Comparison

Read with Phonics Games vs Phonics Playtime

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Read with Phonics Games

This interactive app helps children learn phonics sounds through engaging games. It focuses on letter sound recognition and word blending, serving as a foundation for reading. With over 1,200 words and 100+ games, it offers a fun and effective way to build early literacy skills.

Highlights
  • Learn phonics sounds
  • Letter sound recognition
  • Word sounding and blending
  • Over 1,200 words and pictures
  • Over 100+ games
  • Positive scoring system
  • No ads
Features
Read full description

Read with Phonics is a colourful and interactive way for your child to learn their phonics sounds! It improves letter sounds recognition and is a great stepping stone to help your little ones on their reading journey! Features: - NO ADS! - One off payment, no subscription! - The only educational kids app with positive scoring! - Over 1,200+ words and pictures - Colourful graphics and great animations - Sounding and blending of each word - Play anytime, anywhere! - Over 100+ games - Clear instructions - Made by teachers! - Albee the alien will guide your little ones on their journey As your child systematically works through the Read with Phonics program, unlocking new sounds as they go, they quickly learn how to break down and read even the most complicated looking words, all by themselves! Start learning to Read with Phonics today. 'I was amazed at how quickly my 4 year old son started to improve with his reading using the Read with Phonics app.' - Dan J 'I would be lost without Read with Phonics and have no idea how schools cope without it.' - Mrs Gent 'It is simple, so many apps these days are bold and noisy. Whilst that is sometimes great I find the girls get very distracted from any task they need to complete. Plus after a while I get fed up of hearing the same piece of music for the 4,657,590 time. With no music and no unnecessary graphics Ellie focused on this for a long time! Thank you Read with Phonics!'- Kirsty W Play phonics games, answer questions, score points and improve your level! Read with Phonics simplifies how children learn to read by breaking the English language down into it's 44 phonics sounds. No need to memorise 1,000's of words individually, learn your phonics sounds instead! Learn to read 1,200+ words with Read with Phonics. NOTE TO PARENTS: As parents you can do a lot to help your child learn to read. Our app is designed to be played independently but there is nothing like having parental guidance and support by their side while they play. We also cannot endorse strongly enough the importance of reading real books with your children! We are a team of just two here at Read with Phonics so please help us spread the word about Read with Phonics, we rely on the support of parents so please share this app with friends, family, daycares, non profit orgaizations, or simply post about it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If you have any feedback on how we can improve our app for you and your child please email us at: support@readwithphonics.com Or please leave a review on the app store! Get in contact with us at: www.facebook.com/readwithphonics www.twitter.com/ReadWPhonics www.readwithphonics.com

About

Phonics Playtime

This app offers over 10 engaging Jolly Phonics games designed to help children master phonetic sounds. With over 2000 exercises and adjustable difficulty, it enhances cognitive skills through playful learning experiences. It's optimized for iOS devices and features a child-friendly interface.

Highlights
  • 10 unique phonics activities
  • Over 2000 exercises
  • Adjustable difficulty levels
  • Sticker rewards system
  • Child-friendly interface
  • Jolly Phonics system based
  • Fully voiced pronunciation
Features
Read full description

Explore over 10 exciting Jolly Phonics activities that turn phonics learning into a playful adventure, perfect for young learners and teachers alike. Just like our other phonics apps, Phonics Playtime is designed to help children master phonetic sounds instead of just focusing on the alphabet. By completing exercises and practicing different phonics groups, Phonics Playtime enhances your child’s cognitive skills through engaging and playful experiences. With over 2000 unique exercises carefully crafted to teach various phonics sounds and groups, Phonics Playtime allows children to complete activities within specific phonics sets or tackle randomized exercises at easy, medium, hard, or mixed difficulty levels. Phonics Playtime is optimized for iPad and iPhone devices running iOS 12.0 or higher. Features: • 10 unique phonics activities, each with 3 levels of difficulty. • Over 650 phonics pictures and 800 phonics words categorized by difficulty level. • Earn fun stickers for achievements on the sticker board. • Child-friendly interface with large buttons and simple navigation. • Choose to play by phonics group or jump into a quick play game. • Fully voiced with accurate phonics pronunciation by B.J. Rowling, cousin of J.K. Rowling. • Toggle between lowercase and uppercase phonics letters. • Based on the renowned Jolly Phonics system by Jolly Learning Ltd. • No in-app purchases, everything is included! • Vibrant graphics with support for all iOS devices running 12.0 or higher. Included Activities: • Find the Phonic. • Which Phonic Did You Hear? • Sort the Phonics Words. • Unscramble the Word. • Which Word Sounds Like ___? • Find the Odd One Out. • Match the Pictures with the Right Shadow • Find the Missing Phonic. • Pop the Phonics Balloons. • Which Word Did You Hear?

Screenshots

Read with Phonics Games4 screens
Phonics Playtime4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Phonics Playtime at none against Read with Phonics Games's 5. Phonics Playtime also leads on review sentiment (86% vs 70%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). Read with Phonics Games's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 40 months). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Read with Phonics Games sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Phonics Playtime asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Read with Phonics Games ships an update every 6 weeks, Phonics Playtime every 40 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Read with Phonics Games versus Phonics Playtime: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRead with Phonics GamesPhonics Playtime
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (9 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews70.0% of reviews85.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 40 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size272 MB81 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWay We LearnBram Van Damme

Customer experience

Read with Phonics Games

All ratings9 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral11.1%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews70 reviews
Positive70.0%
Neutral7.1%
Negative22.9%

Phonics Playtime

Written reviews7 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%

Bugs and requests

Read with Phonics Games

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • Failed to download error message
  • Dragging letters causes context change to other background apps
  • Letter disappears when dragging
  • App doesn’t display properly on iPad screen
  • Cannot click on a letter at the bottom of the screen
Show 8 more
  • App won't load (after updates or for older devices)
  • Game freezes when a level has been reached
  • Sound problems (cannot get sound to work)
  • Game freezes at end of each level, cannot progress
  • Cannot get into settings area
  • Cannot go past letter p, 'hold down for 3 seconds' doesn't work
  • Last two phonics sound's boxes can not be seen in 2nd stage
  • App blocked after purchase

Requested features

12 requests
  • Parent control for specific sounds
  • Fix obnoxious alien sound
  • Improve clarity of some sounds
  • Adjust pronunciation of 'a'
  • More varied activities
Show 7 more
  • More control over sound effects
  • Improve user-friendliness of interface
  • Option to move drag and drop items away from edge
  • Font similar to comic sans
  • Unlock sounds individually
  • Fix bug where last two sounds in stage 2 are not visible
  • Option to buy full version on website

Phonics Playtime

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Read with Phonics Games

One-time5
  • Stage 1$3.99
  • Stage 2$3.99
  • Stage 3$3.99
Show 2 more
  • Stage 4$4.99
  • All stages$9.99
None

Phonics Playtime

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Read with Phonics Games free?
Read with Phonics Games is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Phonics Playtime free?
Phonics Playtime is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Read with Phonics Games or Phonics Playtime have ads?
Neither Read with Phonics Games nor Phonics Playtime shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Read with Phonics Games or Phonics Playtime?
Read with Phonics Games ships an update every 6 weeks, and Phonics Playtime every 40 months. Most recently, Read with Phonics Games was updated on October 22, 2026 and Phonics Playtime on October 15, 2026.

Other comparisons