Number Line, by MLC vs Owlet
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Number Line, by MLC
This app allows students to visualize number sequences and demonstrate mathematical strategies. It supports various number types and offers tools for annotation, problem-solving, and sharing work. Ideal for elementary classrooms and iPad learning environments.
- Visualize number sequences
- Demonstrate counting, adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing
- Use whole numbers, fractions, decimals, or negative numbers
- Add custom tick marks and labels
- Hide and reveal numbers and jumps
- Annotation and drawing tools
- Save and share work
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Number Line helps students visualize number sequences and demonstrate strategies for counting, comparing, adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. Choose number lines labelled with whole numbers, fractions, decimals, or negative numbers. Or use a blank number line, with or without tick marks. Describe intervals between points on the line using forward or backward jumps above and below the line. Jumps can be labelled with their values or left blank. Add custom tick marks to the number line to show equivalence or compare number values. Show strategies with drawing and annotation tools. Hide elements of the sequence shown on the number line, which challenges students to use what they know about number relationships and computation to identify those missing elements. This virtual number line is an open-ended educational tool, ideal for elementary classrooms and other learning environments that use iPads. For more Number Line resources and other apps, visit: www.mathlearningcenter.org/apps FEATURES • Mark the number line with multiples of whole numbers, fractions, or decimals. In addition, set the starting value of the line, including using negative values. • Add and manipulate forward and backward jumps, above or below the line. • Label jump bars, manually or automatically, to show intervals or hide labels altogether. • Add custom tick marks and values to blank number lines. • Hide and reveal numbers on the number line. • Hide and reveal jumps, numbers, and other elements with resizable covers to create your own problems and model strategies. • Use the drawing tools to annotate work and show understanding. • Add equations, expressions, and descriptions with the math text and writing tools. • Share your work by saving an image or providing a share code to others. MORE APPS For more Number Line resources and other apps, visit: www.mathlearningcenter.org/apps LEARN MORE To learn about Bridges in Mathematics, an elementary curriculum that employs visual models like number line, visit: www.mathlearningcenter.org/bridges/overview ABOUT US This resource is brought to you by The Math Learning Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to K-12 education since 1976. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This app was crafted by Clarity Innovations. We help improve teaching and learning by creating solutions that match promising technologies with the needs of education. Visit us: www.clarity-innovations.com
Owlet
This app uses a physical manipulative to teach place value concepts. It offers five distinct modes covering tens, hundreds, money, hundredths, and thousandths, with interactive activities for exploration, creation, and problem-solving.
- Place value learning
- Tens, Hundreds, Money modes
- Hundredths and Thousandths modes
- Explore, Make, Build activities
- Compare and Round functions
- Interactive number puzzles
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Owlet: Cube3 is an app that uses the Owlet CubeTower manipulative. Students create numbers by stacking small cubes in the columns of the CubeTower. Cube3 has five modes. Each corresponds to a different topic in place value: Tens, Hundreds, Money, Hundredths, and Thousandths. For each topic, there are five different activities. - Explore: Students place cubes in the CubeTower to create numbers that are shown on the tablet. - Make: Students are prompted to make a target number by placing cubes in the CubeTower. - Build: Students solve number puzzles. For example, students might be asked to build a number between 200 and 300 using 5 cubes. - Compare: Students create a number in the CubeTower and then compare it to a number generated by the app. - Round: Students use the CubeTower to round a number to a specified place.
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Number Line, by MLC at 4.4 against Owlet's 1.0. Number Line, by MLC also leads on ratings volume (15 vs 1). Owlet's advantage is update cadence (every 6 months vs every 13 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Number Line, by MLC holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Number Line, by MLC has 15 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Number Line, by MLC ships an update every 13 months, Owlet every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Number Line, by MLC | Owlet |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (15 ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 15 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 13 months | Every 6 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPad | iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.1 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 123 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The Math Learning Center | BirdBrain Technologies LLC |
In-app purchases
Number Line, by MLC
No in-app purchases
Owlet
No in-app purchases









