Cimo Spelling (Sight Words) vs First Words With Phonics
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cimo Spelling (Sight Words)
This educational game helps kindergarten through 3rd graders build a strong foundation in reading and spelling. Children learn high-frequency and sight words through an engaging penguin-themed adventure. Parents can track progress with detailed reports and customize learning levels.
- Teaches Dolch Sight Word list
- Interactive penguin-themed gameplay
- Progress reports for parents
- Customizable question settings
- Grade-appropriate learning levels
- Professional voice recordings
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This is a great app for kindergarten through 3rd grade children. It teaches a combination of high frequency and sight words (from the Dolch Sight Word list). The list of 255 words was selected to cover words that a child encounters most often when learning to read (high frequency), including words that cannot be learned using pictures (sight words). Learning to spell these words adds to a strong foundation in reading and spelling for beginning readers. In this game, your child will help Cimo the penguin reach an iceberg to catch fish. Each correct letter chosen adds a block to his bridge. Finish the word and Cimo can cross, but watch out for wrong letters, or Cimo will take a dip! This is the fun game to improve your child's spelling abilities. Also included is a progress report for parents. The report allows them to track their child’s performance in spelling the sight and high frequency words, and provides play history with game details (i.e, On this date, your child has played level 1 and level 2 and in each game, what item has been asked and what your child has answered). An additional setup option allows for a parent or teacher to customize the number of questions to match their child. **In this new version, we add the options for self-correction (i.e, kids could correct their answer in the second try) and clearing out all the reports. This game will help your child improve their reading skills in a fun and interactive environment. Features This app is divided into 6 total levels to help children practice sight words in grade appropriate levels (Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade), with one additional level for high freqency words. The final challenge level mixes all the words together and adds incorrect letter options to increase difficulty. **All words have been recorded by professional voice talent. *** If you have any questions or problems related to our app, please email us at playsmart.kids@gmail.com. We are willing to assist you.
First Words With Phonics
This educational app helps young children learn their first words through phonics and letter recognition. It offers adjustable difficulty levels, engaging visuals, and interactive features to make learning fun and effective. Expand the word library with in-app purchases.
- Learn letter sounds with synthetic phonics
- Spelling and word recognition
- Interactive animal exploration
- Adjustable difficulty settings
- Child-friendly interface
- Engaging artwork and sound effects
- In-app purchases for more words
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"First Words for Kids" includes 42 words across Animals, Vehicles, Shapes and Colours, Household Items and Numbers. Additional word packs are available through a one-time in-app purchase, bringing the total up to 121 words. Three hint settings (colour hints, letter hints, and combined hints) together with five difficulty settings let you fine-tune the challenge as your child grows. The thumbnail navigation lets children browse all words freely, with no time pressure and no countdowns. Featured by Apple on the US App Store in Games/Educational and Games/Kids. ________________________________ SYNTHETIC PHONICS "First Words for Kids" uses synthetic phonics to help children learn to read by linking each letter and letter combination to its sound, then showing how those sounds blend into full words. This is the evidence-based approach recommended by national literacy frameworks in the UK, the US and Australia. Two phonics levels are included: Synthetic Phonics Basic: introduces blending using simple, single-sound phonemes. Designed for children who are just starting out. Synthetic Phonics Advanced: introduces graphemes (letter groups that represent one sound), digraphs (two letters that together make a new sound), and letters with more than one sound. For children ready for a bigger challenge. The app was designed with children who have autism and speech delay in mind. No timers. No pressure. A clean interface that moves at the child's pace. ________________________________ THE MISSION ReadnLearn exists because of Marios. Aris's son has autism and speech delay. Every design decision in every ReadnLearn app comes from watching Marios learn. What works for him works for every child who learns differently. readnlearn.com/the-mission-autism-educational-tools/ ________________________________ FEATURES ● Letter sounds through two levels of synthetic phonics, plus letter names ● 42 words in 5 categories (up to 121 words through one-time in-app purchase) ● Learn words and how to spell them ● Recognise upper and lowercase letters and match them to words ● Three hint settings to control how much support the child receives ● Six difficulty settings that grow with the child ● Thumbnail navigation so children can explore all words freely ● Tap any image to hear its sound and name ● Interface designed for small fingers ● Colourful artwork with animations and sound effects ● Studio recordings of all letters, words and spelling ● No timers. No pressure. No ads. ● Flight Mode reminder for uninterrupted offline use ________________________________ KNOW WHAT'S INSIDE We follow the Know What's Inside best practices for children's apps, set by Moms with Apps. ________________________________ DISCLOSURE At ReadnLearn, children's privacy and safety come first: ◇ Does not collect or share personally identifiable information ◇ No social network links or social features ◇ No ads ◇ Contains one-time in-app purchases for additional word packs, behind a parental gate ◇ Feedback and Tell a Friend buttons are behind a parental gate ◇ More Games button and page are behind a parental gate Privacy policy: readnlearn.com/kids-learning-apps/privacy/ Support: readnlearn.com/kids-learning-apps/#support ________________________________ IF THIS APP HELPED YOUR CHILD Leaving an honest review helps other families with autism, speech delay and learning differences find this app. And if there is something you want added or changed, tell us. Every piece of feedback shapes the next update. ________________________________ ABOUT ReadnLearn ReadnLearn was founded by Aris Karavias, a children's illustrator and educational app developer with 27 years of experience and 25 published educational apps. His son Marios has autism and speech delay. Every design decision in every app comes from watching Marios learn. The apps have been downloaded over a million times across six languages. Feedback: app-feedback@readnlearn.com Support: app-support@readnlearn.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cimo Spelling (Sight Words) at none against First Words With Phonics's 4. First Words With Phonics's advantage is rating (3.8 vs 3.3) and review sentiment (69% vs 50%). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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
Cimo Spelling (Sight Words) costs $1.99 and First Words With Phonics $1.99 up front. First Words With Phonics sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Cimo Spelling (Sight Words) asks for nothing beyond the download.
First Words With Phonics holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: First Words With Phonics has 23 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Cimo Spelling (Sight Words)'s written reviews are positive against 69% of First Words With Phonics's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cimo Spelling (Sight Words) | First Words With Phonics |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | $1.99 |
| Rating | 3.3 (3 ratings) | 3.8 (23 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 68.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 23 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 142 MB | 86 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jariya Tuantranont | Read 'n' Learn |
Customer experience
Cimo Spelling (Sight Words)
First Words With Phonics
In-app purchases
Cimo Spelling (Sight Words)
No in-app purchases
First Words With Phonics
- Vehicles 20 Words$0.99
- Shapes and Colors 25 Words$0.99
- 30 Household Items$0.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- 15 Numbers$0.99
Questions
Is Cimo Spelling (Sight Words) free?
Is First Words With Phonics free?
Which has better reviews, Cimo Spelling (Sight Words) or First Words With Phonics?
Do Cimo Spelling (Sight Words) or First Words With Phonics have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cimo Spelling (Sight Words) or First Words With Phonics?
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