Last reviewed October 2026
Side-by-side
| MathStar | DoodleMaths | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Monthly or annual family subscription |
| Ages | 4–11 (Reception–Y6) | 4–14 |
| Curriculum | UK, all primary maths | UK, primary and early secondary |
| MTC format | Yes — 6-sec drills | No dedicated MTC mode |
| Ads | None | None |
| Session length | 5–10 minutes | 10–15 minutes |
| Parent reporting | In-app progress | Detailed parent dashboard |
| Theme | Rock concert | Neutral, low-distraction |
Which one your child needs
Pick DoodleMaths if you want broad curriculum coverage with a detailed parent dashboard, your child is heading into secondary, and a subscription is comfortable. Its adaptive engine is genuinely good and the low-distraction design suits children who find game themes overstimulating.
Pick MathStar if you want free access, a specifically MTC-shaped drill format, and a reward loop strong enough to pull a reluctant child back each day. For Year 4 times-tables preparation, MathStar is the tighter fit.
The adaptive engines compared
Both apps adapt, but they adapt to different things. DoodleMaths builds a personalised work programme across the whole curriculum — it decides what topic your child should meet next. MathStar adapts within a topic: it works out which facts are slow and weights practice toward them. Broad versus deep.
Cost over a school year
DoodleMaths is a paid subscription, billed monthly or annually per child, with the annual option cheaper per month. Over the seven years of primary school that's a meaningful family cost, particularly with siblings. MathStar is free, with cosmetic in-app purchases that don't touch the learning.
Which suits a reluctant child
DoodleMaths deliberately avoids heavy gamification — the reward is progress itself, which works well for children who are already willing. MathStar leans the other way: avatars, instruments, gigs and a rock-star progression. If getting a child to open the app is your actual problem, the theme matters more than the engine.
Parent visibility
DoodleMaths has the stronger parent dashboard, with topic-level breakdowns and weekly summaries. MathStar keeps reporting simpler and in-app. If you want detailed evidence of progress to discuss at parents' evening, that's a point for DoodleMaths.
Running both
They complement each other cleanly: DoodleMaths for broad curriculum coverage, MathStar for times-tables fluency and MTC pace. Ten minutes of each is too much for most children on a school night, so alternate days rather than stacking them.