Wheels on the Bus vs Starfall I'm Reading
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Wheels on the Bus
This interactive app brings the classic "Wheels on the Bus" song to life with fresh illustrations and engaging activities. Children can sing along, play with musical instruments, and discover surprises on every page, fostering motor, language, and cognitive skills.
- Sing along and record your voice
- Play original music
- Listen in multiple languages
- Learn instrument sounds
- Interactive surprises
- Spin wheels, open doors, move driver
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This award-winning tribute to Wheels on the Bus is a fun, interactive experience encouraging motor, language and cognitive skills through fresh illustrations, creative interaction and music. AGES: 2-5. OVERVIEW - SING along and record your own voice - PLAY original music performed by a classical piano trio (piano, violin, and cello) - LISTEN to “Wheels on the Bus” in English, Spanish, French, German and Italian - LEARN the sounds of different instruments: violin, cello, piano and kazoo - DISCOVER interactive surprises on every page CATEGORY: Nursery Rhyme ACTIVITIES - SPIN the wheels to make the bus go faster… or slower - OPEN and close the bus door - MOVE the bus driver’s arm and sing “move on back!” - SWISH the wipers and wipe away raindrops - TAP to make the people go up and down - HELP the baker serve some cake - POP the goldfish bubbles AWARDS - Parents’ Choice Gold Award - Parents’ Choice Foundation - "Best Children's App” KAPi Award - International Consumer Electronic Show - Editor’s Choice Award for Excellence in Design - Children’s Technology Review TIP FOR PARENTS The option to hide buttons and turn pages automatically is in the device settings. ABOUT DUCK DUCK MOOSE (A subsidiary of Khan Academy) Duck Duck Moose, an award-winning creator of educational mobile apps for families, is a passionate team of engineers, artists, designers, and educators. Founded in 2008, the company has created 21 top-selling titles and has received 21 Parents’ Choice Awards, 18 Children’s Technology Review Awards, 12 Tech with Kids’ Best Pick App Awards, and a KAPi award for “Best Children’s App” at the International Consumer Electronics Show. Khan Academy is a nonprofit with a mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Duck Duck Moose is now part of the Khan Academy family. Like all Khan Academy offerings, all Duck Duck Moose apps are now 100% free, without ads or subscriptions. For kids ages 2-6, don't miss Khan Academy Kids, our new early learning app to help young children with reading, writing, math and social-emotional development! We’d love to hear from you! Visit us at www.duckduckmoose.com or drop us a line at support@duckduckmoose.com.
Starfall I'm Reading
This app helps young children transition from learning to read to reading to learn. It offers a selection of stories and activities designed to build comprehension and fluency using high-frequency words in context. An AutoRead feature models fluent reading and can be toggled off for independent readers.
- Stories and activities for reading comprehension
- Controlled vocabulary with high-frequency words
- AutoRead feature to model fluent reading
- Plays, fiction, non-fiction, comics, and fables
- Audio support for fluency practice
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Starfall® I’m Reading is the fourth step of Starfall’s Learn to Read phonics sequence, which teaches the foundational skills for learning to read. Step 1: ABCs Step 2: Learn to Read Step 3: It’s Fun to Read Step 4: I’m Reading! Starfall I’m Reading is the final step of Starfall’s free early learn-to-read sequence. I’m Reading! focuses on bridging the gap between basic phonics and true reading mastery. The program expands fluency and comprehension through exercise with words from the Dolch and Fry sight word lists. These words are challenging to sound out phonetically, but represent the majority of words found in children’s texts. Familiarity with these words builds confidence and natural ease with reading. The texts cover a wide range of multicultural fiction and nonfiction stories, with clickable words and sentences for fluency assistance throughout. Travel-ready. No internet connection required. Find Starfall I’m Reading, along with 700+ additional activities and counting across reading, math, music, and more in the Starfall app. The Starfall website and applications are program services of Starfall Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) publicly supported nonprofit organization. Starfall® and Starfall.com® are registered trademarks in the US, the European Union, and various other countries. Copyright © 2002–2026 by Starfall Education. All rights reserved. Starfall apps are inclusively designed to support all children, including English Language Learners (ELLs). Starfall also provides an Enhanced Accessible Index for children with visual, hearing, or mobility impairments. For more information, please contact Customer Service at (+1) 303-417-6414.
Screenshots
Verdict
Wheels on the Bus and Starfall I'm Reading both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 75% of Wheels on the Bus's written reviews are positive against 67% of Starfall I'm Reading's. Wheels on the Bus also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Wheels on the Bus against 4.3 for Starfall I'm Reading. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 40 and 47 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of Wheels on the Bus's written reviews are positive against 67% of Starfall I'm Reading's.
Wheels on the Bus ships an update every 7 months, Starfall I'm Reading every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Wheels on the Bus | Starfall I'm Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (40 ratings) — better | 4.3 (47 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 74.9% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 40 | 47 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months — better | Every 10 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 23 MB | 102 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Duck Duck Moose LLC | Starfall Education Foundation |
Customer experience
Wheels on the Bus
Starfall I'm Reading
Bugs and requests
Wheels on the Bus
Reported bugs
2 issues- Sound not working after updates
- App freezing or crashing on startup
Requested features
4 requests- Add more pages and interactivity
- Improve non-English vocal quality
- Add option to disable 'more apps' button
- Improve exit/navigation for young users
Starfall I'm Reading
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Wheels on the Bus
No in-app purchases
Starfall I'm Reading
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Wheels on the Bus free?
Is Starfall I'm Reading free?
Which has better reviews, Wheels on the Bus or Starfall I'm Reading?
Do Wheels on the Bus or Starfall I'm Reading have ads?
Which is updated more often, Wheels on the Bus or Starfall I'm Reading?
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