Comparison

Itsy Bitsy Spider vs Starfall I'm Reading

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

Head to head
About

Itsy Bitsy Spider

This interactive app brings a classic nursery rhyme to life with engaging illustrations and activities. Children can explore hidden surprises, sing along, and learn through playful interactions. Designed for young children, it offers a fun and educational experience.

Highlights
  • Interactive illustrations with hidden surprises
  • Easy navigation
  • Record your own voice to sing along
  • Learn about nature and counting
  • Play peek-a-boo
  • Listen to classical music
  • Watch caterpillar transformation
Read full description

An award-winning original tribute to a childhood classic, Itsy Bitsy Spider offers children a fun, interactive and educational experience. AGES: 2-5. OVERVIEW - 100% interactive illustrations with hidden surprises on every page - Easy navigation – just poke the spider to move to the next scene - Use the record feature to sing along CATEGORY: Nursery Rhyme ACTIVITIES - FOLLOW the spider on an adventure – up, down and all around - LEARN about the environment and nature from Cloe the fly - COUNT with a squirrel as he builds his house - PLAY peek-a-boo with a frog - SING along and record your own voice - LISTEN to classical music performed on a violin and cello - WATCH a caterpillar become a beautiful butterfly
 - COLLECT colorful eggs on the spider web AWARDS - Parents’ Choice Gold Award - Parents’ Choice Foundation - Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award for Excellence in Design 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 2-7, 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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

Itsy Bitsy Spider4 screens
Starfall I'm Reading4 screens

Verdict

The call

Itsy Bitsy Spider and Starfall I'm Reading both sit at 4.2 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Starfall I'm Reading's written reviews are positive against 87% of Itsy Bitsy Spider's. Itsy Bitsy Spider's advantage is 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.2 for Itsy Bitsy Spider against 4.2 for Starfall I'm Reading. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 68 and 46 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 87% of Itsy Bitsy Spider's written reviews are positive against 100% of Starfall I'm Reading's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Itsy Bitsy Spider ships an update every 6 months, Starfall I'm Reading every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Itsy Bitsy Spider versus Starfall I'm Reading: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterItsy Bitsy SpiderStarfall I'm Reading
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (68 ratings)4.2 (46 ratings)
Positive reviews86.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings68 — better46
Update frequencyEvery 6 months — betterEvery 10 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB102 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDuck Duck Moose LLCStarfall Education Foundation

Customer experience

Itsy Bitsy Spider

All ratings68 ratings
Positive79.4%
Neutral2.9%
Negative17.6%
Written reviews201 reviews
Positive86.6%
Neutral3.0%
Negative10.4%

Starfall I'm Reading

All ratings46 ratings
Positive82.6%
Neutral2.2%
Negative15.2%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Sound not working after iOS updates
  • App crashing on certain devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • More levels and screens to explore
  • Additional songs/nursery rhymes
  • Ability to change backgrounds/environments

Starfall I'm Reading

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Itsy Bitsy Spider

No in-app purchases

None

Starfall I'm Reading

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Itsy Bitsy Spider free?
Itsy Bitsy Spider is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Starfall I'm Reading free?
Starfall I'm Reading is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Itsy Bitsy Spider or Starfall I'm Reading?
Itsy Bitsy Spider and Starfall I'm Reading are both rated 4.2 out of 5 on the App Store, from 68 and 46 ratings respectively.
Do Itsy Bitsy Spider or Starfall I'm Reading have ads?
Neither Itsy Bitsy Spider nor Starfall I'm Reading shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Itsy Bitsy Spider or Starfall I'm Reading?
Itsy Bitsy Spider ships an update every 6 months, and Starfall I'm Reading every 10 months. Most recently, Itsy Bitsy Spider was updated on October 8, 2026 and Starfall I'm Reading on October 9, 2026.

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