# Pelican+ vs Upon A Time

The clearest difference is monetization model: Upon A Time at free with in-app purchases against Pelican+'s subscription. Upon A Time also leads on update cadence (every 11 days vs every 2 months). Pelican+'s advantage is ratings volume (32 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Pelican+ sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Upon A Time sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Pelican+ against 5.0 for Upon A Time. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pelican+ has 32 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Pelican+ ships an update every 2 months, Upon A Time every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pelican+ | Upon A Time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (32 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pelican-plus/id6753085864/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/upon-a-time-learn-to-read/id6790227790/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **32** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 84.6% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 11 days** |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 33 MB | 8 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.1** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Pious Pelican Media, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1842404761) | [Midhun Harikumar](https://appshunter.io/developer/6790227792) |

## What reviewers say

### Pelican+

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pelican-plus/id6753085864)

A faith-safe digital sanctuary for Traditional Catholic families, offering a personalized content library with e-books, audiobooks, and podcasts. It supports Catholic creators and provides trusted media for prayer, learning, and devotion, free from secular ads.

**Highlights:** Personalized content library, Cross-device progress syncing, E-book highlighting and note-taking, Premium podcasts, video blogs, ebooks, audiobooks, articles, Content for prayer, learning, and devotion, Films, documentaries, and children's programming (coming soon)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Basic Subscription | $9.99 | per month |
| Premium Monthly | $19.99 | per month |
| Basic Yearly | $99.99 | per year |
| Premium Yearly | $199.99 | per year |


### Upon A Time

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/upon-a-time-learn-to-read/id6790227790)

This app creates personalized illustrated storybooks for children, allowing them to star in their own adventures. It adapts to various reading levels and incorporates phonics highlighting and read-to-me narration to build reading skills.

**Highlights:** Personalized story creation, Adaptive reading levels, Phonics highlighting, Read-to-me narration, Customizable characters, Offline story access

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Story Pack — 10 Stories | $4.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pelican+ free?

Pelican+ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Upon A Time free?

Upon A Time is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Pelican+ or Upon A Time?

Upon A Time is rated higher. Pelican+ averages 4.9 out of 5 from 32 ratings, while Upon A Time averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Pelican+ or Upon A Time have ads?

Neither Pelican+ nor Upon A Time shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Pelican+ or Upon A Time?

Pelican+ ships an update every 2 months, and Upon A Time every 11 days. Most recently, Pelican+ was updated on November 5, 2026 and Upon A Time on November 6, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*