Forge Fundamentals vs Network Labs & Subnet Prep
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Forge Fundamentals
This app offers daily, gamified practice sessions and quizzes to reinforce IT fundamental concepts. It covers networking, cloud, security, and systems with scenario-based questions and immediate feedback. Track your progress, build streaks, and level up to master essential IT skills.
- Daily practice sessions
- Topic-specific quizzes
- Incident simulation mode
- Progress tracking and analytics
- Streak building and shields
- Leveling and prestige system
- Leaderboards and privacy controls
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Forge is a gamified learning platform for IT fundamentals built for consistency, not cramming. When we started interviewing for technical roles, we realized how easy it is to forget core concepts like networking fundamentals and Linux commands when you haven't touched them in a while. Forge was built to solve that exact problem. With Forge, you get scenario-based multiple-choice questions across four core domains: Networking, Cloud, Security, and Systems. Each question includes immediate feedback, clear explanations, and real context—so you build understanding instead of memorizing trivia. FORGE INCLUDES: • Daily Practice Sessions Quick 5-question sessions designed to fit into real schedules and build consistency. Adaptive question selection targets your weak areas while reinforcing strengths. • Topic Quizzes Choose a domain, pick a topic, select difficulty (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced), and practice exactly the skills you want to improve. Customize quiz length from 10 to 30 questions. • Incident Mode Simulate real production incidents with multi-step troubleshooting. Diagnose issues, analyze terminal output, select the right commands, and resolve SEV-1, SEV-2, and SEV-3 scenarios—just like on-call engineers do. • Track Your Growth See domain mastery, topic-level accuracy, activity history, streak tracking, and detailed analytics that show improvement over time. • Streaks & Shields Build daily streaks to stay consistent. Miss a day? Streak shields protect your progress automatically. Earn shields at the 7-day and 14-day milestones. • Level Up & Prestige Earn XP for every correct answer. Level up to unlock the Prestige system at Level 25—reset your level and earn permanent XP bonuses forever. Prestige 3 = 30% bonus on all XP. • Compete (Optional) Weekly and all-time leaderboards help you stay motivated, with privacy controls so you can appear anonymously or show your name. 40 TOPICS ACROSS 4 DOMAINS: Networking: TCP/IP, DNS, subnetting, routing, load balancing, HTTP/HTTPS, network troubleshooting, and more. Cloud: Service models, VMs, containers, Kubernetes, serverless, IAM, cloud networking, cost management. Security: Authentication, encryption, OWASP Top 10, incident response, compliance, threat detection. Systems: Linux commands, process management, shell scripting, file systems, performance monitoring, Windows administration. Forge is built for interview prep, certification study, and staying sharp on the fundamentals that matter in real-world IT work.
Network Labs & Subnet Prep
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Still working out every subnet by hand? Practice until the math feels automatic. Network Labs & Subnet Prep gives you a new subnetting question every time, with the steps written out after you answer. It also includes independently created practice questions and guided offline labs for CCNA 200-301 study. SUBNETTING DRILL • A new question every time, so you practice the method instead of memorizing answers • Core skills: network address, broadcast address, usable host range, usable host count, prefix to mask, and mask to prefix • Advanced: wildcard masks for ACLs and OSPF, same-subnet checks, sizing a subnet for a host count (VLSM), splitting a network into subnets, and route summarization • Answers come from the built-in subnet calculator, which is tested against an independent reference ALSO INCLUDED • Subnet calculator: network, broadcast, host range, mask, wildcard mask, and usable hosts for any IPv4 address and prefix length • Practice questions by exam topic, with an explanation for every choice • Quick 10 and a mini mock exam • Guided labs for CLI, routing decisions, VLANs, ACLs, NAT, STP, and packet flow • Progress by exam version, with readiness shown as a study indicator, not a pass guarantee • Study Mode: lock the apps you choose for a set time, free for everyone • No account, no ads, and no data sent to external servers FREE AND LIFETIME ACCESS Free: all six core drill types without limits, one question of each advanced drill type, 50 practice questions, 25 guided labs, Quick 10 and Mini Mock, explanations, progress tracking, and purchase restoration. Lifetime Access: unlimited advanced drills, the complete 100-question bank, and all 50 guided labs, so Quick 10 and Mini Mock draw from the full set. One purchase; no subscription. STUDY MODE Pick the apps that pull you away, set a time, and they stay closed until it is up, so you can stay with practice questions and labs. Study Mode is free for everyone, works only on your device, and can be stopped any time from the app. This is an independent study tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Cisco Systems, Inc. It contains independently created educational content, not actual exam questions or unauthorized exam dumps. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://common-legume-c99.notion.site/3a1fb55d2567815483fdc70eae63359b
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Forge Fundamentals at none against Network Labs & Subnet Prep's 1. Forge Fundamentals also leads on update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ads and device support 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
Both are free to download. Network Labs & Subnet Prep sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Forge Fundamentals asks for nothing beyond the download.
Forge Fundamentals ships an update weekly, Network Labs & Subnet Prep fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Forge Fundamentals | Network Labs & Subnet Prep |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (5 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 29 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | RODNEY M WHITE | Shunya Iwasaki |
In-app purchases
Forge Fundamentals
No in-app purchases
Network Labs & Subnet Prep
- CCNA Lifetime Access$39.99
Questions
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