If you have a primary-age child in the UK and you have searched for a maths practice app, you have almost certainly come across DoodleMaths. It has been around for years, it is used in thousands of schools, and it is the name most parents recognise. Arithmetix is newer and less well known, but it is built around the same UK National Curriculum and takes a noticeably different approach to pricing, motivation, and parent insights.
This is an honest comparison. We make Arithmetix, so we are obviously not neutral, but we have done our best to be fair. DoodleMaths is a good app. Our goal here is to help you figure out which one fits your family, not to pretend the other does not exist.
DoodleMaths has been a fixture in UK primary education for over a decade. It covers maths from Early Years Foundation Stage through to Year 9, making it one of the broadest maths apps on the market. The core experience is adaptive: children answer questions, and the app adjusts difficulty based on their performance, guided by a proprietary metric called the DoodleScore.
It is a subscription product, typically priced around eight pounds per month or seventy pounds per year. Some families get access through their child's school at no cost, which is worth checking before you pay. The parent dashboard sends weekly email summaries, and the app works offline once content has been downloaded.
DoodleMaths also offers companion apps for English, tables, and spelling, all under the same subscription umbrella. It has strong partnerships with schools across the UK, and teachers can set homework and monitor class progress through a dedicated portal.
Arithmetix is focused specifically on primary maths, covering 48 topics from Reception through Year 6. Rather than one adaptive question stream, it offers five distinct challenge modes: Classic (untimed practice), Blitz (speed rounds), Streak (consecutive correct answers), MTC Practice (mirroring the Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check format), and Daily Challenge (a fresh set each day). Each mode has Game Center leaderboards, which adds a competitive element for children who are motivated by that.
The app uses spaced repetition to resurface topics a child has previously struggled with, rather than letting them drift into comfortable territory. The virtual pet is more than decoration: it has a full lifecycle, including hunger, health, sickness, and care needs. If your child skips practice, the pet visibly suffers. That sounds harsh on paper, but it is remarkably effective at building a daily habit. The pet can be fed, cleaned, and nursed back to health, and children genuinely care about keeping it well.
The parent dashboard goes beyond progress tracking. It automatically detects struggle patterns, such as rushed guessing (answering very quickly but inaccurately), declining accuracy on specific operations, or avoidance of certain topic areas. You get insights rather than just data. The app includes colour-blind accessibility modes and is available in three languages. It is a one-time purchase with no subscription.
Here is a side-by-side look at the key differences:
| Feature | DoodleMaths | Arithmetix |
|---|---|---|
| Age range | EYFS to Year 9 | EYFS to Year 6 |
| Topics | Broad coverage across primary and early secondary | 48 focused primary topics |
| Pricing | ~£8/month or ~£70/year subscription | One-time purchase |
| Challenge modes | Single adaptive question stream | 5 modes (Classic, Blitz, Streak, MTC, Daily) |
| Times tables / MTC | Covered within general practice | Dedicated MTC practice mode (25 questions, 6-second timer) |
| Spaced repetition | Adaptive difficulty via DoodleScore | Explicit spaced repetition resurfacing weak topics |
| Parent dashboard | Weekly email summaries | Auto-detected struggle patterns, in-app insights |
| Offline use | Yes (after download) | Yes (fully offline) |
| Accessibility | Standard | Colour-blind modes, 3 languages |
| Gamification | Stars, streaks, rewards | Virtual pet with full lifecycle, Game Center leaderboards |
| Data storage | Cloud-based account | On-device (no account required) |
It would be dishonest to pretend DoodleMaths does not have genuine strengths, because it does.
Wider age range. If your child is approaching secondary school or already in Year 7, 8, or 9, DoodleMaths continues to be useful while Arithmetix stops at Year 6. For families who want a single app that carries through the transition to secondary, that matters.
Established track record. DoodleMaths has been used by millions of children over many years. There is a large body of teacher feedback, and the app has been refined through countless iterations. If you value a product that has been road-tested at scale, DoodleMaths has that history.
School partnerships. Many primary schools have DoodleMaths licences, which means your child might get access for free through school. If that is the case, it is hard to argue against using it. Teachers can also set specific homework through the app, which creates a tighter link between school and home practice.
Larger user community. Because DoodleMaths has been around longer, there is a bigger community of parents and teachers sharing tips, and more children on the platform, which can make the experience feel more socially connected.
Arithmetix was built after observing what works and what frustrates parents about existing maths apps. Several design choices reflect that.
Dedicated MTC preparation. The Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check is a specific, high-pressure moment for many families. Arithmetix includes a practice mode that mirrors the real test: 25 questions, six seconds each, weighted towards the harder tables. DoodleMaths covers times tables within its general practice, but does not offer a standalone MTC simulation. For Year 4 parents, this is a significant difference.
Five challenge modes prevent monotony. One of the most common complaints parents have about maths apps is that children get bored. When every session feels the same, engagement drops. Arithmetix addresses this by offering meaningfully different modes. Blitz rewards speed. Streak rewards consistency. Daily Challenge gives a reason to come back tomorrow. Classic lets children work without time pressure. Variety keeps the app feeling fresh across weeks and months of use.
A virtual pet with real consequences. Most educational apps include some form of gamification, but it tends to be cosmetic: collect stars, unlock a hat. The Arithmetix pet is different. It gets hungry. It can get sick. It needs to be fed, cleaned, and cared for. If practice stops, the pet visibly deteriorates. This creates genuine emotional investment, which translates directly into consistent daily practice. Children do not want to let their pet down. It sounds simple, but it works.
Spaced repetition that targets weakness. Rather than broadly adjusting difficulty, Arithmetix specifically resurfaces topics where a child has previously struggled. This is based on established memory science: the best time to revisit something is just before you would forget it. The result is that children spend more time on what they find hard and less time repeating what they already know. Our guide to learning times tables explains the research behind this approach.
Parent insights that go beyond data. Knowing that your child scored 7 out of 10 on fractions is useful. Knowing that your child is guessing rapidly on division questions, getting faster but less accurate, is actionable. Arithmetix detects these patterns automatically and surfaces them for parents. It is the difference between a report card and a conversation starter.
Colour-blind accessibility. Roughly 8 percent of boys have some form of colour vision deficiency. Arithmetix includes dedicated colour-blind modes so that no child is disadvantaged by the visual design of the app. This is not common in educational apps.
Three languages. For bilingual families or those who want their child to see maths vocabulary in another language, Arithmetix supports three languages within the app.
One-time pricing. No subscription means no monthly decision about whether to keep paying. You buy it once, and it is yours. For families who have experienced the frustration of subscriptions stacking up across multiple apps, this is a meaningful benefit.
Both apps are genuinely good. The right choice depends on your specific situation.
It is also worth noting that the two apps are not mutually exclusive. If your child uses DoodleMaths at school, there is nothing stopping you from using Arithmetix at home for targeted practice, particularly in the run-up to the MTC or KS2 SATs.
DoodleMaths is a well-established, broad maths app that covers primary and early secondary, with strong school integration and a proven track record. Arithmetix is a focused primary maths app with more varied practice modes, a more engaging motivation system, smarter parent insights, and no subscription.
If your child's school already provides DoodleMaths, start there. If you are choosing and paying yourself, and your child is in primary school, Arithmetix offers more variety, better MTC preparation, and a pricing model that does not ask you to keep paying month after month. Either way, the most important thing is that your child practises regularly. Ten minutes a day, on any app, with any method, beats an hour once a week every time.