# Phonics Hero: Learn to Read — user reviews > 57 indexed App Store user reviews of Phonics Hero by Phonics Hero Limited, rated 4.60/5 from 9 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phonics-hero-learn-to-read/id908692848/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phonics-hero-learn-to-read/id908692848.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 7 · 4★ 1 · 3★ 0 · 2★ 1 · 1★ 0 ## Newest reviews (18 of 57) ### 4/5 — Phonics Hero *2026-05-16, version 4.2.15* It is a really fantastic project tool to help you with reading and writing. It is structured and has a clear path to follow. The games and activities are engaging and the children want the o play them and don’t realise they are learning while having fun. I love it. ### 2/5 — Small writing *2026-03-19, version 4.2.15* Im not sure the set up of the app, the writing is really small to read for a child who is learning, its not compatible with common ipads etc, and the pictures dont always match the sentence very well. There should definitely be a setting for bigger sized font ### 5/5 — Phonics hero *2025-07-29, version 4.2.4* It is okay but it is boring. ### 5/5 — My 5 year old loves it! *2025-07-09, version 4.2.4* Really helped her grasp the sounds. She’s now blending with ease. I’ve been really impressed. ### 5/5 — My 5 year old loves it! *2025-05-22, version 4.2.2* Really helped her grasp the sounds. She’s now blending with ease. I’ve been really impressed. ### 2/5 — The app is super finicky *2025-05-12* I had to create two accounts and every single time we logged in during our free trial I had to reset my password. It has a lot of potential. The games were engaging but ultimately it was too much trouble for me to continue the paid version. **Developer response:** Hello, The app is now fixed. If you can update this problem should go away! Our apologies. Best wishes Katherine ### 5/5 — Great tool to support literacy teaching *2025-05-12, version 4.2.1* As a Speech Pathologist who provides literacy support to children of all ages, the Phonics Hero games are so helpful to engage children in fun literacy activities to support their learning. ### 5/5 — I am an adult ESL speaker *2025-03-29* You might find this surprising, but as an adult ESL speaker, I’ve been using Phonics Hero for myself. I was born in China and have lived and worked in the U.S. for many years. As you may know, Chinese students typically begin learning English around age 8 or 9, sometimes even earlier in certain kindergartens. Yet, despite this early start, I’ve never been fully satisfied with my English communication skills—particularly my speaking and listening. I’ve often wondered: what did I miss in my English learning journey? I experimented with various methods until I stumbled upon the concept of phonics. It was a revelation to discover how native English speakers learn pronunciation in kindergarten or early schooling. Unlike ESL learners who often connect sounds to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), native speakers link sounds directly to phonics. This realization shifted my perspective. So, how could I develop this phonics skill? Options for the public are limited—virtually nonexistent for adults and scarce even for kids. After researching, I settled on Phonics Hero. Yes, it’s designed for children, and the games can feel a bit simplistic, but for ESL learners, the extensive practice with syllables is invaluable. Native speakers might need ten times more input and output to master these skills naturally, but as an adult ESL student, I figured completing the courses and games could bring me to a decent level of proficiency. I used Phonics Hero for about two to three weeks, spending roughly 30 minutes a day at the game’s pace. I stopped after that, as I didn’t notice a significant change right away—a common experience, I suspect. But something interesting happened later. As I read books and technical documents for work or relaxation, I began hearing the words in my mind in a way that met my own standards for English communication. I started relearning familiar words, focusing on stress and pronunciation, without getting bogged down by spelling or meaning. I still recall the intro video on the Phonics Hero website: a mom watching her child play the app on an iPad, saying, “Oh dear, a good student doesn’t guess at sounds.” Is it really true that a 3- or 4-year-old no longer needs to guess sounds after learning phonics? Maybe not 100%, but what if it’s 90% true—and I never studied phonics systematically before? That possibility convinced me to give it a shot. I’m someone who loves finding solutions and acting quickly once I have a clear question in mind. I’ve failed 100 times trying to reach my desired level of listening and speaking proficiency. This is just my 101st attempt—and I’m optimistic. **Developer response:** Thank you for sharing your unique journey—it's inspiring to see Phonics Hero supporting adult learners too! ### 5/5 — Amazing Phonics App!!! *2025-02-25, version 4.1.3* I am absolutely thrilled with Phonics Hero! My seven year old son has had an incredible journey with this program, and I'm so grateful to have found it. From the moment he started, he was engaged and motivated to learn. The interactive games, colorful animations, and fun characters made phonics practice a delight. Throughout his time with Phonics Hero, my son progressed through all the stages, and I was amazed at how quickly he grasped the concepts. The program's systematic approach to teaching phonics, decoding, and spelling really worked wonders for him. He gained confidence in his reading abilities and developed a strong foundation in phonics. One of the things that impressed me most was how Phonics Hero made learning phonics fun and accessible. The games were carefully designed to reinforce key concepts, and the rewards system kept my son motivated to practice regularly. As a parent, it's been incredible to see my son's progress and witness the impact that Phonics Hero has had on his reading skills. He's now able to read with greater accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. But here's the best part: I've been so impressed with Phonics Hero that I've subscribed AGAIN for my younger son, who just started kindergarten! I literally cannot imagine teaching phonics and reading without it. The program is that good! I highly recommend Phonics Hero to all parents. It's an