Comparison

Read Live vs Pattern Shapes, by MLC

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

Head to head
About

Read Live

This app provides a structured, audio-supported system to improve reading fluency, phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension for learners of all ages. It offers access to four distinct curriculum options, including support for Spanish readers, and tracks student progress across devices. A Read Live account is required to use the program.

Highlights
  • Four curriculum options
  • Audio-supported system
  • Develops reading fluency
  • Improves comprehension
  • Tracks student progress
  • Spanish reading support
Read full description

Read Live delivers measurable results for struggling and developing readers of all ages. With this app, your students can access their Read Live student stories and exercises in an experience designed to take advantage of the iPad’s capabilities. Improve fluency and phonics skills while supporting vocabulary and comprehension development with Read Naturally Live. Build mastery and automaticity in phonics and decoding with systematic phonics instruction with Word Warm-ups Live. Enable structured, engaging, and independent reading practice with One Minute Reader Live. Help native Spanish speakers or others to learn to read Spanish text fluently with Read Naturally Live–Español. Visit our website to learn more about Read Live: readnaturally.com/go-read-live *** A Read Live account and internet connection are required to use this app. Don’t have an account yet? Don't worry: you can create a free account and start using the program within 1 business day! Read Live was designed by teachers for use in schools. Here's what some teachers are saying: “A great program. Kids enjoy using it. They see their progress in fluency and comprehension skills.” – Special Education Teacher, VT “Love, Love, Love this program to help build our students' fluency. All of the stories are engaging for the students. The technology is easy for both students and teachers to use.” – First-Grade Teacher, WI “This program has dramatically increased the fluency, comprehension and writing abilities of my ELL students. Their MAP scores have risen as much as 15 points in a trimester. It provides great individualization.” – ELL/ESL Teacher, IL KEY FEATURES • Full access to all four curriculum options: Read Naturally Live, Word Warm-ups Live, One Minute Reader Live, and Read Naturally Live–Español. • Structured, audio-supported system keeps students motivated and holds them accountable for their own success. • Develops reading fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and phonics. • Excellent for Response to Intervention (RTI) or Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). • Student progress syncs across computer and iPad. • Free iPad app for Read Live account holders. ________________________________________ Need support? We’re here to help. Email us at support@readnaturally.com *** IMPORTANT!! You must have a Read Live account to use this app.

About

Pattern Shapes, by MLC

This app allows students to explore geometry and fractions through interactive shape manipulation. Users can create designs, fill outlines, measure angles, and annotate their work. It's an open-ended educational tool for learning mathematical concepts.

Highlights
  • Explore geometry and fractions
  • Create custom designs
  • Measure angles with protractor
  • Duplicate, resize, and recolor shapes
  • Fill built-in outlines
  • Annotate work with drawing tools
  • Share creations via image or code
Features
Read full description

Students use Pattern Shapes to explore geometry and fractions, creating their own designs, or filling in outlines. As they work with the shapes students explore geometric relationships, think about angles, investigate symmetry, and compose and decompose larger shapes. Many of these explorations lead naturally to thinking about fractions as parts of a whole. This virtual version of pattern blocks is an open-ended educational tool, ideal for elementary classrooms and other learning environments that use iPads. Pattern blocks are a key model used in Bridges in Mathematics, second edition. Online preview available at: www.mathlearningcenter.org/bridges FEATURES • Rotate shapes in increments of 15 degrees. • Measure angles with the protractor tool. • Duplicate and change the color and size of shapes. • Fill the built-in outlines with shapes or create your own to share with others. • Choose between a triangular or square grid, or a blank background. • Hide and reveal work 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. ABOUT US This resource is brought to you by The Math Learning Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to K-12 education since 1976. Our mission is to inspire and enable individuals to discover and develop their mathematical confidence and ability. www.mathlearningcenter.org 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

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Read Live at 5.0 against Pattern Shapes, by MLC's 4.2. Read Live also leads on update cadence (every 4 months vs every 26 months). Pattern Shapes, by MLC's advantage is review sentiment (70% vs 29%) and ratings volume (18 vs 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

Read Live holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pattern Shapes, by MLC has 18 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 29% of Read Live's written reviews are positive against 70% of Pattern Shapes, by MLC's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Read Live ships an update every 4 months, Pattern Shapes, by MLC every 26 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Read Live versus Pattern Shapes, by MLC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRead LivePattern Shapes, by MLC
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.2 (18 ratings)
Positive reviews28.6% of reviews70.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings118 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 26 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPadiPad
Requires iOS14.3 — better14.7
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRead Naturally, Inc.The Math Learning Center

Customer experience

Read Live

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive28.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative71.4%

Pattern Shapes, by MLC

All ratings17 ratings
Positive82.4%
Neutral5.9%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive70.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative10.0%

In-app purchases

None

Read Live

No in-app purchases

None

Pattern Shapes, by MLC

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Read Live free?
Read Live is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pattern Shapes, by MLC free?
Pattern Shapes, by MLC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Read Live or Pattern Shapes, by MLC?
Read Live is rated higher. Read Live averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Pattern Shapes, by MLC averages 4.2 from 18 ratings.
Do Read Live or Pattern Shapes, by MLC have ads?
Neither Read Live nor Pattern Shapes, by MLC shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Read Live or Pattern Shapes, by MLC?
Read Live ships an update every 4 months, and Pattern Shapes, by MLC every 26 months. Most recently, Read Live was updated on October 23, 2026 and Pattern Shapes, by MLC on October 26, 2026.

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