Search "best times tables apps" and most results are written either by a competing app's own content team or by affiliate sites that rank whichever product pays best. They tend to list features and vague price ranges, but rarely tell you what's actually verified, what's a third-party estimate, or what the learning-science evidence says about which methods work. This guide compares the apps parents and teachers actually ask about — Times Tables Rock Stars, Prodigy, SplashLearn, Khan Academy Kids, Multiplication Times Tables Quiz, and our own app, Multiply Master, made by SZS Labs — being explicit about what we could verify and what we couldn't.
What the research actually says about learning times tables
Two pieces of research come up again and again in discussions of how children learn multiplication facts, and they're worth knowing regardless of which app you pick.
First, a 2022 classroom study across four Dutch second-grade classrooms (48 students) compared children practising multiplication facts with flashcards against children chanting tables aloud. The flashcard group averaged 8 correct answers on a post-test versus 6 for the chanting group, and the advantage held a week later. The study, published in Applied Cognitive Psychology in 2023, is one of few controlled comparisons of these two common methods, as reported by The Hechinger Report. This is useful to know because some tables apps are really just chanting or passive video dressed up with characters — flashcard-style recall and quizzing appears to work better than rote repetition in this study.
Second, Stanford education professor Jo Boaler's research summary at youcubed notes that timed tests can block working memory and trigger maths anxiety, with at least a third of students reportedly experiencing extreme stress around timed testing, and measurable maths anxiety recorded in children as young as five. This doesn't mean timing is always harmful — speed matters for some official assessments, covered below — but it's a reason not to assume that leaderboard-and-countdown formats are automatically best for every child, particularly younger or more anxious learners.
These findings are general background for choosing any app, not an argument for one particular product; several of the apps below use timers, quizzes, or both, and the right fit depends on your child's temperament and goals.
What to check before you download an app
Most roundups stop at feature lists. Here's what's easy to miss:
- Does "free" mean free, or free-to-download only? Many apps are free to install but gate real content behind a subscription or school account.
- Are there ads, and is data tracked? Check the privacy section of the store listing, not just the marketing copy.
- Is the price verified from an official source, or a third-party estimate? Several "cost breakdown" articles online are independent guesses, not the company's own pricing page — worth treating with some caution.
- Does it work offline? Useful for car journeys or patchy school wifi.
- Is practice timed or untimed? Some children thrive on a countdown; others do better building accuracy first.
- What range does it actually cover? Dedicated times-tables apps differ from broad maths platforms where multiplication is one small topic among many.
Best times tables apps compared
| App | Ages | Price | Ads / tracking | Offline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Times Tables Rock Stars | 6–16 per its App Store listing | Free to download; a subscription (school, family or tutor account) is needed to play. A third-party pricing guide cites roughly $16/year, per Brighterly — not an official TTRS figure | Account-based; used by 17,000+ schools, per Internet Matters | Not confirmed in our research |
| Prodigy Math | Primary age | Free to download. A third-party cost breakdown estimates memberships at roughly $4.91–$19.95/month depending on tier and billing length, per Brighterly — this is an independent estimate, not Prodigy's own pricing page | Free-tier users reportedly get the same core curriculum content as paying members, per an independent review by Nibble | Not confirmed in our research |
| SplashLearn | Pre-K–grade 5 | Free for teachers and schools, per The Learning Counsel. Home subscriptions are listed at $7.99–$11.99/month by EdTech Impact, and from $7.49/month annually by Brighterly — both third-party figures, not SplashLearn's own pricing page | Subscription-based; not independently confirmed | Not confirmed in our research |
| Khan Academy Kids | 2–8 | Free | Ad-free, per Khan Academy | Not confirmed in our research |
| Multiply Master (SZS Labs) | 6–9 | Free app; according to its own app page, tables 2–4 are free and a single purchase unlocks tables 5–12 | The app's own page states no ads and no tracking | The app's own page states it works offline |
A few honest notes on each. Times Tables Rock Stars is clearly popular — over 17,000 schools use it, per Internet Matters — and its band-themed, competitive format suits kids who enjoy speed challenges and leaderboards. The trade-off is that you need a paid account to actually play, and we could not independently verify its ad or offline behaviour beyond the account requirement itself.
