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

This app helps magicians memorize and recall card stacks with gamified drills and performance scenarios. It offers various practice modes to build speed, accuracy, and long-term retention of memorized decks.

Highlights
  • Gamified daily drills
  • Memorized deck recall training
  • Multiple practice modes
  • Performance tracking
  • Awards and personal bests
  • Apple Watch practice
Features
Read full description

Train your recall of Mnemonica and other memorized decks with Focused Daily Drills, Awards, Personal Bests, Apple Watch practice, and a one-time Pro unlock. Now you can also learn the Mnemonica Stack with the same one-time Pro unlock. Stack Trainer is the memorized-deck training app for magicians who want to build genuine, performance-ready stack fluency. Start by learning Mnemonica through an interactive PAO Peg course, then sharpen recall, speed and confidence with focused daily practice. The new PAO Peg Training teaches the stack card by card using vivid Person, Action and Object memory links, visual reinforcement, guided questions and active recall. Free users can experience the first five Mnemonica cards; unlock Pro to continue the complete course and turn your training into a full-stack skill. Whether you are learning your first memdeck or keeping an established stack sharp, Stack Trainer gives you a structured path from knowing a card to using it under pressure. Train the Skills That Matter Learn Mnemonica - Guided PAO Peg lessons that build card-to-position and position-to-card recall - Visual memory links, hints and progressive practice - First five cards free; complete training course with Pro Core Recall - Instantly recall a card from its position — and its position from the card - Train next-card and previous-card recall - Focus on small card groups, then expand toward the full stack Stack Fluency - Matchup, 4 of a Kind, Stack Segments and Rebuild Stack - Build speed, accuracy and whole-stack confidence Practical Stack Work - ACAAN practice for Any Card at Any Number thinking - Improv scenarios for flexible cut, count and reveal work Train Smarter Build the habit with daily reminders, streaks, Awards, Personal Bests and session statistics. Track your accuracy, recall time, weak cards and progress, then return to the cards that need more work. PAO memory links, notes, photos and focused repetition help turn fragile recall into practical fluency. Apple Watch - Keep your recall sharp anywhere with quick wrist-based practice. Your stats sync with iPhone. Pro — One-Time Unlock Unlock the complete Mnemonica PAO Peg training course, adaptive practice tools and the full Stack Trainer experience: - Full Mnemonica PAO Peg Training beyond the first five free cards - Adaptive card prioritization and spaced-repetition-based training - Additional stacks: Aronson, Redford, Particle System, Memorandum, Nikola Card System and Joyal - Create and train your own custom stacks - Full practical modes, including Improv with random starting-cut practice - Notes and photos in Learn Stack - Cloud sync for backup and restore - Future Pro features No ads. One purchase. A stack you can actually use. Train daily. Build fluency. Know your stack.

Screenshots

The Family.3 screens
Stack Trainer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: The Family. at none against Stack Trainer's 1. The Family. also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). Stack Trainer's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 4 weeks). 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 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 5 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Family. ships an update every 4 weeks, Stack Trainer every 5 days. Both last shipped on October 2, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
The Family. versus Stack Trainer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Family.Stack Trainer
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better4.6 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews—66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings45 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB115 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperStudio52 MagicWayne Borcher

Customer experience

The Family.

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

Stack Trainer

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

The Family.

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Stack Trainer

One-time1
  • Stack Trainer Pro$9.99

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 4.6 from 5 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 every 4 weeks, and Stack Trainer every 5 days. Most recently, The Family. was updated on October 2, 2026 and Stack Trainer on October 2, 2026.

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