Comparison

Cursive Handwriting vs Trace & Play

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

Head to head
About

Cursive Handwriting

Learn to write beautifully with guided, stroke-by-stroke lessons for cursive and print letters. Practice with your finger or Apple Pencil and receive instant feedback to build muscle memory. Track your progress and earn rewards as you master your handwriting.

Highlights
  • Animated stroke-by-stroke letter tracing
  • Practice with finger or Apple Pencil
  • Instant feedback and progress tracking
  • Gamified learning with checkmarks and streaks
  • English uppercase and lowercase lessons
  • Progress monitoring
Features
Read full description

Learn to write beautifully — right on your iPad and iPhone. Cursive Handwriting guides you through every letter with animated, stroke-by-stroke lessons. Follow the glowing path with your finger or Apple Pencil, and watch each letter come to life as you trace it. KEY FEATURES: • Guided letter cards — trace cursive and print letters with stroke-by-stroke animations that show exactly how to write. • Trace with Apple Pencil or your finger — natural practice that feels just like writing on paper. • Instant feedback — follow the line correctly and the progress bar fills; stray off and it resets, so you build real muscle memory. • Earn checkmarks & build streaks — complete each card to unlock the next and keep your daily practice going. • Lessons by language — practice English uppercase and lowercase, with more scripts on the way. • Track your progress — see your stars, completed lessons, and improvement over time. WHO IS IT FOR: • Kids and students learning to write • Adults who want neater, more elegant handwriting • Anyone practicing cursive, print, or a new alphabet HOW IT WORKS: 1. Pick a stack of letters. 2. Watch the pen show you how each letter is written. 3. Trace it yourself — earn a checkmark and move to the next. 4. Finish the lesson and see your score. Support: hello@britetodo.com Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://britetodo.com/legal/PrivacyPolicyBrite.pdf

About

Trace & Play

Features
Read full description

Trace & Play helps young children learn to write their letters — one happy stroke at a time. A big, friendly letter appears, with a faint guide to trace over. Your child draws right on the screen with a finger or Apple Pencil, and gets gentle, encouraging feedback when they follow the shape. Then it's on to the next letter. Designed for little learners (ages 3–6): • Trace all 26 uppercase letters, A to Z • Smooth, natural letter shapes — including proper curves for C, O, S and friends • Forgiving feedback tuned for small hands — no frustration, just encouragement • Works in any orientation, on iPhone and iPad • Finger or Apple Pencil • Uppercase A–Z is free. An optional one-time purchase unlocks lowercase letters and numbers. No ads or accounts • Settings kept simple and out of little fingers' way Learning to write, one letter at a time.

Screenshots

Cursive Handwriting4 screens
Trace & Play1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Cursive Handwriting at fortnightly against Trace & Play's monthly. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Cursive Handwriting sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days and Trace & Play sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cursive Handwriting ships an update fortnightly, Trace & Play monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Cursive Handwriting versus Trace & Play: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCursive HandwritingTrace & Play
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrite TechnologiesDon Nguyen

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Cursive Handwriting

Subscriptions2
  • Weekly$5.997 Days
  • Yearly3 Days trial$19.991 Year
1 purchases

Trace & Play

One-time1
  • Unlock Everything$1.99

Questions

Is Cursive Handwriting free?
Cursive Handwriting is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Trace & Play free?
Trace & Play is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Cursive Handwriting or Trace & Play have ads?
Neither Cursive Handwriting nor Trace & Play shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cursive Handwriting or Trace & Play?
Cursive Handwriting ships an update fortnightly, and Trace & Play monthly. Most recently, Cursive Handwriting was updated on September 10, 2026 and Trace & Play on September 18, 2026.

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