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.
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.
- 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
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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.
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
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
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 — 4.2 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.
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.
| Parameter | Itsy Bitsy Spider | Starfall I'm Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (68 ratings) | 4.2 (46 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 86.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 68 — better | 46 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 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 | 18 MB | 102 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Duck Duck Moose LLC | Starfall Education Foundation |
Customer experience
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Starfall I'm Reading
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
Itsy Bitsy Spider
No in-app purchases
Starfall I'm Reading
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Itsy Bitsy Spider free?
Is Starfall I'm Reading free?
Which has better reviews, Itsy Bitsy Spider or Starfall I'm Reading?
Do Itsy Bitsy Spider or Starfall I'm Reading have ads?
Which is updated more often, Itsy Bitsy Spider or Starfall I'm Reading?
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