Comparison

PLAY vs Pinkfong Super Phonics

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

Head to head
About

PLAY

This app uses virtual Play-Doh to teach children the alphabet. Kids can trace letters, learn new vocabulary, and create custom Play-Doh scenes. It also includes letter matching games and progress tracking for parents.

Highlights
  • Virtual Play-Doh letter tracing
  • Vocabulary association with letters
  • Customizable Play-Doh creations
  • Play-Doh scene building
  • Letter matching games
  • Progress tracking for parents
Features
Read full description

“Top 20 Best Apps of the Week” - The Guardian UK “The perfect blend of nostalgia and learning opportunities” - About.com “Fun, mess free way for learning”-Yahoo Voices “Well-thought out, educationally beneficial, colorful”- The Learning Treehouse “Completely transforms the way kids interact with technology” - Appshappens.com Learn your ABCs using ‘virtual’ PLAY-DOH modeling compound with this delightfully interactive educational app! PLAY-DOH Create ABCs application is designed to help children develop the essential skills required for reading and writing. Using this app, children will learn to: recognize letters, write letters using proper stroke order and associate letters with sounds. WRITE AND CRAFT! Learn how to write letters of the alphabet by using ‘virtual’ PLAY-DOH modeling compound. Discover new vocabulary words that start with the same letter. What starts with the letter A? An alligator! But be careful, it’s ready to chomp! When you successfully complete each letter, you are rewarded with a ‘virtual’ PLAY-DOH treat that you can create and customize. Want to change the color? Go ahead! Want to squish it? You can do that, too! CREATE AND SHARE! Build your own PLAY-DOH scenes with your PLAY-DOH creations. The PLAY-DOH gallery is just a click away on the ‘create and share’ button. There you can enjoy all the animated, colorful objects you make as you work your way through the letters of the alphabet. Select your favorite background and then bring PLAY-DOH scenes to life with custom PLAY-DOH pictures. Save your creations on your phone or tablet and share them with others! LETTER MATCHING Click on the ‘match’ button and you can enjoy a new activity: matching letters with the PLAY-DOH creations. The ‘match’ feature reinforces initial letter sounds by matching letters with objects that start with the same sound. A letter select screen allows you to play the activity on any letter you choose. Can you match the letters of the alphabet to the different PLAY-DOH creations? Give it a try! PLAY-DOH Create ABCs includes: -Tracing of uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet -Exciting ‘virtual’ PLAY-DOH treats -Poem and animations to re-enforce learning letter sounds -‘Squishable’ PLAY-DOH animations! -A matching activity to match letters with pictures -A letter select screen that allows children to choose any letter to play -A creativity zone, the PLAY-DOH gallery, where kids design custom PLAY-DOH scenes -A save-to-camera feature where parents can save and share their child’s colorful creations -Curriculum developed and reviewed by preschool education expert
s -Multiplayer profiles that allow more than one child to play and save their progress -Parental reporting to show progress PLAY-DOH Create ABCs will help children develop: -Language and pre-reading skills, including letter recognition and phonemic (sound) awareness and knowledge. - Fine motor skills and coordination -Their creativity via ‘learning by doing’ NOTE: Before you download this experience, please consider that this app contains in-app purchases that cost money. Additional content cannot be unlocked without spending money. ABOUT PLAYDATE DIGITAL PlayDate Digital Inc. is an emergent publisher of high-quality, interactive, mobile educational software for children. PlayDate Digital's products nurture children's emerging literacy and creativity skills by turning digital screens into engaging experiences. PlayDate Digital content is built in partnership with some of the world's most trusted global brands for kids. Visit us: playdatedigital.com Like us: facebook.com/playdatedigital Follow us: @playdatedigital Watch all our app trailers: youtube.com/PlayDateDigital1 HAVE QUESTIONS? We'd love to hear from you! Your questions suggestions and comments are always welcome. Contact us 24/7 at info@playdatedigital.com

About

Pinkfong Super Phonics

This app builds upon foundational letter learning by teaching children to recognize sounds and spellings through rhyming words. It features animated songs, interactive word-building activities, and engaging games designed by education experts to enhance reading and writing skills.

Highlights
  • Animated phonics songs
  • Word building activities
  • Interactive learning games
  • Rhyming word recognition
  • Spelling practice
  • Fun rewards and costumes
Features
Read full description

