Comparison

PocketPhonics (basic edition) vs TeachMe

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

Head to head
About

PocketPhonics (basic edition)

This app teaches young children essential early reading and writing skills, focusing on letter sounds and handwriting. It's designed to help kids master phonics and begin reading simple storybooks with interactive exercises and progress tracking.

Highlights
  • Teaches letter sounds
  • Handwriting practice
  • Word blending
  • Interactive storybooks
  • Progress monitoring
  • Audio pronunciation of words
Features
Read full description

“PocketPhonics teaches the basics of reading and writing to young kids. Most surprising? It seems to work.” 148apps.com PocketPhonics teaches kids letter sounds, first words and handwriting. It is used in hundreds of elementary schools and pre-schools, and tens of thousands of homes. It is aligned with the Common Core State Standards, and independent research (see appsinmypocket.com/research) found children learnt nine times faster using PocketPhonics compared to a classroom lesson.  "One of my children’s favorite early reading apps" New York Times “This app feels much like a private tutoring session for early readers with emphasis on letter sounds and writing.” everythingmom.com -“If you are working on phonics for your kids, this is the best application to have.” Technology in Education -“This app feels much like a private tutoring session for early readers with emphasis on letter sounds and writing.” everythingmom.com -“PocketPhonics is seriously educational and I think it’s a terrific tool for helping early readers. You can tell that a ton of thought and research was put into it and best of all, they talked and listened to teachers. It shows.” iPhoneMom.com -“When it comes to learning apps for young learners and early readers, there is no better choice than PocketPhonics." ipad-applications.neiia.com PocketPhonics is split in to 12 groups of letter sounds, each group is followed by a set of storybooks that use those letter sounds. Kids read storybooks that are on the right level for them. The phonics levels are included in the price of this "basic edition", but the storybooks cost extra. PocketPhonics Stories (full edition) includes the stories in the price. Phonics (letter sounds) help children to read by understanding the sounds that letters make. The National Reading Panel concluded that “children who have phonics instruction read better and spell better than other children”. In the first group of letter sounds, there are six sounds to master before the child will be able to read their first storybook. Most children aged 4+ start to read their first storybook within 10 weeks if they use the app for 15 mins everyday. Parents and teachers can easily monitor children’s progress online. Teachers and parents are emailed a certificate when a child completes a task. Children can tap an unfamiliar word in a story, and the app will sound out the letters to help the child understand what the word says. They can tap again to hear the actual word and see a picture that illustrates its meaning. As the child reads a story, the app tests whether they can read some of the key words. At the end of the story, it quizzes the child on all new words in that story. Children master the following skills: writing letters recognising 72 letter sounds (e.g. ‘ch’ are the letters that make the initial sound in ‘chat’) * blending letter sounds together to make words (e.g ‘ch-a-t’) * hearing a word and selecting its written form (e.g. the app says, “chat”, the child has to select ‘chat’ from a group of words) How it works * The phonics levels are included in the price. * The books are extra, but can be tried for free. $1.49 monthly and $14.49 annual subscriptions unlock access to all books for an unlimited number of children * The subscription gives you access to more books as they are added * Once subscribed, your subscription auto-renews each month or annually. However, you can easily turn auto renew off via the Settings app * Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase * Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period * Cannot cancel current subscription during its subscription period Privacy policy: http://appsinmypocket.com/privacy Terms of use: http://appsinmypocket.com/terms

About

TeachMe

This educational app helps kindergarteners learn essential skills like math, reading, and writing. It features a fun reward system with virtual aquariums and sticker scenes to keep children engaged. Parents can track their child's progress across various subjects.

Highlights
  • Virtual aquarium reward system
  • Sticker reward scenes
  • Sight words learning
  • Addition and subtraction practice
  • Letter and number writing
  • Performance tracking for multiple students
Read full description