investment worth making, and I'm confident that your child will thrive with this program. Thank you, Phonics Hero, for an amazing journey! ### 5/5 — Best game ever *2025-01-08, version 4.1.1* This game is my favourite game because we can get stickers from the store in Phonics Hero ### 5/5 — High quality phonics teaching all in a fun games package! *2025-01-02, version 4.1.1* Excellent! High quality educational value, and super fun. I’m a previous teacher with a phonics specialism, and now my daughter is learning to read I was on the hunt for an app that’s grounded in high quality teaching. We’d tried a few out there and found them lacking both in educational quality and graphics/design. I was so pleased to find Phonics Hero. You can tell it’s designed by teachers, and easily complements many UK phonics programmes. My daughter uses Read Write Inc at school and this works really well in conjunction with it. Plenty of challenge, keeps her engaged - I’ll be recommending to all my friends and their children! ### 5/5 — Highly recommended *2024-12-21, version 4.1.1* It’s recommended by my daughter’s school. She used to play and learn after school for her homework. Highly recommended for prep or year one kids! ### 5/5 — Loved it *2024-12-01, version 4.0.15* My daughter needed some support with her spelling. Phonics Hero really helped her improve - she stopped just wildly guessing. She loved the quirky games and the superhero storyline. Highly recommend. ### 5/5 — Really helped my kid *2024-11-26, version 4.0.15* My 10 year was struggling at school, particularly with their phonics. Going back to basics with this has helped consolidate their knowledge and their reading has improved. They enjoyed the games and there was no parental nagging involved. ### 5/5 — Awesome phonics app! *2024-11-15, version 4.0.15* A friend recommended I get this app for my nieces and nephew and I’m so glad I did! They love playing these phonics games and practicing their reading skills ☺️ ### 5/5 — Best app! *2024-09-29, version 4.0.12* Used by my sons school in prep! Amazing app ### 5/5 — highly recommended *2024-09-14, version 4.0.12* my child has used the app over 1 year and she absolutely loves the app. it helps her improve her phonics by playing little games. ### 5/5 — Love this app *2024-07-09, version 4.0.11* My 6 year old son has really enjoyed playing these games and I can definitely see improvements in his reading - win win! ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Unreliable app *2025-02-08, version 4.1.3* The most unreliable app ever because I logged in and I lost all my work ### 1/5 — No sound *2024-09-15, version 4.0.12* No sound at all ### 1/5 — Too slow and buggy *2023-08-27, version 4.0.0* Paid subscriber this app is very slow to run baddly coded. And many bugs make it unusable for my kid. ### 1/5 — Worst app in the world *2022-08-22, version 3.0.7* I’m 7 and I have to do it for school and I hate it ### 1/5 — Waste of time *2022-01-14, version 3.0.7* Its a 7 day free trial. How they avoided the in app purchase tag is sneaky. ### 1/5 — A waste of time *2021-09-01, version 3.0.7* Worst learning app I have used. My daughter hated it. It logged her out numerous times and didn’t save her progress so she had to go all the way back to the start and start over. It lacked instructions and if she didn’t hear a word the first time there was no option for her to listen to it again and she had to go all the way back to the start once again. My poor daughter was upset that she spent 3 hours just trying to complete the placement test because she was sent back to the start over and over again because it wouldn’t save her progress and kept logging her out ### 1/5 — i dont like it *2021-08-04, version 3.0.7* the lessons are to long 😡😡😡😡😡 ### 1/5 — Glitchy *2020-12-03, version 3.0.7* Keeps jumping around. Exercises saying done, when they haven’t. ### 1/5 — POTENTIAL *2020-11-10* This is so weird pls fix just is sooo bad it says when I logged in that there was a problem with the thing and we need to check our details. It’s just so weird and it has a lot a potential too. Pls fix ### 1/5 — Unusable *2020-07-16, version 3.0.7* Unable to create an account as nothing happens when you press enter or click out of the box containing the answer to the sum to check I’m an adult! ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Fun and educational *2026-04-28, version 4.2.15* My son loves it. It’s fun and educational. It’s the best,out of all the apps we have tried. It’s user friendly for both of us. ### 5/5 — Love learning *2026-04-24, version 4.2.15* My child is loving to learn how to read from these games. ### 5/5 — Very good *2026-03-30, version 4.2.15* My son has fun learning … and it has helped him a lot. He likes to rescue the superheroes. Thank you ### 5/5 — Phonics Hero:Learn to read *2026-02-22, version 4.2.13* This app has made me so much better at reading books than I ever was.amazing job with this app and I love it so much and I thank you so very much this has made schools so much better and smarter and help kids this is the best Learning app ever thank you amazing job ### 5/5 — So good *2025-11-24, version 4.2.11* My little girl loves phonics and so does me and she is very excited cause she is milt finish ### 5/5 — Very helpful to my kids *2025-10-20, version 4.2.7* I followed my younger daughter’s teacher’s advise and got it for her. It’s amazing how fast she improved. And now I subscribed another account for my elder daughter. Highly recommended! ### 5/5 — So helpful *2025-09-08, version 4.2.7* This app was great to give my daughter the solid foundations in learning to read. She loved the short, quirky games. Will certainly get my son on it when he turns 4. ### 5/5 — Phonics hero *2025-08-10, version 4.2.6* I love this ### 5/5 — My child adores Phonics Hero! *2025-08-02, version 4.2.4* I’m kind of in love with this app. My son (4) will play this all day if I let him. He struggled with phonics at school, not badly, but not really grasping it, and within weeks of playing this his confidence and his reading flourished and now he is out-pacing his classmates in phonics lessons. ### 5/5 — My kids love Phonics Hero! *2025-08-01, version 4.2.4* Thanks to Phonics Hero both my boys built their confidence quickly when learning to read and blend sounds. Fun and easy to use, a must for making learning to read fun. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-02.*