Our take
One of the most disciplined beginner apps. You and your child work through 120 scripted lessons and 84 decodable books on the same screen, and pictures stay hidden until the page is read so your child cannot guess from them. You are the one who listens and corrects. It ends around a late-first-grade level.
A good fit for
- Parents who can sit with a 4–6 year old for 15 minutes a day
- A first year of reading done right
Look elsewhere if
- Children who need to practise on their own
- Anyone past first-grade phonics
How far it goes
About the skill ladder- 7Latin and Greek rootsconstruct, phonographNot taught
- 6Prefixes, suffixes and spelling ruleshopping, unkindNot taught
- 5Multisyllable wordsnapkin, fantasticNot taught
- 4Vowel patternscake, rain, carPartly
- 3Blends and digraphsstop, ship, chinTaught
- 2Short-vowel wordscat, sit, hopTaught
- 1Letter soundsm says /m/Taught
Vowel teams such as ea, oo and ai are included; r-controlled vowels stop at ar and er.
How it works
How we rate- Who hears your child read?
- You doYour child reads to you or a teacher, who judges each word.
- Does your child spell?
- Picks letters or answersIts scope lists encoding, and its games include tracing and spelling; we found no dictation.
- What do they read?
- DecodableTexts primarily follow taught patterns; see each program’s treatment of irregular words.
- How is progress gated?
- Says it adaptsA placement assessment, then one lesson unlocks a day; parents can unlock lessons early.
- How much of your time?
- You teach itYou sit with your child for every lesson.
- What does the evidence show?
- Maker’s own studiesOnly an ESSA Tier IV logic model, which says itself that it does not provide causal evidence.
Watch-outs
- Lessons 42–71 teach "irregular sight words", and words such as the, was, you and first appear before (or without) their spelling pattern; it includes a "Sight Word Memory" game.
How it compares
| App | Price | Goes up to | Hears reading | Spelling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading.com | $12.49–$14.99/mo or $74.99/yr | Vowel patterns | You do | Picks letters or answers |
| Reading Horizons At-Home | $199 for the first year, then $50/yr; $25 per extra student; $10 30-day trial | Multisyllable words | No automated listening | Writes from dictation |
| Phonics Hero | US$36 per 6 months on the web, or US$6/mo in the app | Multisyllable words | No automated listening | Picks letters or answers |
| Funnix Beginning Reading | $24.99/mo family plan (up to 3 children); free trial lessons | Multisyllable words | You do | Writes from dictation |
| Sweet Phonics | $69.99/yr (7-day free trial) or monthly; the App Store lists both $11.99 and $14.99 monthly plans | Prefixes, suffixes and spelling rules | Speech recognition | Writes from dictation |
Sources
Checked October 2026 against the maker's own pages and the sources above. Spot something out of date? Tell us.