Plusy vs SplashLearn: which is right for your child?

Pick SplashLearn for a younger child, or when you want math and reading together across a wide curriculum from PreK to Grade 5. Pick Plusy if you want one payment instead of a subscription and arithmetic practice built from your child's own homework.

11 minute read · Updated October 9, 2026

A note on fairness: Plusy is our app. SplashLearn covers far more ground than Plusy does, and this page says so. What we say about SplashLearn was read on its own site and its US App Store listing on 5 October 2026. We did not test it with children.

What is the difference between Plusy and SplashLearn?

SplashLearn is a broad learning program: math and reading games for preschool to Grade 5, with books and worksheets, sold as a monthly or yearly membership. Plusy is narrower on purpose: whole-number arithmetic and fractions for ages 6 to 12, with written column methods, help after a wrong answer and practice lists made from homework, for one payment.

That makes this less a contest than a question of what you need. A family looking for one program to cover a five-year-old's letters and numbers is looking for SplashLearn. A family whose nine-year-old keeps slipping on carrying or long division is looking for something like Plusy.

How do Plusy and SplashLearn compare at a glance?

At a glance, SplashLearn covers two subjects and starts younger, on the web and in apps for iPhone, iPad and Android, by subscription. Plusy covers arithmetic only, from age 6, in the browser, free to start with a one-time $29 unlock. The table shows each point side by side, with SplashLearn's column as listed on 5 October 2026.

What does SplashLearn do better than Plusy?

SplashLearn does better on breadth, on younger children and on reach. It teaches math and reading in one place, starts at preschool, has thousands of games and books, shows grown-ups their child's progress, and has apps for Android as well as iPhone and iPad. Plusy offers none of those.

• Two subjects. SplashLearn covers math and reading. Plusy is arithmetic only, with no reading or spelling at all.
• The whole math curriculum for its grades. A PreK to Grade 5 math program reaches well past the four operations. Plusy covers the four operations with whole numbers, and fractions up to mixed numbers: no decimals, geometry, measurement, time or money.
• Younger children. SplashLearn starts at preschool. Plusy starts at 6.
• A large library. Its App Store page lists more than 4,000 learning games along with decodable books and story books. Plusy has five roads and 53 worlds, with one character and nothing to collect.
• Progress for grown-ups. Its App Store page lists real-time progress tracking for parents. In Plusy the grown-ups area shows a single line naming the kind of mistake your child is practising, with no reports and no emails.
• Apps on more devices. SplashLearn lists apps on the App Store and Google Play. Plusy runs in the browser, an iPhone and iPad app is on the way, and there is no Android app.
• Free material for teachers. Its site lists free lesson plans and teaching tools for kindergarten to Grade 5. Plusy has no classes and no teacher dashboard. A teacher can share a list by link, and that is all.

What does Plusy do better than SplashLearn?

Plusy does better when the need is narrow and specific: this week's worksheet, a written method that keeps going wrong, or a wish to pay once. Plusy turns homework into practice, sets big sums out in columns, explains the slip after a wrong answer, and costs $29 as a single payment.

• Practice from your child's own homework. In My lists you can type the questions, scan a worksheet with the camera, or describe a list in a sentence. Plusy works out every answer itself. A free account includes one worksheet scan and one AI list a day, and typing has no daily limit. See make a list.
• Getting ready for a test. A list can be marked for a test with a date, and it shows a countdown. See get ready for a test.
• Written column methods. Carrying, borrowing, long multiplication and long division are set out the way they are written on paper, with one box per digit. See column questions.
• Help that names the mistake. After a wrong column answer, Plusy says in one sentence what went wrong in the child's own working, such as a forgotten carry. Hint asks a guiding question, and Show me fills in one step and hands the question back. See hints and steps and wrong answers.
• One payment. Unlock Plusy is $29 once. There is no subscription, no trial that turns into a charge and nothing to cancel.
• Older children. Plusy runs to age 12 and to division by two-digit numbers and five-digit answers.

