Comparison

HB Following Directions vs Math Word Problems

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

Head to head
About

HB Following Directions

This educational app helps children improve auditory processing and following directions skills through a fun game format. It systematically teaches basic concepts and listening skills essential for reading, adapting to different learning levels.

Highlights
  • Follows increasingly difficult directions
  • Teaches 40 basic concepts
  • Improves listening and sound awareness
  • Fun game format
  • Monitors progress and provides feedback
  • Adapts to different skill levels
Features
Read full description

Our award-winning, research-based and evidence-based software program is now an iPad app! HearBuilder Following Directions gives students a systematic way to improve their auditory and following directions skills! At the same time, students will learn how to become Master Toy Makers while building their own Toy Central factories. App features: • Follow increasingly difficult directions • Demonstrate knowledge of 40 basic concepts in five areas: Basic Directions, Sequential Directions, Quantitative & Spatial Directions, Temporal Directions, and Conditional Directions • Teaches children important listening and sound awareness for reading • Uses a fun game format to teach children better auditory processing and listening skills • Meets the needs of children with different skill levels • Monitors progress and provides frequent feedback With HearBuilder Online at my.hearbuilder.com you can: • Access all four HearBuilder programs – Following Directions, Phonological Awareness, Auditory Memory and Sequencing • Monitor progress and track student data • Individualize each student’s program settings • Set levels of difficulty for each activity • Add background noise at any level and adjust the volume for each student • Customize and print reports

About

Math Word Problems

This app guides children through math word problems step-by-step, starting with basic addition and subtraction. It focuses on comprehension and skill development through incremental levels and a reward system. Designed for children in grades 2-5, it can be used independently or with adult guidance.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step word problem comprehension
  • Incremental skill development
  • Frustration-free guided learning
  • Reward Center for motivation
  • Parental review and reporting
  • Designed by teachers and researchers
Features
Read full description

** Happy Frog Apps is a Mom’s Choice Award Winner! Also featured on FunEducationalApps.com. TeachersWithApps.com, and more! ** Unique on the app store, this app helps kids understand HOW to do math word problems step-by-step. We start with the absolute basics, and by the end your child will know how to interpret and complete one-step math word problems using addition and subtraction. *** 5 stars! Thank you for showing my daughter HOW to do word problems. This has really improved her attitude to math. *** 5 stars! So good! I love how you focus on math comprehension. This will be great for my Grade 3 strugglers. Math Word Problems is targeted to children in Grades 2-5 who struggle with understanding math word problems and how to do them. Each level in Math Word Problems targets a specific step in working through a math word problem. Once proficient, these skills are combined as your child works through complete problems. Skill development steps are incremental and focus on attaining success. A must-have for kids struggling with math word problems. Key Benefits: - Builds word problem comprehension skills step-by-step until mastery. - Incremental learning. New levels are unlocked only when your child is ready. - Frustration-free learning. Your child will always be guided to the correct answer. - Fun and engaging Reward Center to increase motivation. - Easy parental review. Just check out the stars to see how your child is doing. - Content designed by professional teachers and researchers. - Advanced levels include timers to ensure fluency. Research shows fluency in the foundation skills is critical to reading and math comprehension. - Can be used independently (just hand it over: your child will know what to do!) or with a therapist/parent for intervention. - Provides extensive reporting for up to 10 players to suit the needs of parents, teachers and therapists. Our apps are designed for and tested by typical and special needs children. Testers include children with Autism and other special needs. Our apps work for them! To evaluate the app, download the free version, which has 4 free levels. Additional levels and additional players can be accessed with in-app purchases. If you prefer no in-app purchases, download the School Edition of this app, which includes all levels and up to 10 players. If your child struggles with understanding math word problems, they may also have difficulty with reading comprehension. Check out our other apps to strengthen your child’s reading skills: www.HappyFrogApps.com. We take customer service very seriously! If you ever have a problem or find that we've missed something, contact us at our website and we will do our best to fix the problem. We collect NO private information in our app. None! Our apps do not allow unrestricted web access.

Screenshots

HB Following Directions1 screens
Math Word Problems4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: HB Following Directions at 3.3 against Math Word Problems's 2.1. HB Following Directions also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 16 months). Math Word Problems's advantage is iOS requirement (12.2 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Math Word Problems sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. HB Following Directions asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HB Following Directions holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 2.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 24 and 9 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 38% of HB Following Directions's written reviews are positive against 42% of Math Word Problems's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HB Following Directions ships an update every 2 months, Math Word Problems every 16 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
HB Following Directions versus Math Word Problems: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHB Following DirectionsMath Word Problems
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (24 ratings) — better2.1 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews37.5% of reviews41.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings24 — better9
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 16 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size295 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSuper Duper PublicationsJanine Toole

Customer experience

HB Following Directions

All ratings24 ratings
Positive54.2%
Neutral4.2%
Negative41.7%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive37.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative50.0%

Math Word Problems

All ratings9 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive41.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative58.3%

In-app purchases

None

HB Following Directions

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Math Word Problems

One-time3
  • Increase to 2 users$1.99
  • Purchase all levels$2.99
  • Up to 10 players$2.99

Questions

Is HB Following Directions free?
HB Following Directions is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Math Word Problems free?
Math Word Problems is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, HB Following Directions or Math Word Problems?
HB Following Directions is rated higher. HB Following Directions averages 3.3 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while Math Word Problems averages 2.1 from 9 ratings.
Do HB Following Directions or Math Word Problems have ads?
Neither HB Following Directions nor Math Word Problems shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HB Following Directions or Math Word Problems?
HB Following Directions ships an update every 2 months, and Math Word Problems every 16 months. Most recently, HB Following Directions was updated on October 23, 2026 and Math Word Problems on October 24, 2026.

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