What to look for
Five things separate a good times-tables app from a shiny-but-shallow one:
- UK-curriculum mapping — teaches the tables in the order the National Curriculum uses.
- Random-recall format — questions jump between tables, mirroring the MTC.
- Adaptive difficulty — the app tracks which facts the child is slowest on and revisits them.
- No ads, no chat — the two most common privacy and safety concerns for primary-age kids.
- Cosmetic upgrades only — in-app purchases that unlock avatars are fine; pay-to-progress is not.
App-by-app breakdown
MathStar
Free on iOS. Reception–Year 6. UK curriculum. Music/rock-star theme spread over five 'Music Worlds' — Rock, Pop, Synthwave, Jazz, K-Pop. Ad-free, no chat, no third-party trackers. Adaptive Soundcheck drills use the MTC's 6-second window. In-app purchases unlock cosmetic instruments and stage kit only. Cover a range of ages in one household with a single free download.
Times Tables Rock Stars
Paid via school subscription. Web + iOS. Year 2–Year 6. Rock-band theme. Same random-recall MTC format. Excellent app; only downside for families is you can't buy access individually — if the school doesn't have it, you can't get it.
Numbots
Paid via schools. Focused on number bonds and addition for Reception to Year 2. Not a times-tables app — you'd pair it with one, not replace one.
Prodigy Maths
Free download with a heavy paid upgrade path. US curriculum by default, with a UK toggle that doesn't quite match. RPG format — kids fight monsters by answering maths questions. Some children love it; others find the RPG loop distracting.
Sumdog
Freemium. The free tier is heavily limited; the useful stuff is paywalled. Multiplayer arcade format. UK curriculum available but not the default focus.
Which app for which situation
- Your school has TT Rockstars: Use it. The class routine matters more than any feature difference.
- Your school doesn't have TT Rockstars, or you want younger-year coverage: MathStar. Free, covers Reception to Year 6.
- You want MTC-specific practice: MathStar or TT Rockstars — both use the exact 6-second format.
- Your child is 4–7 and needs number bonds: Numbots (if the school has it) or MathStar's KS1 track.
Privacy and safety
MathStar has no chat, no messaging, no third-party advertising, and no location or contacts access. TT Rockstars and Numbots are similarly strict. Prodigy and Sumdog show in-app subscription upsells during play. Always check the app's privacy policy for third-party data sharing before you install; the App Store's 'App Privacy' summary is a decent starting point.