Comparison

Phonic Flashcards vs Animal Train

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

Head to head
About

Phonic Flashcards

This app helps young children learn to read and spell by breaking down animal words into their phonetic sounds. It features interactive flashcards, word-building games, and matching activities, all designed to build a strong phonics foundation.

Highlights
  • Learn 100 animal words
  • Phonetic word breakdown
  • Interactive flashcards
  • Compound word activities
  • Word-building games
  • Picture and word matching
  • Reward games
Features
Read full description

Name the animal, hear its' awesome sound, and explore the "phonic chunks" which make up the word. Following the success of Phonic Flashcards comes this new ANIMALS version.   Learn to read BUT ALSO sound-out and spell 100 animal words, beginning with EASY words: ant, bee, clam, fox, moth, bird MEDIUM words: donkey, snail, shark, beetle, starfish, python HARD words: peacock, dolphin, kookaburra, crocodile, rhinoceros, seahorse   Also includes a new COMPOUND WORDS activity with 44 animal compound words (ie. bob+cat, jelly+fish, lady+bug, butter+fly, road+runner).   Animal flashcards are grouped into: Birds Sea Creatures Insects & Arachnids, etc. Mammals Reptiles & Amphibians Marsupials & Egg Laying Mammals Pets & Farm Animals 
Phonic Flashcards are better than regular flashcards because the phonemes (letters and digraphs) are sounded out! The word "fish" becomes "fff" "i" "shhh", with all words and phonemes recorded by a professional voice artist, helping to build a solid phonics foundation for reading (and spelling) success!

 We have been making educational software for twenty years. All of our apps are designed to maximize learning outcomes, while also being super easy to use and fun.

 For the Classroom... Phonic Flashcards – ANIMALS makes a great literacy centre if you're doing a study of birds, mammals or farm animals. Also use this app for greatest benefit with your reluctant readers who love animals! This is one literacy activity they will do willingly.
  Warning... Includes reward games! Upon completing some activities, children are rewarded with a simple tap-tap style arcade game of their choice, "Frog Hop" or "Fish Food".

 
 Made in Australia!!! Easy to use - Top quality speech - Educationally sound - It gets results!

 Ages 4-7 plus remedial

 Voice accent options: American or Australian speech

 Includes 100+ animals flashcards

 Each interactive card features a picture, which you can tap to hear the animal sound.
 Choose whether to have the words voiced, sounded-out, or both!
 Tap the letters and digraphs to hear each phoneme. Blend them together to sound-out the word.
 Hide the picture to administer a reading test.
  As well as FLASHCARDS, there are three additional activities:
 SHADOWS - a multisensory word-building game which is visual and tactile, while also reinforcing phonemes.
 MATCH UP! - simply involves matching words with pictures. Turn off the sound cues to test word recognition.
 COMPOUND WORDS - a game-show style quiz to identify the animals.

 When sounding out "phonic chunks" and recognizing how words are constructed becomes second nature to a child, they are equipped with the tools to ensure success in literacy.   Please Note:
 Our apps do NOT require membership sign-up, do NOT ask for any personal information, and do NOT require wifi access. Our apps contain no ads, no in-app purchases, no links to social media, and do not share any data or track your location. A link to our website (to view app guides and download free worksheets) are kept behind a parental gate.

 If you like our apps, please support us by reviewing and/or rating them in the app store! If you have any suggestions to make our apps better, please contact us directly via our website (www.phonicflashcards.com)

About

Animal Train

Embark on a global train journey to discover animals in their natural habitats. This toddler-friendly game offers flashcards, facts, quizzes, and spelling puzzles to teach children about various animal species and their behaviors.

