Comparison

Main Idea vs ABA Play

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

Head to head
About

Main Idea

This app helps children in grades 2-5 develop reading comprehension skills by focusing on identifying the main idea of sentences. It uses a fun, game-like approach with step-by-step learning and rewards to keep kids motivated. Designed by educators, it's suitable for both typical and special needs children.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step skill building
  • Game-like environment
  • Frustration-free learning
  • Reward Center for motivation
  • Parental review and reporting
  • Over 600 examples
  • Designed by teachers and researchers
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! 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.

About

ABA Play

This educational app uses AI-generated content and data-driven teaching principles to create a customizable learning environment for early learners. It supports multiple profiles and includes autopilot modes for independent exploration, with on-device data tracking to monitor progress.

Highlights
  • Customizable learning environment
  • AI-generated images and voice prompts
  • Multiple learner profiles
  • Autopilot exploration modes
  • On-device local data tracking
Read full description

ABA Play is an educational tool designed around powerful learning principles. The goal of this app is to provide a fun and engaging playground with customizable learning delivered in a way that aligns with data driven teaching practices. The images and voice prompts included are AI generated, leveraging AI tools to democratize access to these resources for underserved children. It also serves as another opportunity for children to maintain and generalize skills. Features: - Deeply customizable learning environment designed to be accessible to a wide range of early learners - Multiple profiles for multiple learners - Autopilot modes for parents to allow learners to explore learning targets with guardrails to prevent overwhelming them - On-device local data tracking to assess learning and make changes to programming This application was built by a single developer and has many planned updates.

Screenshots

Main Idea4 screens
ABA Play4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ABA Play at 5.0 against Main Idea's 3.8. ABA Play also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 71%). Main Idea's advantage is ratings volume (19 vs 3) and iOS requirement (12.2 vs 15.0). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Main Idea sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and ABA Play sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ABA Play holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Main Idea has 19 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Main Idea's written reviews are positive against 100% of ABA Play's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Main Idea ships an update every 3 months, ABA Play every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Main Idea versus ABA Play: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMain IdeaABA Play
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (19 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings19 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.2 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB1.4 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJanine TooleMATTHEW ODELL BLANEY

Customer experience

Main Idea

All ratings19 ratings
Positive63.2%
Neutral15.8%
Negative21.1%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative14.3%

ABA Play

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Main Idea

One-time3
  • Upgrade to 2 Users$1.99
  • Access All Levels$2.99
  • Up to 10 Users$2.99
3 purchases

ABA Play

One-time3
  • Full Access$9.99
  • Add 8 Additional Profiles$29.99
  • Upgraded Access AND 10 Profiles$39.99

Questions

Is Main Idea free?
Main Idea is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ABA Play free?
ABA Play is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Main Idea or ABA Play?
ABA Play is rated higher. Main Idea averages 3.8 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while ABA Play averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Main Idea or ABA Play have ads?
Neither Main Idea nor ABA Play shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Main Idea or ABA Play?
Main Idea ships an update every 3 months, and ABA Play every 5 days. Most recently, Main Idea was updated on October 17, 2026 and ABA Play on October 14, 2026.

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