Comparison

SpellBoard vs Spelling Shed

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

Head to head
About

SpellBoard

This app offers a comprehensive platform for spelling practice, allowing users to create custom quizzes and engage in various fun games. It supports multiple languages and provides tools for tracking progress and sharing lists, making it ideal for students, teachers, and parents.

Highlights
  • Custom spelling quizzes
  • Word Search, Scramble, Matching games
  • Multiple student profiles
  • Performance tracking
  • Virtual whiteboard
  • iCloud Sync
Read full description

Spelling practice, reimagined. Custom quizzes, fun games, and smart study tools—all in one powerful app. Whether you’re a student, teacher, or parent, you know the spelling routine: Monday words, Wednesday quiz, Friday test—plus surprise drills everywhere in between. Say hello to SpellBoard, the smarter way to study and master spelling. With SpellBoard, you can create custom spelling quizzes in any language, making it just as useful for Spanish class as for weekly English words. Add fun and challenging activities like Word Search, Scramble, Alphabetization, Matching, and Missing Letter puzzles—automatically generated from your word lists. • How It Works • Quickly enter words with optional definitions, sentences, synonyms, antonyms, notes, and images • SpellBoard uses built-in speech to quiz you, or you can record your own voice • Add fun learning activities and games to boost engagement • Enter once, share everywhere—quizzes sync across SpellBoard, SpellBoard Buddy, and SpellBoard Mac • Great for Classrooms and Families • Create multiple student profiles • Track individual or group performance across multiple quizzes • Share quizzes with classmates or family members • Study Mode + Smart Tools • Walk through quizzes with spoken words and phrases • Write responses on the built-in virtual whiteboard • Look up word definitions with Wordnik integration • Optimized for Apple Devices • Full support for iCloud Sync • Works with Apple Pencil, Split View, mouse and trackpad, and Magic Keyboard pointer interactions Say goodbye to paper lists and hello to SpellBoard—your new favorite spelling companion.

About

Spelling Shed

This educational game makes spelling fun and accessible for children worldwide. Designed by teachers, it helps improve spelling, reading, vocabulary, and typing speed through engaging gameplay and customizable support. It offers a unique phonics system and curriculum coverage for comprehensive learning.

Highlights
  • Phonics spelling system
  • Customizable difficulty levels
  • Speed bonuses and hot streaks
  • OpenDyslexic font support
  • League-based scoring and rewards
  • Curriculum-aligned word lists
  • Avatar customization
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Spelling Shed is the #1 spelling game enjoyed by over 2.5 million children every month! Spelling Shed’s multi-award-winning app is the leading spelling app and has been #1 in several countries. Designed by a team of teachers, our platform enables everyone to succeed with spelling and enjoy the process! Used in thousands of schools across the globe, our games make spelling enjoyable, accessible, and achievable. As well as improving spelling, our app significantly impacts reading ability, vocabulary acquisition, and writing. Created by EdShed, the multi-award-winning EdTech company trusted by over 170,000 educators and enjoyed by millions of children worldwide. Improve Results ‣ Spelling Shed is proven to improve results by up to 80%. ‣ Proven to improve student engagement. ‣ Makes spelling fun, effective, and meaningful. ‣ Reduces teacher workload. Play a variety of games ‣ Feed Hungry Horses, shoot your shot in Penalty Spell-out, take on a Shed Load, or play the original Spelling Bee game. The choice of how you practice spelling is yours. ‣ Avoid the lava and beat Chipper. Squirrel Scurry allows you to play solo or against the computer and choose to reach the top or enjoy endless gameplay. ‣ Includes bonus Bee Keeper and Buzz Words games. ‣ Boost vocabulary acquisition by playing Missing Words or Definitions games. ‣ Choose from 4 different levels: easy, medium, hard, and extreme! Play Hive Games ‣ Hive games are multi-player games that allow you to play with your friends or classmates in real-time. ‣ Create your own hives or join others. ‣ See real-time league statistics between each word spelled. ‣ Includes a range of levels and play options. Empowering Every Learner ‣ Inclusive and accessible for all students. ‣ Includes multi-modal learning options such as audio assistance and being able to read the word before spelling it. ‣ Choose from 4 different levels: easy, medium, hard, and extreme! ‣ Choose the amount of support needed to succeed. ‣ Ensures every learner experiences success to further motivate them. ‣ Gives instant feedback and rewards. ‣ Clear interface reduces cognitive load and makes navigation simple. ‣ Proven to be effective for students with ADHD, dyslexia, and autism. Play anytime, anywhere ‣ Online and offline play enables you to play anytime, anywhere. ‣ Play with classmates from home. ‣ Perfect for in-class practice or home learning. ‣ No in-app downloads required. ‣ Engaging games that fit around busy schedules. 100% Curriculum Coverage ‣ Choose from over 1,000,000 word lists. ‣ Provides full curriculum coverage for spelling. ‣ Subscribers (via website) can use alongside Spelling Shed’s evidence-based spelling curriculum. ‣ Create your own custom word lists. Unique Phonics Spelling System ‣ Choose to spell using graphemes or letters. ‣ Select ‘phonics on’ to spell words using graphemes. ‣ Support phonics learning ‣ Support home learning of phonics. The Science of Spelling ‣ Use alongside Spelling Shed’s evidence-based spelling curriculum for maximum impact. Subscribe via Spelling Shed’s website. ‣ Support phonological knowledge. ‣ Develop orthographical knowledge. ‣ Strengthen morphological knowledge. Celebrate Success ‣ Receive instant feedback. ‣ Honeypots are awarded immediately. ‣ Honeypots are EdShed’s currency, which can be spent on customizing your avatar. ‣ Harder levels and bonuses give more points and honeypots. ‣ More points gives a higher league position in class league. ‣ More points also mean a higher class/group position in school and world leagues!

