Comparison

Pickatale vs Sumdog

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

Head to head
About

Pickatale

This app offers unlimited access to thousands of narrated and illustrated books for children aged 4-11, designed to improve reading confidence. It features curated reading stages, comprehension quizzes, and an AI-powered book creator for educators.

Highlights
  • Unlimited narrated books
  • Illustrated children's books
  • Reading stages categorization
  • Reading comprehension quizzes
  • AI-powered book creator
  • Teacher dashboard
Read full description

Discover the joy of reading with Pickatale. A reading platform designed to encourage children to become better, more confident readers. We have 1000’s of narrated and beautifully illustrated books for children aged 4 to 11. Including popular titles by Oxford University Press, Cricket and Arcturus, and many non-fiction books with engaging topics such as dinosaurs, space and dangerous animals! All books are categorised into Pickatale Reading Stages, and we also have quizzes to aid reading comprehension. FAMILIES 30 days free for all our premium content (£5.99 a month thereafter) SCHOOLS Thousands of brilliant books and quizzes to inspire a love for reading. Pickatale Create: AI-powered book creator that helps teachers craft custom books tailored to their curriculum and student interests. Teacher dashboard, empowering teachers with actionable insights on their students’ reading progress. Join us and discover the exciting world of Pickatale! Terms and conditions https://pickatale.com/terms-conditions Once your 30-day free family trial is complete, a monthly subscription is only £5.99, with no additional costs and no contract, so you’re free to cancel at any time through your ‘Subscriptions’ page in the App Store. By downloading from the App Store you will be charged monthly through your iTunes account using your chosen payment method. The service renews automatically at the end of each month. Need to speak to us? https://pickatale.co.uk/contact-us/

About

Sumdog

This app offers personalized math and spelling practice for children aged 5-14 through engaging games and adaptive learning. It uses diagnostic tests to tailor learning journeys and provides virtual rewards to motivate students. Parents can set up accounts for home use or connect to school-assigned work.

Highlights
  • Personalized adaptive learning
  • Engaging single and multiplayer games
  • Thousands of standards-aligned questions
  • Virtual coin rewards system
  • 3D avatar and house personalization
  • Diagnostic assessment
Features
Read full description

Make learning fun with Sumdog! Sumdog delivers highly engaging personalized practice for math and spelling, both in-school and at home. Suitable for children aged 5-14, our adaptive learning games and online rewards motivate children to learn and encourages regular practice. When children first use Sumdog, we run a short diagnostic test to provide a snapshot of their learning and areas for development. Our adaptive learning engine then uses the outcomes of the diagnostic to ensure each child’s starting point on Sumdog is at the right level. From this point, our sophisticated adaptive algorithms create a personalized learning journey based for each child based on their progress. - Over 30 engaging single and multiplayer games - Thousands of standards-aligned questions designed to consolidate and extend in-class learning - Virtual coin rewards to motivate children to learn - A 3D avatar, house and garden for children to personalize “I never thought an online program could do so much in such short bursts of time.” D. Hendershot, West Elementary, Kansas, US. Account set-up If your child has an account from school: Your child can log in with their details from their school. They’ll then be able to access any work that has been set by their teachers. If your child does not have an account from school: In the Sumdog app, parents can purchase a family plan covering up to 3 children. Once you’ve done this, you’ll create logins for your child to use the app. This gives them access to Sumdog’s games, and thousands of math, spelling and grammar questions. Subscription details: Your subscription starts with a free trial period and then changes to a subscription from $8.99 per month. No commitment period. Download the app and get started today! The amount will be deducted automatically every month via your Apple account. As long as the "Automatic renewal" feature is not disabled via the Apple account settings on your device, the subscription will automatically renew every month no later than 24 hours before your subscription period expires. Sumdog Terms: https://learn.sumdog.com/en-us/about-us/terms-of-use Sumdog Privacy: https://learn.sumdog.com/en-us/about-us/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Pickatale4 screens
Sumdog4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Sumdog at free with in-app purchases against Pickatale's subscription. Sumdog also leads on ratings volume (1.6K vs 6) and review sentiment (64% vs 42%). 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. Pickatale sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month and Sumdog sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $8.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sumdog holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sumdog has 1.6K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 42% of Pickatale's written reviews are positive against 64% of Sumdog's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pickatale ships an update monthly, Sumdog every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Pickatale versus Sumdog: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPickataleSumdog
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (6 ratings)4.2 (1.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews42.3% of reviews63.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings61.6K — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size122 MB135 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPickatale ASSumdog Ltd.

Customer experience

Pickatale

All ratings6 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews52 reviews
Positive42.3%
Neutral5.8%
Negative51.9%

Sumdog

All ratings1,556 ratings
Positive78.3%
Neutral4.9%
Negative16.8%
Written reviews361 reviews
Positive63.7%
Neutral10.5%
Negative25.8%

Bugs and requests

Pickatale

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Sumdog

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Flower Defenders game not working properly
  • Goalz game not registering shots correctly
  • Sudden logout issues
  • Incompatibility with certain devices or browsers

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more free games
  • Bring back old 2D games
  • Allow interaction with house and garden items
  • Improve multiplayer functionality
  • Add more customization options for avatar and house

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Pickatale

Subscriptions7
  • Monthly subscription7 Days trial$8.991 Month
  • Pickatale Monthly Subscription1 Month trial$8.991 Month
  • Pickatale Pro Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$17.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • Pickatale Yearly subscription7 Days trial$43.991 Year
  • Teacher Monthly7 Days trial$69.001 Month
  • Pickatale Pro Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$87.991 Year
  • Teacher Yearly7 Days trial$690.001 Year
1 purchases

Sumdog

Subscriptions1
  • Family Membership7 Days trial$8.991 Month

Questions

Is Pickatale free?
Pickatale is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sumdog free?
Sumdog is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pickatale or Sumdog?
Sumdog is rated higher. Pickatale averages 4.0 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Sumdog averages 4.2 from 1.6K ratings.
Do Pickatale or Sumdog have ads?
Neither Pickatale nor Sumdog shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pickatale or Sumdog?
Pickatale ships an update monthly, and Sumdog every 2 months. Most recently, Pickatale was updated on November 1, 2026 and Sumdog on November 2, 2026.

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