Comparison

Learn to Read vs Flash Words

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

Head to head
About

Learn to Read

This app offers a guided, co-play experience for parents and children aged 3-8 to learn reading skills. It uses research-backed phonics lessons, interactive storybooks, videos, and games to build foundational reading abilities.

Highlights
  • 99 step-by-step phonics lessons
  • 67 interactive digital storybooks
  • 42 educational videos
  • 3 expert-designed reading games
  • Printable offline activities
  • Family subscription with 3 profiles
  • Ad-free experience
Features
Read full description

Teach your child how to read! Ages 3-8. Reading.com is a fun, co-play experience designed by education experts for you to teach your child to read — with the love, care, and joy only a parent and child can share. RESEARCH-BACKED No cape? No problem. Our program gives you supercharged superparent powers! Reading.com’s research-backed, phonics-based lessons are fully scripted so they don’t require any special training or knowledge for you to become the most powerful teacher your child will ever have. FROM LETTER RECOGNITION TO CONFIDENT READING As your child masters more letters, sounds, and words, they'll unlock a playful world of reading activities including interactive storybooks, videos, digital games, and printable activities. THE MOST MEANINGFUL (TEAM)WORK OF YOUR LIFE Each lesson takes just 15 - 20 minutes to complete and they’re designed for you and your child to go at your own pace. Lessons cover letters, letter blends, long vowel sounds, and digraphs, taking your child from basic alphabetic knowledge to reading at a late 1st grade level. This is the easiest head start you’ll ever give your child! KEY FEATURES - 120 step-by-step phonics lessons for a grownup & child to do together - 84 interactive, decodable, digital storybooks - 42 videos featuring letters, letter sounds, and an exclusive alphabet song - 5 expertly-designed reading games for independent play that practice skills in: letter recognition, letter-phoneme correlation, beginning sounds, vocabulary, letter-writing, spelling - Access to printable games & activities for fun offline reinforcement - One subscription for the whole family with up to 3 profiles - Ad-free Download the app today, help your child learn to read and join other parents raising readers! Privacy Policy: https://www.reading.com/privacy-policy/ Terms and Conditions: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Flash Words

Features
Read full description

Practise sight words, spelling lists and tricky words with simple, distraction-free flash cards. Free, ad-free and private. No account required and no data collected. Flash Words helps children build reading confidence through short, focused practice. Parents and teachers can create custom word lists based on schoolwork, homework or each child’s individual needs. Children can hear each word spoken aloud, reveal the answer when they are ready and mark whether they got it right. Words that need more practice are automatically repeated, helping children improve without distracting games, advertisements or overstimulation. Features • Create unlimited custom word lists • Use ready-made common word lists • Hear every word spoken aloud • Reveal each word when the child is ready • Mark each answer as correct or try again • Automatically repeat difficult words • Continue where you left off • Track progress across each word list • Change the background theme • Use the app offline • No advertisements • No account required Flash Words can be used for: • Sight words and high-frequency words • Weekly spelling lists • Phonics and early reading practice • Homework and classroom activities • Homeschooling • Learning support • Speech and language practice Designed for beginning readers in Kindergarten, Prep, Year 1 and Year 2. Short, regular practice helps children become more familiar and confident with the words they are learning.

Screenshots

Learn to Read4 screens
Flash Words4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Flash Words at none against Learn to Read's 18. Learn to Read's advantage is chart position (#14 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, 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. Learn to Read sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $12.49 per month. Flash Words asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Learn to Read ships an update every 5 days, Flash Words every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Learn to Read versus Flash Words: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLearn to ReadFlash Words
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (75K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews81.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings75K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#14 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size263 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTeaching.comKristina Longmuir

Bugs and requests

Learn to Read

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional app crashes or freezes
  • User data loss after app updates
  • Inability to redeem promo codes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Option to learn cursive writing
  • More independent practice games and activities
  • Ability to jump to appropriate lesson level
  • Support for multiple languages or accents
  • Printable resources like flashcards or worksheets

Flash Words

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Learn to Read

Subscriptions9
  • Learn to Read (Monthly)7 Days trial5 variants$12.491 Month
  • Learn to Read (Monthly)2 variants$12.491 Month
  • Monthly (With Free Trial)$12.491 Month
Show 6 more
  • Monthly Subscription$12.491 Month
  • Learn to Read (Monthly)7 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • Learn to Read (Monthly)7 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Learn to Read (Monthly)7 Days trial$17.991 Month
  • Learn to Read (Yearly)7 Days trial$66.991 Year
  • Learn to Read (Yearly)7 Days trial2 variants$74.991 Year
None

Flash Words

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Learn to Read free?
Learn to Read is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Flash Words free?
Flash Words is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Learn to Read or Flash Words have ads?
Neither Learn to Read nor Flash Words shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Learn to Read or Flash Words?
Learn to Read ships an update every 5 days, and Flash Words every 4 days. Most recently, Learn to Read was updated on October 17, 2026 and Flash Words on September 29, 2026.

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