Screenshots

SpellBoard4 screens
Spelling Shed4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Spelling Shed at 4.3 against SpellBoard's 3.9. Spelling Shed also leads on chart position (#32 vs unranked) and price ($2.99 vs $4.99). SpellBoard's advantage is review sentiment (63% vs 52%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On ratings volume, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

SpellBoard costs $4.99 and Spelling Shed $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Spelling Shed holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 221 and 525 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 63% of SpellBoard's written reviews are positive against 52% of Spelling Shed's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SpellBoard ships an update every 6 weeks, Spelling Shed monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
SpellBoard versus Spelling Shed: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpellBoardSpelling Shed
Price$4.99$2.99 — better
Rating3.9 (221 ratings)4.3 (525 ratings) — better
Positive reviews63.1% of reviews — better52.0% of reviews
Number of ratings221525 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#32 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB206 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPalaSoftware Inc.Education Shed Ltd

Customer experience

SpellBoard

All ratings221 ratings
Positive72.9%
Neutral3.2%
Negative24.0%
Written reviews122 reviews
Positive63.1%
Neutral6.6%
Negative30.3%

Spelling Shed

All ratings525 ratings
Positive81.3%
Neutral5.7%
Negative13.0%
Written reviews227 reviews
Positive52.0%
Neutral11.9%
Negative36.1%

User reviews

SpellBoard

From 221 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful for learning spelling
  • 🚀 Customizable spelling lists
  • 🎉 Fun and engaging activities
  • 📚 Supports multiple languages
  • 🔊 Ability to record words and sentences

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes and freezes
  • 🤔 Confusing or lacking instructions
  • 💰 Expensive for the features provided
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate and use
  • 🔄 Issues with syncing and data loss

Spelling Shed

From 525 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful for learning spellings
  • 🤩 Fun and engaging way to learn
  • 🏫 Good for education purposes
  • 🎓 Improves spelling skills

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🤔 Unclear voice pronunciation
  • 💰 Expensive customization options
  • 🤖 Poor explanation of words

Bugs and requests

SpellBoard

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Quiz mode issues with dictation and progress tracking
  • Whiteboard function not working as expected
  • Inconsistent behavior when adding new words
  • Compatibility problems with older devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • More pre-loaded word lists
  • Additional practice modes (e.g. hangman, fill-in-the-blank)
  • Ability to import/export word lists
  • Improved user interface and navigation
  • Support for landscape mode and external keyboards

Spelling Shed

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login issues and lost progress
  • Compatibility problems with updates
  • Inconsistent performance on different devices
  • Difficulty adding and managing spelling lists

Requested features

4 requests
  • Allow customization of spelling lists
  • Improve audio quality and clarity
  • Add more game modes and features
  • Provide better progress tracking

In-app purchases

None

SpellBoard

No in-app purchases

None

Spelling Shed

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SpellBoard free?
SpellBoard costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Spelling Shed free?
Spelling Shed costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SpellBoard or Spelling Shed?
Spelling Shed is rated higher. SpellBoard averages 3.9 out of 5 from 221 ratings, while Spelling Shed averages 4.3 from 525 ratings.
Do SpellBoard or Spelling Shed have ads?
Neither SpellBoard nor Spelling Shed shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SpellBoard or Spelling Shed?
SpellBoard ships an update every 6 weeks, and Spelling Shed monthly. Most recently, SpellBoard was updated on November 10, 2026 and Spelling Shed on November 11, 2026.

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