iSpellBetter vs Phonogram Sounds
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iSpellBetter
This educational game makes spelling practice fun and challenging with increasingly difficult word puzzles. It helps users improve their general spelling skills by tapping into their natural ability to form and retrieve visual images of words. The app features adjustable difficulty and power-ups for strategic players.
- Challenging word puzzles
- Adjustable difficulty modes
- Power-up system
- Visual word image retrieval
- Customizable word lists
- Upside-down and backwards words
Read full descriptionHide full description
Completely updated with a fresh, new look, our iOS 11 version of iSpellBetter reinvents the educational game genre. You’ll believe it when you play it. Like all compelling video games, it is great fun, with increasingly challenging levels, adjustable difficulty modes and delightful surprises for the determined, strategic player. Amazingly, at the same time, you will become a better speller, as you vanquish words that are not just right-side-up, but once you get to Level 4, upside-down, backwards, plus both upside-down and backwards! You had better earn and save your power-ups, since you’re sure to need them. It’s not just practice or a test of what you already know… no letter scramble disguised as a game. Rather, our straightforward and engaging approach taps your natural capacity to form, hold and retrieve visual images. You’ll not only easily and enjoyably learn the words you encounter in the game – including your own word lists, if you choose – you’ll actually become a much better speller in general.
Phonogram Sounds
This interactive app provides clear audio pronunciations for letter sounds and combinations, featuring all 72 basic phonograms from a popular language arts curriculum. It's designed to support reading and spelling development for learners of all ages.
- Hear correct pronunciation of sounds
- Clear enunciation of letters and combinations
- Includes all 72 basic phonograms
- Supports reading and spelling skills
- Interactive learning experience
Read full descriptionHide full description
Touch a button and hear the correct pronunciation! *Check that your sound is turned on!* This interactive program features clear enunciation of the sounds of the letters and letter combinations (also known as phonograms). Contains all 72 of the basic phonograms as taught in the All About Reading and All About Spelling language arts curriculum. All About Reading is a multisensory, mastery-based program that starts with essential pre-reading skills and continues on to teach all five key components of reading. All About Spelling teaches encoding skills, spelling rules, and multisensory strategies to help your student become a proficient speller for life. Our lightly scripted “open and go” lesson plans and mastery-based approach leave no gaps and make this curriculum a favorite of homeschool families everywhere. Suitable for all ages and learning styles!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Phonogram Sounds at 4.0 against iSpellBetter's 3.3. Phonogram Sounds also leads on update cadence (every 6 months vs every 21 months) and ratings volume (84 vs 7). iSpellBetter's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.
Phonogram Sounds holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Phonogram Sounds has 84 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of iSpellBetter's written reviews are positive against 70% of Phonogram Sounds's.
iSpellBetter ships an update every 21 months, Phonogram Sounds every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iSpellBetter | Phonogram Sounds |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (7 ratings) | 4.0 (84 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | 69.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 84 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 21 months | Every 6 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Next Learning LLC | All About Learning Press, Inc. |
Customer experience
iSpellBetter
Phonogram Sounds
Bugs and requests
iSpellBetter
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Phonogram Sounds
Reported bugs
7 issues- R says /er/ instead of /r/
- Sound not working
- App crashes
- No sound when tapping phonograms
- Sound only works with ringer on
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- List of phonograms cut off on iPad
- App is stick, no audio, no movement
Requested features
9 requests- Videos showing lip/tongue placement
- Interactive game app
- App for building words/movable tiles
- Level-based sound availability
- Enlarging tapped tile
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Adding missing phonograms (Level 6, Spalding)
- Adding more sounds for /i/, /e/, /x/, /ou/, /ei/, /oe/, /wor/, /ear/
- Spelling lists for review
- All About Reading app with word reading
In-app purchases
iSpellBetter
No in-app purchases
Phonogram Sounds
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is iSpellBetter free?
Is Phonogram Sounds free?
Which has better reviews, iSpellBetter or Phonogram Sounds?
Do iSpellBetter or Phonogram Sounds have ads?
Which is updated more often, iSpellBetter or Phonogram Sounds?
Other comparisons















