. PRACTICE EVERY DAY - Short, focused sessions that fit into any day - Streaks, reminders and a Habit Tracker that shows every session at a glance - Awards and Personal Bests to mark your progress LEARN MNEMONICA CARD BY CARD A guided PAO course teaches each card with a vivid Person, Action and Object, then tests you both ways: card to position and position to card. A step-by-step plan takes you through all 52, followed by spaced reviews so the stack stays solid. The first 5 cards are free. Pro unlocks the full course. WAYS TO TRAIN CORE RECALL - Recall Quiz: card to position, position to card, next and previous card STACK FLUENCY - Matchup and 4 of a Kind: speed and accuracy against the clock - Stack Segments: master the deck in small groups, then expand - Grid Rebuild: put the full deck back in stack order in a grid - Fan Rebuild: put the full deck back in stack order in a card fan - Stack Trail (Pro): trace runs of cards in stack order PRACTICAL STACK WORK - ACAAN: find any card at any number - Improv (Pro): realistic cut, count and spell scenarios SEE WHAT TO WORK ON A 52-card map shows your strong and weak cards. Track accuracy, recall time and progress, and let Focus Cards bring back the cards that need more work. IPHONE, IPAD AND APPLE WATCH Train on iPhone, use the full-screen layout on iPad, and run quick recall drills on Apple Watch. Your Watch results sync with iPhone. FREE - Mnemonica practice in every mode except Improv - The first 5 cards of the PAO course - Streaks, Habit Tracker, Awards, Personal Bests and stats PRO: ONE-TIME UNLOCK - The full Mnemonica PAO course and learning plan - More stacks: Aronson, Redford, Particle System, Memorandum, Nikola Card System and Joyal - Build and train your own custom stack - Improv mode - Adaptive Focus Cards that prioritize your weakest cards - Notes and photos for each card - iCloud sync, backup and restore - Future Pro features No subscription. No ads. One purchase. Train daily. Build fluency. Know your stack.

Screenshots

The Family.3 screens
Stack Trainer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: The Family. at 5.0 against Stack Trainer's 4.5. The Family. also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1). Stack Trainer's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly). On price, ratings volume, 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

Both are free to download. Stack Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. The Family. asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Family. holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 8 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Family. ships an update monthly, Stack Trainer every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
The Family. versus Stack Trainer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Family.Stack Trainer
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better4.5 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews—71.4% of reviews
Number of ratings48 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size67 MB124 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperSTUDIO52MAGIC LTDWayne Borcher

Customer experience

The Family.

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Stack Trainer

All ratings8 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral28.6%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

The Family.

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Stack Trainer

One-time1
  • Stack Trainer Pro$19.99

Questions

Is The Family. free?
The Family. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Stack Trainer free?
Stack Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Family. or Stack Trainer?
The Family. is rated higher. The Family. averages 5.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Stack Trainer averages 4.5 from 8 ratings.
Do The Family. or Stack Trainer have ads?
Neither The Family. nor Stack Trainer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Family. or Stack Trainer?
The Family. ships an update monthly, and Stack Trainer every 5 days. Most recently, The Family. was updated on November 4, 2026 and Stack Trainer on October 31, 2026.

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