Comparison

Number Explosion vs Main Idea

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

Head to head
About

Number Explosion

Practice multiplication tables with a fun, arcade-style game. Target equations by entering the correct product, earning points for hits and losing them if equations reach your city. Features adjustable difficulty and bonus points for challenging targets.

Highlights
  • Multiplication table practice (1x-12x)
  • Selectable difficulty levels
  • Target equations by entering products
  • Score points for correct answers
  • Lose points if equations reach the city
  • Bonus points for horizontal equations
Features
Read full description

A simple and fun way to practice your multiplication tables (1x-12x)! In this game you select a difficulty level that corresponds to the maximum Multiplier of random equations falling from the sky. Target an equation by entering its Product using the game's numeric key pad. If you are correct a missile will be launched which will explode the targeted equation upon impact earning you points equal to its Product. Any equation reaching your City below will cause you to lose points equal to that equation's Product. Equations moving horizontally test your skills by slightly exceeding the difficulty level you selected. Hitting these equations will earn you bonus points by exploding every other equation in the view.

About

Main Idea

This app helps children in grades 2-5 improve their reading comprehension by teaching them to identify the main idea of sentences. It uses a fun, game-like environment with step-by-step learning and a reward system to keep kids motivated.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step skill building
  • Incremental learning with unlocked levels
  • Frustration-free guided learning
  • Engaging reward center
  • Parental review and reporting
  • Over 600 examples
  • Timed levels for fluency
Features
Read full description

** Featured on Appolicious.com & iHeartThisApp.com ** 'Main Idea -Sentences' helps kids who have trouble with reading comprehension. Identifying the main idea is a key part of reading comprehension. 'Main Idea -Sentences' builds this comprehension skill in a fun, game-like environment. The skill is developed step-by-step until mastery. *** Happy Frog Apps is a Mom's Choice Award winner! *** ***** 5 Stars - Thank you for this app! Other software I’ve used has moved too quickly for my son. This one worked! Can’t wait for the next Main Idea app…it’s coming, right? ***** 5 Stars - This app is one the best education apps I have used with my little one. It really helps to improve his reading abilities. He is obsessed with passing the levels and it never let him disappointed. One of the few apps that worth to upgrade to premium version. 'Main Idea - Sentences' is designed for children in Grades 2-5 who can read the words, but don't understand what they read. Beginning readers in earlier grades can also benefit from the targeted skill development. 'Main Idea - Sentences' develops the skill of knowing what a sentence is about. This skill must be firmly established before a child can determine what a paragraph or page is about. Key Benefits: - Builds 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. - Contains over 600 examples, with 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 comprehension. - Can be used independently (just hand it over: your child will know what to do!) or with a therapist/parent for reading intervention. - Provides extensive reporting for up to 10 students 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! This 'School Edition' app has no in-app purchases. To evaluate the app, download the free version, which has 4 free levels. Additional levels and additional players can be accessed with in-app purchase. If you prefer no in-app purchases, download the School Edition of this app. While you're thinking about reading, check out our other apps that target WH questions, inferencing and answer identification skills. Learn more about reading comprehension and research at our website www.HappyFrogApps.com. Drop us a note, we'd love to hear from you! 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 are a member of the Moms With Apps program that promotes privacy in children's apps. We collect NO private information in our apps and our apps do not allow unrestricted web access.

Screenshots

Number Explosion4 screens
Main Idea4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Number Explosion at Free against Main Idea's $6.99. Number Explosion also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (100% vs 85%). Main Idea's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 12 months) and iOS requirement (12.2 vs 15.0). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Number Explosion is free to download; Main Idea costs $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Number Explosion holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 6 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Number Explosion's written reviews are positive against 85% of Main Idea's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Number Explosion ships an update every 12 months, Main Idea every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Number Explosion versus Main Idea: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNumber ExplosionMain Idea
PriceFree — better$6.99
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better4.3 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better84.6% of reviews
Number of ratings46 — better
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNJAW4Janine Toole

Customer experience

Number Explosion

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Main Idea

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive84.6%
Neutral7.7%
Negative7.7%

In-app purchases

None

Number Explosion

No in-app purchases

None

Main Idea

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Number Explosion free?
Number Explosion is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Main Idea free?
Main Idea costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Number Explosion or Main Idea?
Number Explosion is rated higher. Number Explosion averages 5.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Main Idea averages 4.3 from 6 ratings.
Do Number Explosion or Main Idea have ads?
Neither Number Explosion nor Main Idea shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Number Explosion or Main Idea?
Number Explosion ships an update every 12 months, and Main Idea every 3 months. Most recently, Number Explosion was updated on October 3, 2026 and Main Idea on October 16, 2026.

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