New series of our #1 app "ABC Phonics" with 4,500,000 users is finally out! While our previous app "ABC Phonics" was all about learning sounds and shapes of each letter, "Super Phonics" is the next step for learning how to recognize sounds and spellings with rhyming words. Start building basic reading and writing skills with our all new "Super Phonics"! 1. Animated Phonics Songs - 24 original songs with set of rhyming words to help getting familiar with each sound. - Repeatedly show rhyming words in both images and written words. - Made by English education experts and animated with original Pinkfong characters. 2. Word Building Activity - Children can build 96 rhyming words in a fun and interactive way. - Listen how the rhyming parts sound and learn how to spell. 3. Interactive learning Games - Games are designed to help kids learn words in various ways; Listen and choose right words, match pictures and words, find rhyming words and more. - Created with subjects kids just love. Catching the mole game, building bridges, roller coasters and more. 4. Fun Rewards - Take a picture and study along with your own character. - Adorable costume rewards make learning more fun! - You can get costumes from princesses, animals, monsters to heroes and more! Have fun and improve your reading and spelling skills! - "A World of Play + Learning" - Discover a premium membership designed by Pinkfong's unique expertise! • Official Website: https://fong.kr/pinkfongplus1/ • What's so great about Pinkfong Plus: 1. 30+ apps with different themes and levels for each stage of development! 2. Interactive play and educational content that allows for self-directed learning! 3. Unlock all premium content 4. Block unsafe ads and inappropriate content 5. Exclusive Pinkfong Plus original content only available to members! 6. Connect with various devices such as smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs 7. Certified by teachers and professional organizations! • Unlimited apps available with Pinkfong Plus: - Baby Shark World for Kids, Baby Shark English, Bebefinn Play Phone , Baby Shark Dentist Play, Baby Shark Princess Dress Up, Baby Shark Chef Cooking Game, Bebefinn Baby Care, Baby Shark Hospital Play, Baby Shark Taco Sandwich Maker, Baby Shark's Dessert Shop, Pinkfong Baby Shark, Baby Shark Pizza Game, Pinkfong Baby Shark Phone, Pinkfong Shapes & Colors, Pinkfong Dino World, Pinkfong Tracing World, Baby Shark Coloring Book, Baby Shark Jigsaw Puzzle Fun, Baby Shark ABC Phonics, Baby Shark Makeover Game, Pinkfong My Body, Baby Shark Car Town, Pinkfong 123 Numbers, Pinkfong Guess the Animal, Pinkfong Numbers Zoo, , Pinkfong Learn Korean, Pinkfong Police Heroes Game, Pinkfong Coloring Fun, Pinkfong Super Phonics, Pinkfong Baby Shark Storybook, Pinkfong Word Power, Pinkfong Mother Goose, Pinkfong Birthday Party, Pinkfong Fun Times Tables, Pinkfong Baby Bedtime Songs, Pinkfong Hogi Star Adventure + more! - More available apps will be updated soon. - Click the 'More Apps' button on each app's main screen or search for the app on App Store! - Privacy Policy: https://pid.pinkfong.com/terms?type=privacy-policy Terms of Use of Pinkfong Integrated Services: https://pid.pinkfong.com/terms?type=terms-and-conditions Terms of Use of Pinkfong Interactive App: https://pid.pinkfong.com/terms?type=interactive-terms-and-conditions

Screenshots

PLAY4 screens
Pinkfong Super Phonics4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Pinkfong Super Phonics at 247 against PLAY's 26. PLAY's advantage is review sentiment (51% vs 41%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. PLAY sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Pinkfong Super Phonics sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.2 for PLAY against 4.3 for Pinkfong Super Phonics. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pinkfong Super Phonics has 247 ratings behind it against 26, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 51% of PLAY's written reviews are positive against 41% of Pinkfong Super Phonics's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PLAY ships an update every 2 months, Pinkfong Super Phonics every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PLAY versus Pinkfong Super Phonics: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPLAYPinkfong Super Phonics
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (26 ratings)4.3 (247 ratings) — better
Positive reviews51.2% of reviews — better40.6% of reviews
Number of ratings26247 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size243 MB93 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPlayDate Digital Inc.The Pinkfong Company, Inc.

Customer experience

PLAY

All ratings25 ratings
Positive84.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.0%
Written reviews84 reviews
Positive51.2%
Neutral2.4%
Negative46.4%

Pinkfong Super Phonics

All ratings247 ratings
Positive80.6%
Neutral8.1%
Negative11.3%
Written reviews64 reviews
Positive40.6%
Neutral14.1%
Negative45.3%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

PLAY

One-time2
  • Remove Ads$1.99
  • Unlock All Alphabets$3.99
5 purchases

Pinkfong Super Phonics

Subscriptions3
  • Pinkfong Plus (Monthly)$8.991 Month
  • Pinkfong Plus (Annual)$59.991 Year
  • Pinkfong Plus Annual Original$107.991 Year
One-time2
  • Super Phonics Full Pack$12.99
  • SuperPhonics FullPack Original$19.99

Questions

Is PLAY free?
PLAY is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pinkfong Super Phonics free?
Pinkfong Super Phonics is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PLAY or Pinkfong Super Phonics?
Pinkfong Super Phonics is rated higher. PLAY averages 4.2 out of 5 from 26 ratings, while Pinkfong Super Phonics averages 4.3 from 247 ratings.
Do PLAY or Pinkfong Super Phonics have ads?
Neither PLAY nor Pinkfong Super Phonics shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PLAY or Pinkfong Super Phonics?
PLAY ships an update every 2 months, and Pinkfong Super Phonics every 3 months. Most recently, PLAY was updated on October 23, 2026 and Pinkfong Super Phonics on October 24, 2026.

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