*** 5 Star Certification Educational App Store *** About.com Best Educational App Readers' Choice Awards 2013 *** SmartAppsForKids.com 2012 Readers' Choice *** 2010 Best App Ever Awards TeachMe: Kindergarten is an educational iOS app which teaches six different age appropriate subjects to Kindergarten aged children: sight words, addition, subtraction, spelling and writing letters and numbers. Learning subjects align with common core standards to help your child get prepared for Kindergarten. Parents can review performance history for each subject to check how their child is doing. TeachMe: Kindergarten keeps children engaged with a rather unique reward system where children earn a coin for every three correct answers. Coins can then be used to purchase stickers to place in fun sticker scenes or to purchase items for the new virtual aquarium. Sticker scenes can be exported as wallpaper or emailed to family and friends. The simple and intuitive user interface is designed to be child friendly, which allows children to play without help from an adult. An animated teacher (Mimi Mouse) gives verbal instructions and feedback to the child which makes learning fun. FEATURES: • Virtual Aquarium reward (4 types of fish and 40+ items) • 6 different sticker reward scenes: farm, beach, underwater reef, pirate cove, city, playground • Over 150 different stickers for adding to scenes • Save learning information for up to 40 students • Select which subjects are displayed for each student • Turn on/off specific questions within a subject • Change the number of correct questions to earn a reward • Change the number of questions in a row to mark a question learned • Tracks performance for each subject item (last five) • Export sticker rewards scenes to Photos, for emailing or using as wallpaper LEARNING SUBJECTS: • Sight Words: Dolch (Pre-K), Dolch (K) • Addition: up to a total of 10 • Subtraction: from 10 down • Spelling: complete words by choosing the missing letter • Letter Writing: how to write letters a-z, A-Z • Number Writing: how to write numbers 0-9. COMMON CORE: For alignment info see https;//www.24x7digital.com/kindergartencc Email us at support@24x7digital.com for help & suggestions.

Screenshots

PocketPhonics (basic edition)4 screens
TeachMe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: TeachMe at none against PocketPhonics (basic edition)'s 3. TeachMe also leads on price ($2.99 vs $6.99). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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

PocketPhonics (basic edition) costs $6.99 and TeachMe $2.99 up front. PocketPhonics (basic edition) sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. TeachMe asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for PocketPhonics (basic edition) against 4.3 for TeachMe. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 68 and 59 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of PocketPhonics (basic edition)'s written reviews are positive against 92% of TeachMe's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PocketPhonics (basic edition) ships an update every 5 weeks, TeachMe every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PocketPhonics (basic edition) versus TeachMe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocketPhonics (basic edition)TeachMe
Price$6.99$2.99 — better
Rating4.4 (68 ratings) — better4.3 (59 ratings)
Positive reviews88.7% of reviews91.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings68 — better59
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size778 MB152 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperApps in My Pocket Ltd24x7digital LLC

Customer experience

PocketPhonics (basic edition)

All ratings68 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral4.4%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews301 reviews
Positive88.7%
Neutral3.3%
Negative8.0%

TeachMe

All ratings59 ratings
Positive84.7%
Neutral3.4%
Negative11.9%
Written reviews183 reviews
Positive91.8%
Neutral2.2%
Negative6.0%

User reviews

PocketPhonics (basic edition)

From 68 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Engaging for kids
  • 💡 Teaches phonics and writing
  • 👍 Customizable settings
  • 👍 Helpful for speech therapy

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 🤔 Confusing verification process
  • 🤔 Lack of Australian/non-US accent option
  • 🤔 Doesn't wait for child response

TeachMe

From 59 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Engaging and fun learning experience
  • 🚀 Effective teaching methods
  • 💰 Rewarding system with coins and stickers
  • 🎨 Attractive and visually appealing design
  • 🧠 Helps with math, spelling, and sight words

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 📚 Limited content for higher grade levels
  • ✍️ Strict penmanship requirements frustrate some users
  • 🔌 No cross-device progress sync
  • 🎨 Lack of customization options for rewards

Bugs and requests

PocketPhonics (basic edition)

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Incorrect answer verification
  • Sudden subscription changes
  • Login issues and account sync problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more words and practice
  • Allow custom word lists
  • Improve letter tracing accuracy feedback
  • Provide letter names along with sounds
  • Add more game-like elements

TeachMe

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when accessing settings
  • Writing practice not working on smaller devices
  • Inability to download certain grade levels

Requested features

5 requests
  • Expand to higher grade levels (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)
  • Add more reward options beyond fish and stickers
  • Implement cross-device progress sync
  • Allow more flexibility in penmanship requirements
  • Provide language/accent options (e.g., British English)

In-app purchases

3 purchases

PocketPhonics (basic edition)

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly subscription for books$1.491 Month
  • Annual subscription for books$14.491 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime subscription - books$16.99
None

TeachMe

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PocketPhonics (basic edition) free?
PocketPhonics (basic edition) costs $6.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is TeachMe free?
TeachMe costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PocketPhonics (basic edition) or TeachMe?
PocketPhonics (basic edition) is rated higher. PocketPhonics (basic edition) averages 4.4 out of 5 from 68 ratings, while TeachMe averages 4.3 from 59 ratings.
Do PocketPhonics (basic edition) or TeachMe have ads?
Neither PocketPhonics (basic edition) nor TeachMe shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PocketPhonics (basic edition) or TeachMe?
PocketPhonics (basic edition) ships an update every 5 weeks, and TeachMe every 2 months. Most recently, PocketPhonics (basic edition) was updated on October 12, 2026 and TeachMe on October 14, 2026.

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