LoCAD vs learnFORTH
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LoCAD
Design and simulate digital logic circuits with an emphasis on simple creation and graphical visualization. Easily wire elements, observe current flow, and understand state changes to improve comprehension and fault detection. Create custom integrated circuits for complex, organized designs.
- Digital circuit design
- Logic simulation
- Graphical visualization
- Simple element wiring
- Custom IC creation
- State change observation
Read full descriptionHide full description
LoCAD is a software for designing and simulating digital circuits. Special emphasis is given to simple creation and graphical visualization of a circuit's functioning. The inputs and outputs of the elements can be wired quite simply. Usually, two touches are sufficient. The system searches a convenient way by itself. In the simulation, you can watch the current flow and thus follow the cycle of state changes. This way, your understanding of a circuit's functioning is enhanced, and your perception of circuit faults is improved. It is possible to produce your own elements (ICs) with discretionary levels of nesting. Like this, you can build big and complex circuits in a clearly arranged way. During the simulation, you can watch the state changes in all ICs. A detailed introduction facilitates your familiarisation with the software.
learnFORTH
Learn the compact, stack-based Forth programming language through structured daily lessons and interactive exercises. Explore its history and applications in embedded systems and retro computing.
- 90 structured daily lessons
- Interactive REPL with syntax highlighting
- Hands-on exercises with hints
- Progress tracking and daily streaks
- Reverse Polish Notation primer
- Historical notes on Forth dialects
Read full descriptionHide full description
It's time to learn Forth, the compact stack-based language that powered navigation computers, embedded systems, and a generation of hands-on hackers - and still runs the boot firmware on some retro Sun and Apple hardware. If you ever saw a Jupiter ACE home computer, now is your change to learn about what made it special. This app teaches you to think in words and stacks with 90 short, structured daily lessons, a live REPL you can experiment in right on your phone or iPad, and hands-on exercises with hints (not answers) so you actually learn the ideas. WHAT'S INSIDE • 90 guided lessons across 7 topics: the data stack, words & variables, control flow, loops & recursion, advanced words, data structures, and advanced topics. • A built-in REPL with syntax highlighting so you can type real FORTH and see the stack respond immediately. • Exercises for every lesson, graded on output, with an optional hint if you get stuck. • Daily streaks and per-category progress tracking to keep you moving. You'll learn, promise! • A plain-English primer on Reverse Polish Notation and stack manipulation (DUP, DROP, SWAP, OVER, ROT) for complete beginners. • Historical notes on FORTH's dialects - fig-FORTH, Forth-79, Forth-83, ANS Forth - and which one this app's interpreter follows. • A tip-of-the-hat to the Jupiter ACE, the British home computer from the 1980s that was based on Forth. • A recommended reading list of classic FORTH books, including Starting FORTH and Thinking Forth by Leo Brodie. • Light, dark, and automatic themes. No prior programming experience required. If you've ever wondered how a language with almost no syntax can still get real work done, learnFORTH will show you, one word at a time. Note: This app is free, with all features always available. If you enjoy it, please use the tip feature to thank the author and encourage future development.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: learnFORTH at Free against LoCAD's $1.99. learnFORTH also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). LoCAD's advantage is iOS requirement (14.7 vs 18.6). On ratings volume, ads 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
learnFORTH is free to download; LoCAD costs $1.99 up front. LoCAD sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. learnFORTH asks for nothing beyond the download.
learnFORTH holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of LoCAD's written reviews are positive against 100% of learnFORTH's.
LoCAD ships an update fortnightly, learnFORTH every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LoCAD | learnFORTH |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 71.4% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.7 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Karl-Heinz Loch | John Kennedy |
Customer experience
LoCAD
learnFORTH
In-app purchases
LoCAD
- Full version$2.99
learnFORTH
No in-app purchases









