Mental Math Apps: Top 6 Solutions for Faster Calculations
4 min read · Aug 12, 2024
Table of contents
Hey there!
Welcome to the sixth chapter in my mental math series.
Today we're going to talk about mental math apps, since they're probably my favorite way (more than books or courses) to boost your calculation skills.
So let's take a look at these digital tools.
How Apps Can Help Improve Mental Math
I meant it. Mental math apps have revolutionized the game when it comes to practicing and sharpening our arithmetic abilities.
They offer a bunch of benefits that old-school learning methods just can't match:
First off, they're interactive and engaging as heck. Instead of scribbling problems on paper, you get to play around in a dynamic, almost game-like environment.
They've got all these bells and whistles like points, achievements, and leaderboards that really light a fire under you to keep practicing.
Then there's the structured learning aspect. A lot of these apps have a well-thought-out curriculum (ehem, shameless plug) that keeps pushing you as you get better.
Don't forget the instant feedback. With traditional methods, you might have to wait to check your answers. But these apps? They tell you right away if you're right or wrong. This helps you spot your weak areas fast and reinforces the correct methods.
Lastly, they're flexible as all get-out. Whether you've got five minutes to kill or want to hunker down for a serious practice session, these apps have got you covered.
Convinced? Good. Now, let's take a look at some of the top contenders in the mental math app arena…
Top Mental Math Apps
Mental Math Pro (I know I know, but I had to!)
I really tried to build the best mental math app: Just 14 key strategies, infinite practice, and a one-time fee of $14.99. No subscriptions, no nonsense. It's simple, effective, and even lets you try the first 3 strategies for free.
FastMath
This one's a Swiss Army knife of math apps. It covers everything from basic addition to percentages. It tracks your progress, has leaderboards for the competitive types, and adjusts difficulty as you improve.
Mental Math Cards
If you like knowing the 'why' behind the 'how', this is your ticket. It teaches techniques step-by-step, perfect for exam prep or sharpening professional skills.
Cool Maths Games
This one's for those who get bored easily. This one has a tooooon of games! It throws problems at you visually and audibly, with a bunch of different game formats. It's versatile as hell and keeps things interesting.
Brain Training: Mental Calc
This is for the go-getters who need practice on the move. It's great for interview prep, especially for jobs where you need to be quick with numbers. If you want to perform under pressure, start here.
Zetamac
Don't let its simple look fool you. This app's all about the basics, perfect for focusing on fundamentals without distractions.
Features to Look For in Mental Math Apps
When you're picking a mental math app, there are a few key things you need to look out for. Let me break it down for you:
Range of Exercises and Difficulty Levels
You want an app with a good variety of problems and levels. It's like weight training for your brain - you need to start where you are and keep pushing yourself.
Look for apps that let you customize the difficulty. That way, you're always working at your edge, not wasting time on stuff that's too easy or getting frustrated with problems that are too hard.
Progress Tracking and Achievements
This is crucial. You need to see how you're improving.
Good apps will give you stats, and maybe even graphs/ let you set your own goals.
And those little achievement badges? They're not just for show. They keep you motivated, give you something to shoot for.
User Interface and Experience
Pay attention to how the app looks and feels. It needs to be clean and easy to use (this is something I cared a lot about when building my own app).
You don't want to waste time figuring out how to use the app when you should be crunching numbers. Clear instructions, easy navigation - that's what you're after.
User Reviews and Experiences
Pay attention to what real people are saying about these mental math apps.
Positive Feedback
A lot of people say these apps make learning mental math actually fun. The game-like features we talked about - achievements, leaderboards, that kind of thing - keep people coming back for more. It's like they've turned math into a video game or something. Most importantly - people are saying they're actually getting better at math! Their confidence is going up.
Common Criticisms
Now, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Some people have some beefs with these apps, and we need to pay attention to that too:
- Some people get stressed out by timed challenges. This reduces their performance.
- Some apps don't let you adjust the difficulty or types of problems. That's no good. You need to be able to customize your training.
- And some people are complaining about the way the apps look and work. Small fonts, hard to navigate, that kind of thing.
Sidenote: I tried to overcome each of those criticism when I built Mental Math Pro.
Conclusion
Remember this: picking the right app is important, but it's not everything. The real secret is using it consistently.
If you do that, I promise you'll see results. So pick an app and get to it!
See you in the next chapter 🙂 Be well.
About the author
Richard Reis
Founder of Mental Math Pro! Also currently doing a fun little "25 AI Startups in 50 Weeks" challenge.
