Comparison

StartDOT Handwriting vs Main Idea

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

Head to head
About

StartDOT Handwriting

This app offers a virtual handwriting workbook for children aged 3-7 and those with special needs. It uses engaging pictures and stories to teach letter and number formation through proven learning methods, with adjustable settings for progressive difficulty.

Highlights
  • Virtual handwriting workbook
  • Teaches letter and number formation
  • Engaging pictures and stories
  • Proven learning methods
  • Adjustable difficulty settings
  • Progress monitoring
  • Worksheet downloads
Read full description

**TOP 10 APPS FOR KIDS** Cool Mom Tech Smart Apps for Kids: TOP PICK ... 5 Star Handwriting App! Teachers with Apps CERTIFIED! "A beautifully crafted app, a true treasure!" Appy Mall - "This is an essential app!", "Highly recommended" The iMums - 5 Stars ... "a handwriting program that works!" New & Noteworthy Kids Apps 2014 KNOW What’s Inside™ Member: Best Practices for Kids’ Apps So much more than a tracing app... A virtual handwriting workbook, perfect for in-person or asynchronous learning. Unforgettable pictures and stories help children learn how to write their letters and numbers in a fun, new way! (ages 3-7 & special needs) Developed by an occupational therapist with over 26 years of experience working with handwriting for young children and children with special needs. OVERVIEW All the depth of a classroom experience, in your own home, with the fun and simplicity of the digital environment. Proven learning methods combined in an app that truly teaches letter and number formation! FEATURES ~ Wide error range for beginners ~ Free worksheet downloads on our website www.startdothandwriting.com/free-downloads ~ 2 Learning Orders: Kinesthetic (guided) or Alphabetic (free choice) ~ Rainbow Letters to increase accuracy ~ Look-Back Progress Monitoring: All handwriting samples saved for all users! ~ Adjustable settings increase difficulty ~ Two writing screens: Learning and Practice ~ Unique teaching method and concepts simplifies learning. ~ Striking graphics combine with gentle teaching voice BEST FOR ... ~ Ages 3-6, and 6+ children with developmental delays ~ Casual home use, preschool, kindergarten, first grade, home school, therapy PRIVACY TrishCo takes privacy and security matters seriously, and wishes to inform all users of the StartDOT application, whether parents, professionals, community members or our most important audience - our hardworking kids, of our privacy practices. We encourage you to review our policy at www.startdothandwriting.com/privacy.

About

Main Idea

This app helps children in grades 2-5 improve reading comprehension by teaching them to identify the main idea of a text. It uses a step-by-step approach with visual guides and a reward system to build this skill incrementally. Designed by educators, it's suitable for both typical and special needs children.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step comprehension skill building
  • Incremental learning with unlocked levels
  • Frustration-free guided learning
  • Engaging reward center
  • Parental review and reporting
  • Content designed by teachers and researchers
  • Timed levels for fluency development
Features
Read full description

** Happy Frog Apps are featured on FunEducationalApps.com. TeachersWithApps.com, Appolicious.com, iHeartThisApp.com ** 'Main Idea-Short Texts' helps kids who have trouble with reading comprehension. Identifying the main idea is a key part of reading comprehension as it allows you to figure out ‘what a text is about'. 'Main Idea -Short Texts' builds this comprehension skill step-by-step until mastery. Accolades for the first app in the Main Idea series... ***** 5 Stars - Thank you for this app! Other software I’ve used has moved too quickly for my son. This one worked! ***** 5 Stars - This app is one the best education apps I have used with my little one. It really helps to improve his reading abilities. He is obsessed with passing the levels and it never let him disappointed. One of the few apps that worth to upgrade to premium version. 'Main Idea - Short Texts' is targeted to children in Grades 2-5 who can read the words, but don't understand what they read. Beginning readers in earlier grades can also benefit from the targeted skill development. The focus of 'Main Idea - Short Texts' is teaching kids how to identify the main idea of a paragraph. The skill is built incrementally using visual guides. Key Benefits: - Builds comprehension skills step-by-step until mastery. - Incremental learning. New levels are unlocked only when your child is ready. - Frustration-free learning. Your child will always be guided to the correct answer. - Fun and engaging Reward Center to increase motivation. - Easy parental review. Just check out the stars to see how your child is doing. - Content designed by professional teachers and researchers. - Advanced levels include timers to ensure fluency. Research shows fluency in the foundation skills is critical to reading comprehension. - Can be used independently (just hand it over: your child will know what to do!) or with a therapist/parent for reading intervention. - Provides extensive reporting for up to 10 students to suit the needs of parents, teachers and therapists. Our apps are designed for and tested by typical and special needs children. Testers include children with Autism and other special needs. Our apps work for them! To evaluate the app, download the free version, which has 4 free levels. Additional levels and additional players can be accessed with in-app purchase. If you prefer no in-app purchases, download the School Edition of this app. While you're thinking about reading, check out our other apps at www.HappyFrogApps.com. We take customer service very seriously! If you ever have a problem or find that we've missed something, contact us at our website and we will do our best to fix the problem. We collect NO private information in our app. None! Our apps do not allow unrestricted web access.

Screenshots

Main Idea4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: StartDOT Handwriting at 4.7 against Main Idea's 2.0. StartDOT Handwriting also leads on review sentiment (91% vs 67%) and ratings volume (11 vs 1). Main Idea's advantage is update cadence (every 22 months vs every 43 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and iOS requirement 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

StartDOT Handwriting costs $4.99 and Main Idea $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

StartDOT Handwriting holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: StartDOT Handwriting has 11 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of StartDOT Handwriting's written reviews are positive against 67% of Main Idea's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StartDOT Handwriting ships an update every 43 months, Main Idea every 22 months. The most recent releases landed on September 15, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
StartDOT Handwriting versus Main Idea: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStartDOT HandwritingMain Idea
Price$4.99 — better$6.99
Rating4.7 (11 ratings) — better2.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews90.9% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings11 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 43 monthsEvery 22 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS13.012.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size105 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTrishCO LLCJanine Toole

Customer experience

StartDOT Handwriting

All ratings11 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral9.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive90.9%
Neutral9.1%
Negative0.0%

Main Idea

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

StartDOT Handwriting

No in-app purchases

None

Main Idea

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is StartDOT Handwriting free?
StartDOT Handwriting costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Main Idea free?
Main Idea costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, StartDOT Handwriting or Main Idea?
StartDOT Handwriting is rated higher. StartDOT Handwriting averages 4.7 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Main Idea averages 2.0 from 1 ratings.
Do StartDOT Handwriting or Main Idea have ads?
Neither StartDOT Handwriting nor Main Idea shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StartDOT Handwriting or Main Idea?
StartDOT Handwriting ships an update every 43 months, and Main Idea every 22 months. Most recently, StartDOT Handwriting was updated on September 15, 2026 and Main Idea on September 8, 2026.

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