Highlights
  • Animal flashcards
  • Animal facts and quizzes
  • Spelling puzzles
  • Jigsaw puzzles
  • Animal sticker rewards
  • Learn animal names
Features
Read full description

No Zoo, No Cage! Welcome to the magical world of animals! Are you ready for a long trip around the world to learn about animals and their behaviors in the wild? Get into our train and let's start the ride! Baby animals are really fun to watch, right? How about learning about farm animals or wild animals? Or play with kittens & other cute domestic pets? Or learn about animal facts? In this train game for kids, children can explore the magical world of animals for free! Toddler-friendly learning game for kids! Great educational resource for preschool teachers & parents to teach girls & boys to care for animals! The best free animal games for kids! Animal learning has never been this fun & educational for children. Jump into our train to travel around the world and learn to care for these creatures in the wild! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- GAMES & FEATURES: Animal Flash Cards - 65 colorful toddler flashcards to learn animal names, donkey, monkey, zebra, tapir, elephant, and much more Animal Facts & Quizzes - More than 250 fun animal facts & quizzes for kids Animal Names - Kids will learn the names of 65 animals and baby animals Kids Train - Make a jigsaw puzzle of colorful trains and start your trip in the nature Animal Stickers - At the end of each animal game for kids, there is an animal sticker reward Spelling Games - 65 Spelling puzzles with voice commands to teach kids how to spell and recognize animals! Train Ride - Kids will travel around the world in a magical color-changing train to discover & learn about animals & their babies! Our train game for children is not in the zoo, we do not like to see those amazing creatures in cages! We like to see animals free in their natural habitats or the wildlife parks! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANIMALS: African Wild Animals & Big 5 - Giraffe, Elephant, Hippo, Lion, Lioness, Lion Cub, Baboon, Rhino, Zebra, Hyena Farm Animals - Cow, Horse, Donkey, Pig, Sheep, Duck, Rooster, Hen, Piglet, Calf Arctic Animals - Polar Bear, Walrus, Arctic Fox, Arctic Hare, Snowy Owl, Polar Bear Cub Desert Animals - Fox, Tortoise, Rabbit, Snake, Roadrunner Mythical Animals - Unicorn, Pegasus, Foal Domestic Animals - Dog, Cat, Puppy, Kitten Panda Land - Panda, Panda Cub Australian Animals - Kangaroo, Koala, Dingo, Platypus Antarctic Animals - Whale, Seal, Penguin Prehistoric Animals - Dinosaurs Ocean Creatures- Shark, Octopus, Frog, Sea turtle, Crab, Starfish, Fish, Jellyfish, Seahorse Rainforest Animals - Alligator, Monkey, Snake, Macaw, Tapir, Toucan, Iguana, Sloth IN-APP PURCHASES: • 5 Animal zones and their animals + 65 animal flashcards • 5 Animal zones and their animals + 65 spelling puzzles Privacy Policy: http://www.cubicfrog.com/privacy Terms & Conditions :http://www.cubicfrog.com/terms

Screenshots

Phonic Flashcards4 screens
Animal Train4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Animal Train at 4.2 against Phonic Flashcards's 1.0. Animal Train also leads on ratings volume (3.9K vs 1). Phonic Flashcards's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 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. Animal Train sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Phonic Flashcards asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Animal Train holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Animal Train has 3.9K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Phonic Flashcards ships an update every 4 days, Animal Train every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Phonic Flashcards versus Animal Train: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhonic FlashcardsAnimal Train
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)4.2 (3.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews—84.2% of reviews
Number of ratings13.9K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS6.0 — better11.0
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMichael HarveyCubic Frog Apps

Customer experience

Phonic Flashcards

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Animal Train

All ratings3,926 ratings
Positive79.4%
Neutral11.9%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews95 reviews
Positive84.2%
Neutral5.3%
Negative10.5%

Bugs and requests

Phonic Flashcards

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Animal Train

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Sound not working on some devices
  • Compatibility issues with older devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • More free content
  • Improved sound and audio quality
  • Customization options for parents

In-app purchases

None

Phonic Flashcards

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Animal Train

One-time2
  • PACK 1-Unlock 5 Zones Forever!$6.99
  • PACK 2-Unlock 5 Zones Forever!$6.99

Questions

Is Phonic Flashcards free?
Phonic Flashcards is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Animal Train free?
Animal Train is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Phonic Flashcards or Animal Train?
Animal Train is rated higher. Phonic Flashcards averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Animal Train averages 4.2 from 3.9K ratings.
Do Phonic Flashcards or Animal Train have ads?
Neither Phonic Flashcards nor Animal Train shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Phonic Flashcards or Animal Train?
Phonic Flashcards ships an update every 4 days, and Animal Train every 2 months. Most recently, Phonic Flashcards was updated on October 18, 2026 and Animal Train on October 20, 2026.

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