Prodigy Math wraps maths practice in a role-playing game covering far more than multiplication, so if times tables are your only goal, it's a large app for a narrow need. The pricing figures above are third-party estimates rather than Prodigy's own published rates, so treat them as a rough guide rather than an exact quote — check Prodigy's own site before buying.
SplashLearn is a broad primary-maths platform, free for classroom teachers, with home subscriptions that different sources price somewhat differently ($7.49–$11.99/month across two independent write-ups). Again, these are third-party estimates, not SplashLearn's official pricing page, so confirm the current rate directly with SplashLearn.
Khan Academy Kids is free, ad-free, and includes an introductory multiplication topic inside a much broader early-maths and literacy app for ages 2–8, per Khan Academy. It's a strong free all-rounder, but times tables are one small slice of it rather than the focus.
Multiply Master is our own app. According to its app page, it covers tables 2 to 12 through flash cards, quizzes and a table view, with tables 2, 3 and 4 free and the rest unlocked by a single purchase behind a parental gate; the same page states there are no ads, no tracking, no account requirement, offline play, and support for 13 languages. We built it, so we can't offer an independent third party's verification of these claims the way we can for competitors' store listings — we're disclosing that plainly. It's also limited to one platform (iPhone), one age band (6–9), and one topic (times tables 2–12), unlike broader platforms such as Prodigy or SplashLearn.
What about Multiplication Times Tables Quiz?
Multiplication Times Tables Quiz is another app parents ask about, but our research did not turn up independently verified pricing, ad/tracking behaviour, or offline support for it — only that it exists as a simpler, quiz-style option without the game layers of apps like Prodigy or TTRS. Rather than guess, we'd recommend checking its current app store listing directly for pricing and privacy details before downloading.
Does any of this help with the UK Multiplication Tables Check (MTC)?
If you're in England, your child may sit the statutory Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check. The GOV.UK administration guidance confirms it has 25 questions (after 3 practice questions), with 6 seconds allowed per question and no extra time given, since the check is specifically designed to measure fluent recall rather than working-out speed. In 2026 the main administration window is 1–12 June, with a buffer window of 15–19 June for schools that need it.
That 6-second limit is genuinely tight, so some timed practice close to the check date makes sense for most children. None of the apps in this comparison are built or endorsed specifically for the MTC format, so treat any of them as general practice tools rather than an official simulator, and ask your child's school what format they use to prepare.
Timed or untimed practice — how to decide
There's no universal right answer; it depends on the child in front of you.
- If your child finds maths stressful, or is just starting out, untimed, flashcard-style practice may build accuracy and confidence with less pressure, in line with the general findings summarised by youcubed.
- If your child enjoys competition and is already confident, timed or leaderboard-based apps can be motivating rather than stressful.
- If an official timed assessment like the MTC is approaching, add some timed practice in the final weeks regardless of which app you normally use, so the format itself isn't a surprise.
- Whatever the format, flashcard-style recall practice outperformed simple chanting/repetition in the controlled study reported by The Hechinger Report — a useful thing to check for in any app's method, not just its theme.
Where Multiply Master fits
If you're looking for a focused, flashcard-and-quiz style app that covers every table from 2 to 12 without ads, accounts or a subscription for the first few tables, Multiply Master by SZS Labs is one option, and we're openly its maker. It won't replace a broad maths curriculum app like SplashLearn or Khan Academy Kids, it doesn't have the competitive leaderboard pull of Times Tables Rock Stars, and it's only available on iPhone for ages roughly 6 to 9. Try tables 2, 3 and 4 for free and judge for yourself whether the format suits your child before deciding on anything else on this list.
