Reading Machine vs Phonogram Sounds
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Reading Machine
This educational app helps beginning and struggling readers learn new words by breaking them down into letters and sounds. It acts as a personal reading tutor, guiding users to decode unfamiliar words independently, enhancing confidence and reading enjoyment.
- Word decoding with phonics
- Personalized reading tutor
- Supports over 5,000 words
- Text-to-speech engine
- Book suggestions for readers
- Full decoding support for early reader titles
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Used by teachers, parents, and learners since 2010, Reading Machine is now available for free! This app for beginning and struggling readers is still 100% satisfaction guaranteed. If you have any technical issues with the app, or if the app does not meet your expectations for any reason, please email us so we can address your needs and strengthen our support for more readers and a better world. Email: diana@dianasharp.com or support@sharpcuriosity.com Reading Machine helps readers learn new words by seeing and hearing how the letters and sounds in a word go together. The app is perfect for times when readers can’t or don’t want to ask someone else for help on unfamiliar words. Like a personal reading tutor, the app guides readers into figuring out a new word based on the word’s letters and sounds. Readers can use the app while they read traditional books or other printed material. They can also use the app alongside e-books, websites, and other digital material on the iPad. The app is a fun addition to parent-child reading time, and it also works well for older readers who do not like to ask for help on words when they read independently. Developing readers of any age can gain self-confidence as they figure out new words on their own with the app’s support. Videos of how the app works are available at www.sharpcuriosity.com. Created by a parent, learning scientist, and reading researcher, the app’s underlying dictionary is powered by a real human voice with support for over 5,000 words, plus a text-to-speech engine for pronouncing all other words. As readers advance from simple to more complex words, the app dictionary provides tailored decoding support for each word, ranging from individual phonemes and letters, to multi-letter sounds, syllables, prefixes, suffixes, root words, and whole words within compound words. The app also includes suggestions for parents about fun books to get at the library or bookstore to match readers’ interests and skill levels. • The Reading Machine is like a secret decoder ring for unlocking printed words. Use it paired with real books – books you already own or books you’ve borrowed from the public library. Or use it on the iPad alongside e-books or web pages. • Great for early or struggling readers. • Lets you have more fun reading with your child because your child can use the Reading Machine to figure out words instead of having to ask you for help. • Best for children who already know the sounds that go with each letter and can read some words, but still need help reading sentences and books. • Comes with full decoding and phonics support for all the words in over 125 well-loved early reader titles. Older readers can even use the app with the first chapter of Harry Potter. • The app provides lists of suggested titles (“Book Sets”) for readers with different interests and skill levels. This is a great guide for finding books your reader will enjoy. These books are easy to find for free at your public library. Or head to your favorite bookstore. • All the words in over 125 books, listed in the Book Sets, have phonics support provided by the app, with clear pronunciation recorded by a natural, human voice. • For any word not in the app’s dictionary, readers can hear the whole word pronunciation with text-to-speech voice. So they are never stuck on any word. • Among the words that have phonics and decoding support are the 300 most frequent words in the English language, which cover 65% of all English reading material. Many of these words are often called “sight words.” • When new Book Sets and new words are available for the app, they can be downloaded for free from within the app. For more info and videos, see http://www.sharpcuriosity.com
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
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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 Reading Machine's 3.8. Phonogram Sounds also leads on update cadence (every 6 months vs every 14 months) and ratings volume (84 vs 12). Reading Machine's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Phonogram Sounds has 84 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of Reading Machine's written reviews are positive against 70% of Phonogram Sounds's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Reading Machine ships an update every 14 months, Phonogram Sounds every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Reading Machine | Phonogram Sounds |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (12 ratings) | 4.0 (84 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better | 69.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 84 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 14 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 | 107 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Diana Sharp Consulting | All About Learning Press, Inc. |
Customer experience
Reading Machine
Phonogram Sounds
Bugs and requests
Reading Machine
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
Reading Machine
No in-app purchases
Phonogram Sounds
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Reading Machine free?
Is Phonogram Sounds free?
Which has better reviews, Reading Machine or Phonogram Sounds?
Do Reading Machine or Phonogram Sounds have ads?
Which is updated more often, Reading Machine or Phonogram Sounds?
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