Comparison

Number Line, by MLC vs Owlet

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

About

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.

Highlights
  • Place value learning
  • Tens, Hundreds, Money modes
  • Hundredths and Thousandths modes
  • Explore, Make, Build activities
  • Compare and Round functions
  • Interactive number puzzles
Read full description

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 call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Number Line, by MLC versus Owlet: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNumber Line, by MLCOwlet
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (15 ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings15 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 13 monthsEvery 6 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPadiPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.112.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB123 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Math Learning CenterBirdBrain Technologies LLC

In-app purchases

None

Number Line, by MLC

No in-app purchases

None

Owlet

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Number Line, by MLC free?
Number Line, by MLC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Owlet free?
Owlet is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Number Line, by MLC or Owlet?
Number Line, by MLC is rated higher. Number Line, by MLC averages 4.4 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while Owlet averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Number Line, by MLC or Owlet have ads?
Neither Number Line, by MLC nor Owlet shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Number Line, by MLC or Owlet?
Number Line, by MLC ships an update every 13 months, and Owlet every 6 months. Most recently, Number Line, by MLC was updated on October 9, 2026 and Owlet on October 27, 2026.

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