Comparison

Keyboarding Without Tears vs Co

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

Head to head
About

Keyboarding Without Tears

This app provides touch-typing practice for K-5 students using a game-based curriculum. Licensed users can log in to access assigned activities and develop essential computer skills. An educator account is required for access.

Highlights
  • Game-based touch-typing activities
  • Pre-keyboarding lessons
  • Developmentally appropriate lessons
  • Online progress monitoring
  • Digital citizenship training
  • Cross-curricular connections
Read full description

Access the Keyboarding Without Tears K-5 student curriculum. This app is available for licensed students of Keyboarding Without Tears web-based program and serve as a companion app for touch-typing practice on mobile devices. Students can login and access their Keyboarding Without Tears activities assigned to them by their educator. An existing educator account in +Live Insights educator dashboard is required to access the app. The Keyboarding Without Tears K-5 curriculum features: • Effective, game-based activities • Pre-keyboarding and touch-typing lessons • Developmentally appropriate lessons by grade • Easy online progress monitoring • Digital citizenship and general computer readiness activities • Strong English Language & Arts and other Cross-Curricular connections

About

Co

This app provides advanced word prediction and spelling support for students. It offers grammar-smart suggestions and access to millions of topic-specific dictionaries to aid in writing. Built-in text-to-speech functionality helps users review their work.

Highlights
  • Grammar-smart word prediction
  • Millions of topic-specific dictionaries
  • Flexspell™ technology for spelling errors
  • Built-in text-to-speech
  • Personalized vocabulary and settings
Features
Read full description

Co:Writer® Universal app and third-party keyboard gives students easy access to word prediction on iPad, iPad Pro, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Students simply sign in to their Co:Writer Universal accounts to write with their personal settings and vocabulary. ABOUT CO:WRITER UNIVERSAL This version is for schools with a Co:Writer Universal license only. Users without a Co:Writer Universal license must purchase the Co:Writer app. HOW DOES CO:WRITER WORK? As letters are typed, Co:Writer predicts the intended word with a selection of word suggestions using powerful grammar-smart word prediction. These suggestions can be read aloud with a swipe. Selecting the intended word places it into the writing document. For feedback while writing (and after writing) built-in text to speech can be used to read letters, words, sentences, and the entire document. 4+ MILLION TOPIC-SPECIFIC DICTIONARIES Co:Writer has access to a main prediction dictionary (that includes core words) and Topic Dictionaries (that includes topic specific words). Co:Writer can access over 4 million topic-specific dictionaries which are activated based on the writing task. A small sampling of the variety of topic dictionaries: - America's Cup - Apple II - Compare and Contrast - Dinosaurs - Grumpy Cat - History of the Peloponnesian War - Mahatma Gandhi - My Dog - Pig Latin - Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost - SpongeBob SquarePants - Tommy (album) - Wonders of the World SPELLING SUPPORT Co:Writer handles the widest range of spelling mistakes through its Flexspell™technology including phonetic spelling and inventive spelling errors (letter omissions, word ending omissions, letter reversals, etc). Examples of how Co:Writer aides with phonetic and/or inventive spelling: Before Co:Writer The blk jargon flu over the bra lfnt. R u hpy to ce me? I no hw to nor the fone. After Co:Writer The black dragon flew over the gray elephant. Are you happy to see me? I know how to answer the phone. GRAMMAR SUPPORT Co:Writer bases its prediction off of proper grammar, and uses its understanding of grammar to accurately predict words within the framework of valid sentence structures. Examples of how Co:Writer aides with grammar: Dogs are furry. (noun, verb, adj.) - When you typed d-o, you get plural noun choices Three very mangy dogs ran down the street. (adj., adv., adj., noun, verb… etc.) - After typing three, very, mangy, you get plural noun choices, then you get plural verb tenses. OTHER FEATURES - Built-in Text to Speech - Export

Screenshots

Co4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Keyboarding Without Tears at 3.7 against Co's 2.6. Keyboarding Without Tears also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). Co's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 13.0). 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Keyboarding Without Tears holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 17 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 4% of Keyboarding Without Tears's written reviews are positive against 8% of Co's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Keyboarding Without Tears ships an update every 2 months, Co every 4 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Keyboarding Without Tears versus Co: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKeyboarding Without TearsCo
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (6 ratings) — better2.6 (17 ratings)
Positive reviews4.1% of reviews8.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings617 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS13.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size83 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHandwriting Without Tears & Get Set for SchoolDon Johnston Incorporated

Customer experience

Keyboarding Without Tears

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews49 reviews
Positive4.1%
Neutral4.1%
Negative91.8%

Co

All ratings17 ratings
Positive29.4%
Neutral23.5%
Negative47.1%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive8.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative75.0%

Bugs and requests

Keyboarding Without Tears

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • App freezes during use
  • External keyboards are not recognized
  • Progress is deleted without warning
  • Puzzle pieces do not work correctly
Show 5 more
  • Screen does not rotate
  • No sound after sign-in
  • Login issues (PIN required, invalid email)
  • Inconsistent skipping of review content
  • Grammar errors in the app

Requested features

11 requests
  • Make the app more fun and engaging
  • Fix the keyboard recognition issue
  • Improve app performance and stability
  • Allow skipping of review content
  • Ensure puzzle pieces work correctly
Show 6 more
  • Fix screen rotation issues
  • Add sound to tutorials and lessons
  • Clarify PIN/license requirements
  • Make the app available to the general public
  • Improve grammar and spelling
  • Use the default iOS keyboard

Co

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Keyboarding Without Tears

No in-app purchases

None

Co

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Keyboarding Without Tears free?
Keyboarding Without Tears is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Co free?
Co is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Keyboarding Without Tears or Co?
Keyboarding Without Tears is rated higher. Keyboarding Without Tears averages 3.7 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Co averages 2.6 from 17 ratings.
Do Keyboarding Without Tears or Co have ads?
Neither Keyboarding Without Tears nor Co shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Keyboarding Without Tears or Co?
Keyboarding Without Tears ships an update every 2 months, and Co every 4 months. Most recently, Keyboarding Without Tears was updated on November 1, 2026 and Co on November 1, 2026.

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