Comparison

CodeAscent vs Telling Time for Kids

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

Head to head
About

CodeAscent

This app introduces children as young as three to coding and AI concepts through an engaging space adventure. It features narrated lessons for pre-readers and allows older kids to write simplified Python code. Parents appreciate its ad-free, child-safe environment with robust parental controls.

Highlights
  • Early coding and AI introduction for ages 3+
  • Narrated lessons for pre-readers
  • Write simplified Python code
  • Problem-solving and computational thinking
  • 100% ad-free and child-safe
  • Parental controls
Features
Read full description

Most coding apps wait until kids can read. CodeAscent Kids starts at age 3—and grows with them all the way to writing real Python. Your child becomes a pilot, flying a jet across the galaxy with Py the snake as their co-pilot. Every mission teaches a real coding or AI concept through play—and because every lesson is narrated aloud, even pre-readers can dive in. From the makers of CodeAscent, the Python learning app for teens and adults—now reimagined for your youngest learners. TWO ADVENTURES THAT GROW WITH YOUR CHILD • Little Pilots (ages 3–6): tap and drag to learn sequencing, loops, and the basics of how AI thinks—no reading required. • Code Cadets (ages 6+): write real, simplified Python in a kid-friendly code editor, then explore how AI actually works. WHAT THEY'LL LEARN • Real Python concepts: commands, sequences, loops, variables, conditions, functions • AI basics: patterns, training, and prediction—explained for curious young minds • Problem-solving and computational thinking, disguised as a space adventure WHY PARENTS TRUST IT • 100% ad-free and child-safe • Every lesson read aloud by a warm, friendly voice • Parental controls behind a grown-ups-only gate • No data selling, ever Start free, then unlock the full 40+ mission journey with a 7-day free trial. Subscriptions: Annual or Monthly. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID settings. Terms of Use: https://www.codeascent.online/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.codeascent.online/privacy

About

Telling Time for Kids

Features
Read full description

Reading an analog clock is still on the test — and it is one of the few school skills a phone has quietly stopped teaching. Telling Time is a hands-on clock your child can actually touch: drag the hands, set the time, and watch the hour hand slide across the dial the way a real clock's does. It replaces telling-time worksheets. Instead of circling an answer on a printout, your child moves real clock hands and sees straight away whether the time they made is the time that was asked for. BUILT IN THE ORDER IT IS TAUGHT • O'clock — the hour, on the dot • Half past — half past the hour • Quarter past and quarter to • Five minutes — counting round the dial in fives • To the exact minute • Elapsed time — "it starts at 2:15 and takes 1 hour 20 minutes; when does it end?" • Digital and analog — matching the two kinds of clock to each other TWO WAYS TO PRACTISE SET THE CLOCK — "Make it 3:30." Your child drags the minute hand round the dial and the hour hand follows along, exactly as the gears would. READ THE CLOCK — a clock face appears and your child picks the right time from four choices. The wrong choices are the mistakes children actually make: swapping the two hands, landing five minutes out, or being half an hour off. A REAL CLOCK, NOT A CARTOON ONE The hour hand moves continuously. At half past three it sits exactly halfway between the 3 and the 4, because that is where a real clock puts it — plenty of apps park it on the 3, which teaches a child to read a clock face they will never meet in life. The hands are told apart by shape as well as by colour: short and thick for the hour, long and thin for the minutes. A MIXED QUIZ WHEN THEY ARE READY Ten questions drawn from every skill they have practised, scored at the end — a quick way to find out what has stuck before test day. SEE WHAT IS STICKING A progress report shows how they are doing on each skill, how many rounds they have finished, and their practice streak. Add a profile for each child and everyone's progress is kept separately. MAKE IT THEIRS Choose from a range of clock faces and colours. FOR KINDERGARTEN THROUGH THIRD GRADE Suitable for kindergarten, first grade, second grade and third grade — and for any older learner who wants the analog clock to finally click. Homeschoolers, teachers and tutors use it the same way. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No ads • No account and no sign-up • Works offline, anywhere — on the bus, in the car, in a waiting room • Nothing your child does is uploaded; their progress stays on the device • A backup file you own, so a new phone does not mean starting over An optional once-a-day reminder can nudge a short practice session. You choose the time, and you can turn it off whenever you like. Download Telling Time and let them learn the clock by moving the hands. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://kanac.github.io/syanac-legal/

Screenshots

CodeAscent4 screens
Telling Time for Kids4 screens

Verdict

The call

CodeAscent and Telling Time for Kids are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. CodeAscent sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Telling Time for Kids sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
CodeAscent versus Telling Time for Kids: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCodeAscentTelling Time for Kids
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size214 MB39 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLondi TanguAnthony Chui

In-app purchases

4 purchases

CodeAscent

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Pro$7.991 Month
  • Pro Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Annual Pro7 Days trial$39.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Annual Plan — 7-Day Free Trial7 Days trial$39.991 Year
1 purchases

Telling Time for Kids

One-time1
  • Unlock Everything$14.99

Questions

Is CodeAscent free?
CodeAscent is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Telling Time for Kids free?
Telling Time for Kids is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do CodeAscent or Telling Time for Kids have ads?
Neither CodeAscent nor Telling Time for Kids shows ads.

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