Shape Coding vs Level One Reading
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shape Coding
This app uses a visual coding system to help children and young people improve their understanding and production of English sentence structure and grammar. It's designed for educators and therapists to personalize learning for individual students.
- Visual coding system for grammar
- Color-coded word classes
- Arrow indicators for tense
- Shape indicators for syntax
- Personalized student profiles
- Customizable word lists
- Text-to-speech functionality
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Please try the free Lite version before purchase to ensure all functionality will work on your device. SHAPE CODING® by Susan Ebbels is a flexible app designed for teachers and speech and language therapists / pathologists to use with children and young people who are having difficulties producing and understanding English sentence structure and grammar. It uses the SHAPE CODING® system which has been shown in several research projects to help children and young people with language disorders increase the length and complexity of sentences they can understand and use and to improve the accuracy of their sentence production. The SHAPE CODING® system uses a visual coding system to show the rules for how words are put together in sentences, to develop the child’s understanding of spoken and written grammar and to develop their ability to use grammar successfully to express themselves. The system includes use of colours (word classes), arrows (tense and aspect), lines (singular and plural) and shapes (syntactic structure). These are all included in the app, but the professional controlling the app can choose which features display for individual students. Multiple “teachers” can use the app and each “teacher” can have multiple students. The app is personalised for each student. The app is designed to be flexible so that professionals can adapt the levels and information displayed to suit the current levels and targets of individual students. The default first setting for each new student includes only basic sentence structures. Further complexity can be turned on (and off) by the “teacher” and individual settings are preserved for each student between uses. The app is equipped with a basic set of words which can be inserted into the shapes to make sentences. However, additional words can be added for individual students, or indeed for all students working with a particular “teacher” (this can be useful for names and topics which are common across a class of students for example). These can either be added before a session with a student, or during a session and can be saved for future use if desired. The app uses text-to-speech, so that students who struggle to read can also use the app. This app assumes a certain degree of familiarity with the SHAPE CODING® system. For more information see www.shapecoding.com. Training on how to use the SHAPE CODING® system is available from https://training.moorhouseinstitute.co.uk/. For a demonstration of some of the features of the app see https://shapecoding.com/demo-videos/, and for Frequently Asked Questions see: https://shapecoding.com/app-info/faqs/. Follow us on Twitter @ShapeCoding, Facebook @ShapeCoding and Instagram @shape_coding or if you have any problems or feedback, please contact us at training@moorhouseschool.co.uk Please review our privacy policy https://shapecoding.com/privacy-policy-apple/
Level One Reading
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Level One Reading is a free phonics app for children aged 4–6, made by a teacher. Every book, game, and lesson follows the same phonics method used in UK reception classrooms. WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT Free, forever. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no ads. Decodable video books. Beautifully illustrated stories with video and narration — and every word can be sounded out using the phonics your child has already learned. No memorising. No guessing. Phonics games. Designed to make practice feel like play, not homework. Progress reports for grown-ups. See exactly which sounds your child knows, which books they've read, and what they're ready for next. Made by a teacher, used by parents and teachers. WHAT'S INSIDE — Phase 2, 3, 4 and 5 sounds, taught one stage at a time — 30+ decodable books, with new ones added regularly — Tappable phoneme dots under every word, so your child can hear each sound separately and blend them together — Sound it Out — practise individual words at each stage, with mouth videos showing how each sound is formed — Flashcards — See, Draw, Repeat. Watch how a sound is made, trace the letter, then say it back. — Tricky Words — high-frequency words that don't follow phonics rules, taught with their own dream-world videos — Stage Check — alien words at the end of each stage. Made-up words that can only be read by sounding them out. The truest test of phonics. PRIVACY No accounts. No logins for children. No advertising. No tracking. No data sold. Your child's first name and reading progress are stored on their device. If you choose to save progress to the cloud, you can give us your email — and that's the only data we ever ask for. See our privacy policy for full details. Level One Reading is built and maintained by Gamer School, a small UK education project. Made by a teacher and parent, for parents.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Level One Reading at Free against Shape Coding's $19.99. Shape Coding's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
Level One Reading is free to download; Shape Coding costs $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Shape Coding against 5.0 for Level One Reading. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
Shape Coding ships an update every 2 months, Level One Reading every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shape Coding | Level One Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 44.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 357 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Moor House School & College | ANDREW MARK DAVIDSON |
In-app purchases
Shape Coding
No in-app purchases
Level One Reading
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Shape Coding free?
Is Level One Reading free?
Which has better reviews, Shape Coding or Level One Reading?
Do Shape Coding or Level One Reading have ads?
Which is updated more often, Shape Coding or Level One Reading?
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