Comparison

Read with Ello vs Mentava Parent

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

Head to head
About

Read with Ello

This app uses advanced AI to act as a personalized reading coach for children. It listens, provides feedback, and guides young learners through a library of decodable books to build reading confidence and skills.

Highlights
  • AI reading coach
  • Personalized 1:1 instruction
  • Library of 700+ decodable books
  • Speech recognition technology
  • Science of Reading principles
  • Adaptive learning system
Features
Read full description

Build confident, independent reading with Ello. Learn to read with the most advanced AI reading coach, Ello. Your child’s read-along companion who listens, teaches, and transforms them into a confident reader. Ello is a transformative reading companion that goes beyond just teaching – Ello listens, corrects, and guides your child as they learn to read. Recognized as one of Time Magazine's top inventions of 2024, and featured on Good Morning America, Ello stands out as an award-winning reading program. More than just an app, Ello acts as a personal reading coach, using speech recognition technology and evidence-based reading instruction to provide immediate assistance when your child gets stuck. Key Features: 1:1 reading companion personalized to your child's needs Library of more than 700 decodable books Crafted by literary experts Uses principles backed by the Science of Reading Trusted by more than 30,000 parents Powered by our AI Adaptive Learn system Built for Pre-K through 3rd Grade What the experts say: "AI reading tutor shines as a responsible AI application" – Common Sense Media "Ello aims to eradicate childhood illiteracy by leveraging artificial intelligence and child speech recognition technology." – TechCrunch Parents love us: "I love this app so much. My granddaughter is struggling with reading. I heard about this app, gave it a try. We both love it so much. When my granddaughter gets stuck on a word, she just taps the screen and the elephant helps her. For those who don’t have patience with helping kids read, this app will help and be patient. I highly recommend this app. The books are also very interesting. She’s eager to read them all." – Kathy J. "She is 6 and has struggled with reading, but Ello makes reading fun. Coupled with us encouraging and making reading fun, it becomes a great partnership and now she comes to me and asks if she can read one of her Ello books. This is a great thing after only one month. Definitely recommend. Give them a try. Our daughter has really flourished this month and made some real progress in her reading." – Jamie M. "My daughter struggles with reading but since we downloaded Ello she enjoys reading, and it has helped her build confidence in her reading!" – Brandie D. How it works: To subscribe to the service, parents sign up for a free trial and then pay $14.99/month for a digital subscription. The subscription includes full app access to Ello’s 1:1 instruction, an exclusive library of digital books, and digital prizes weekly. Ello is recommended for children in preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade and third grade. Privacy Policy http://ello.com/privacy Terms of Service http://ello.com/terms

About

Mentava Parent

Manage your educational coaching account, view student progress, and communicate with your dedicated coach. Access tools, chats, and your dashboard anytime, anywhere. Send photos or videos for personalized feedback on student learning.

Highlights
  • Manage Mentava account
  • View student progress
  • Read coach messages
  • 24/7 coach communication
  • Send photos/videos for feedback
Read full description

You can now manage your Mentava account and read your coach's messages in a mobile app! What you get with this app - Access your Mentava account, tools, chats, and dashboard - See your students' progress - Access your messages from your Mentava coach (a real person, not AI!) - 24/7 access to message a coach and get responses asap - Send photos or videos to get feedback on students' learning

Screenshots

Read with Ello4 screens
Mentava Parent4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mentava Parent at none against Read with Ello's 10. Mentava Parent also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 78%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Read with Ello's advantage is ratings volume (2.8K vs 1). 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. Read with Ello sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Mentava Parent asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mentava Parent holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Read with Ello has 2.8K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of Read with Ello's written reviews are positive against 100% of Mentava Parent's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Read with Ello ships an update every 2 weeks, Mentava Parent every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Read with Ello versus Mentava Parent: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRead with ElloMentava Parent
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2.8K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.8K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size639 MB35 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperEllo Technology, Inc.Mentava

Customer experience

Read with Ello

All ratings2,766 ratings
Positive94.8%
Neutral1.5%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews205 reviews
Positive78.0%
Neutral6.3%
Negative15.6%

Mentava Parent

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Read with Ello

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Books not loading properly
  • App skipping pages during reading
  • Incorrect word recognition

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to repeat words/sentences
  • Larger font size options
  • More book variety and levels
  • Sibling profiles and shared books
  • Progress tracking and reporting for parents

Mentava Parent

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Read with Ello

Subscriptions7
  • Read with Ello Subscription14 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Read with Ello Monthly Plan7 Days trial3 variants$14.991 Month
  • Read with Ello Subscription14 Days trial$25.001 Month
Show 4 more
  • Read with Ello Annual Plan7 Days trial$99.001 Year
  • Read with Ello Subscription14 Days trial2 variants$139.001 Year
  • Read with Ello Annual Plan7 Days trial$139.001 Year
  • Read with Ello Annual Plan14 Days trial$139.001 Year
None

Mentava Parent

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Read with Ello free?
Read with Ello is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mentava Parent free?
Mentava Parent is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Read with Ello or Mentava Parent?
Mentava Parent is rated higher. Read with Ello averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.8K ratings, while Mentava Parent averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Read with Ello or Mentava Parent have ads?
Neither Read with Ello nor Mentava Parent shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Read with Ello or Mentava Parent?
Read with Ello ships an update every 2 weeks, and Mentava Parent every 10 days. Most recently, Read with Ello was updated on September 28, 2026 and Mentava Parent on September 13, 2026.

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