Comparison

PLAY vs MagPaint

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

MagPaint

A digital magnetic drawing and writing board for children. It offers an instant clean slate for creativity and sharing. The app includes reminders to protect young eyes during extended use.

Highlights
  • Multifunctional drawing and writing board
  • Instant clean and share functionality
  • Realistic magnetic board experience
  • Eye protection reminders
  • Child-friendly interface
Features
Read full description

Original - multifunctional magnetic drawing and writing board for children to write and draw. • Instant clean and supports share. • Real experience - Learning, healthy and environmental protection. • Kindly reminder to have a rest after long time using, to protect your eyes. • The original - exactly like the one when you were a child.

Screenshots

PLAY4 screens
MagPaint4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: MagPaint at 100% against PLAY's 51%. MagPaint also leads on iOS requirement (7.0 vs 13.0). PLAY's advantage is rating (4.4 vs 3.7) and ratings volume (25 vs 3). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 MagPaint sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PLAY holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PLAY has 25 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 51% of PLAY's written reviews are positive against 100% of MagPaint's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PLAY ships an update every 2 months, MagPaint every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on August 28, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
PLAY versus MagPaint: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPLAYMagPaint
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (25 ratings) — better3.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews51.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings25 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.07.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size243 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPlayDate DigitalAPP Technology Co. Ltd.

Customer experience

PLAY

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

MagPaint

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

PLAY

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

MagPaint

One-time1
  • MagPaint (Remove Ads)$0.99

Questions

Is PLAY free?
PLAY is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MagPaint free?
MagPaint is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PLAY or MagPaint?
PLAY is rated higher. PLAY averages 4.4 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while MagPaint averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do PLAY or MagPaint have ads?
Neither PLAY nor MagPaint shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PLAY or MagPaint?
PLAY ships an update every 2 months, and MagPaint every 5 months. Most recently, PLAY was updated on August 28, 2026 and MagPaint on September 17, 2026.

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