How much does SplashLearn cost compared with Plusy?

SplashLearn is a subscription and Plusy is a single payment. SplashLearn's US App Store listing, read on 5 October 2026, shows monthly memberships from $7.99 to $11.99 and yearly memberships at $69.99 or $89.99, after a free trial. Plusy is free to start and its unlock is $29 once, in US dollars on the web.

Those SplashLearn figures are App Store prices in US dollars. We could not find a price for parents on its home page, so the price on its own site may differ. The App Store listing shows several prices under the same plan name and does not say what separates them, so check the plan you are offered before you start a trial.

The comparison is not like for like. A SplashLearn membership buys two subjects and a full curriculum. The Plusy unlock buys one thing: no heart limit, plus up to 50 worksheet scans and 50 AI lists a month. Every road, world and game in Plusy is already free. See what are hearts and unlock Plusy.

What do parents say about SplashLearn?

Families who like SplashLearn say their children find the games fun and that the path adapts to each child. On the US App Store it holds 4.5 out of 5 from about 32,000 ratings. Some parents report billing trouble after a free trial, and some report too many emails.

The billing reports come mainly from Trustpilot, where SplashLearn had a score of 2.6 from 28 reviews on 5 October 2026. That is a very small group next to the App Store's ratings, and people with a complaint are more likely to write a review, so read it as a caution and not as a verdict. The practical lesson applies to any subscription: note the date a trial ends, and cancel in the place where you signed up.

Plusy has its own limits that a parent might mind. Free play is capped by hearts, there is no progress report, and the Terms say payments are non-refundable except where the law requires. For a billing question, write to support@plusy.app.

Who should pick which?

Pick SplashLearn when you want one program to carry a young child through math and reading. Pick Plusy when your child is 6 to 12 and the trouble is arithmetic: facts that will not stick, column methods that go wrong, or a worksheet due on Friday. The lists below sort the common cases.

Pick SplashLearn if

• your child is under 6
• you want math and reading in one app
• you want the wider elementary math curriculum, beyond the four operations and fractions
• you want to follow progress on a parent screen
• you need an Android app today

Pick Plusy if

• you want to pay once and not manage a subscription
• you want practice made from the homework sheet that came home
• your child needs carrying, borrowing, long multiplication or long division
• your child gets answers wrong and needs to see why
• your child is 10 to 12 and past Grade 5 arithmetic games

Plusy's limits, plainly: whole-number arithmetic, and fractions up to mixed numbers (no multiplying or dividing fractions). No decimals, money, time or geometry. Ages 6 to 12. One child per account. The app is in 14 languages. It runs in the browser today, an iPhone and iPad app is on the way, and there is no Android app. There is no teacher dashboard and there are no reports.

Can you use both Plusy and SplashLearn?

Yes. They do different jobs, so they sit together easily. SplashLearn can be the broad daily program across math and reading. Plusy can be the place for the specific thing school sent home: scan the worksheet, play it as a round, and let the missed questions come back.

Because Plusy is free to start, you can add it beside a SplashLearn membership without a second bill, and decide later whether the unlock is worth it. Start free.

What are other SplashLearn alternatives?

The closest SplashLearn alternatives are other full-curriculum programs, not Plusy. Khan Academy is free and covers kindergarten through high school, Khan Academy Kids is free for ages 2 to 8, and Zearn lets families create a free account for its K to 8 lessons. Plusy is an alternative only for the arithmetic part.

We compare more of them, with prices we could confirm, in the best math apps for kids 6 to 12 and in math apps with no subscription.

How we checked

We read SplashLearn's home page, its US App Store listing and its Trustpilot page on 5 October 2026. Prices are the in-app purchases shown on the App Store listing. Where we did not find something on those pages, we say it is not listed. Facts about Plusy come from the app itself.

Plusy is not affiliated with SplashLearn or any other app named here, and the names belong to their owners. Prices and features were checked on 5 October 2026 and change, so check each site before you buy.

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