OpenABC vs Squirk
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
OpenABC
This app offers a comprehensive language learning path, integrating listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It uses visual aids, handwriting recognition, and pronunciation feedback to help users master new vocabulary and grammar in context. Content adapts to your learning level and includes various practice modes.
- Visual word learning
- Handwriting dictation
- Pronunciation feedback
- Contextual grammar practice
- Offline content access
- Multiple learner profiles
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OpenABC brings listening, speaking, reading, and writing into one connected learning path: understand a word, write it by hand, say it aloud, and meet it again in real sentences and listening practice. LEARN WORDS WITH PICTURES Pointer lines connect each word to the exact object or part it describes, so meaning is understood before it is memorized. HANDWRITING DICTATION Write spellings directly on screen and receive on-device recognition. iPad supports both finger input and Apple Pencil. SPEAKING PRACTICE Practice situational phrases and full sentences with clear audio demonstrations and on-device pronunciation and intonation feedback. Recording only starts when you choose. GRAMMAR YOU CAN SPEAK Key structures appear inside useful, contextual sentences. Understand the situation, then say the pattern aloud instead of only answering grammar questions. LISTEN AND REPEAT ANY LINE Daily warm-ups, dialogues, and sentence-by-sentence content keep playback and speaking controls close to every line. CONTENT THAT GROWS WITH YOU Study vocabulary, everyday listening and speaking, life stories, children's content, graded readers, English audiobooks, exam listening, pronunciation, and spelling. Review is planned by vocabulary level, learning history, and memory intervals. MULTIPLE LEARNERS Create separate learner profiles on one device. Vocabulary level, progress, review history, and preferences stay independent for each person. OFFLINE AND AD-FREE Downloaded content works offline. OpenABC contains no third-party ads, does not use advertising identifiers, and does not track you across apps or websites. Learning data stays on your device. ONE-TIME UNLOCK Permanent free samples include selected content and every practice mode. One purchase unlocks the full version—no subscription. Restore Purchase is available when changing devices.
Squirk
This app acts as a personalized spelling tutor for young children, adapting to their individual learning pace. It focuses on building long-term memory through spaced repetition and phonics-based word introduction, with a calm, ad-free interface.
- Adaptive learning based on child's level
- Spaced repetition for long-term memory
- Phonics-based word introduction
- Parent dashboard for progress tracking
- Spell by voice or keypad
- Collectible characters and rewards
- Ad-free and tracker-free experience
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Squirk is a one-to-one spelling tutor for children ages 4 to 8. There is nothing for you to plan or teach. Hand your child the device and Squirk takes it from there. Five to ten minutes a day is all it takes. STARTS AT THEIR LEVEL, NOT THEIR AGE Most spelling practice hands every child the same list. Squirk works out where your child actually is and builds from there, so a child who is ahead is not bored and a child who is struggling is never lost. There is no fixed grade to keep pace with, and nothing to fall behind. WHAT YOUR CHILD GETS Spelling that holds. Not words crammed for a Friday test and forgotten by Monday, but words secured well enough that your child writes without stopping to think about them. Five to ten minutes a day. HOW IT WORKS A word is not finished the first time your child gets it right. It comes back days later, and again after that, and only counts as mastered once it has survived the gap. New words arrive in an order that builds, grouped by the letter patterns they share rather than by the alphabet. WHY IT WORKS Two things decide whether spelling sticks. Practising at the edge of what a child can already do, rather than below it or far beyond it. And meeting a word again just as it begins to fade, which is what turns recognition into memory. Squirk is built on both, and the words are drawn from established sources including the Fry and Dolch lists and Orton-Gillingham letter-pattern sequences, each one reviewed before a child ever sees it. BUILT ON REAL PHONICS SEQUENCES Words are drawn from established sources including the Fry and Dolch lists and Orton-Gillingham letter-pattern sequences, introduced in an order that builds rather than jumps. Every word is reviewed before a child ever sees it. SEE EXACTLY WHAT THEY KNOW The parent dashboard shows which words and letter patterns your child has mastered, which are still in progress, and how often they practice. For homeschool families it doubles as a record of work. CALM, NOT OVERSTIMULATING One thing, done well. No firehose of unrelated games, no flashing cross-sells, no noise. A quiet screen built for focused practice. REWARDS WORTH COMING BACK FOR Children unlock Squirkies, 96 collectible characters earned by mastering words, then take them to the Magical Land to play. Master enough and Super Squirkies start to appear. They can be dressed up and taken to the Magical Land to play. SPELL BY VOICE OR BY KEYPAD Your child can say the letters out loud instead of typing them, which helps children who are still building keyboard confidence. The on-screen keypad is always available, and your child reviews and fixes their answer before submitting either way. BUILT FOR YOUNG CHILDREN No ads, now or later. No third-party trackers or analytics. No in app purchases. Speech recognition runs entirely on your child's device, so voice audio is never recorded, stored, or sent to us. A parent gate keeps settings and purchases out of small hands, and dyslexia mode adjusts font, spacing, and contrast. Privacy Policy: https://privacy.squirklearning.app Terms of Use: https://terms.squirklearning.app Questions? Email support@squirklearning.app
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: OpenABC at every 3 days against Squirk's weekly. On price, rating, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. OpenABC sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Squirk sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for OpenABC against 5.0 for Squirk. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
OpenABC ships an update every 3 days, Squirk weekly. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.
| Parameter | OpenABC | Squirk |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 381 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 帅 周 | Meridian Strategy Studio LLC |
Customer experience
OpenABC
Squirk
In-app purchases
OpenABC
- Unlock Full Version$3.99
Squirk
- Squirk Plus — Monthly$7.991 Month
- Squirk Family — Monthly$11.991 Month
- Squirk Plus — Yearly$79.991 Year
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- Squirk Family — Yearly$119.991 Year









