Comparison

Fry Words vs Bookshare Reader

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

Head to head
About

Fry Words

This app helps young children learn to read by providing flashcards for the most common words. It offers customizable lists, engaging audio, and multiple game modes to make learning fun and effective for ages 1-4.

Highlights
  • Customizable word lists
  • Record your own voice
  • Multiple game modes
  • Adjustable speed and font
  • Continuous looping
  • Infant mode
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

"This is exactly what I asked Alligator Apps to develop for my classroom. Thank you so much!" The Fry 1000 Instant Words are a list of the most common words used for teaching reading, writing, and spelling. These high frequency words should be recognized instantly by readers. Dr. Edward B. Fry's Instant Words (which are often referred to as the "Fry Words") are the most common words used in English ranked in order of frequency. In 1996, Dr. Fry expanded on Dolch's sight word lists and research and published a book titled "Fry 1000 Instant Words." In his research, Dr. Fry found the following results: 25 words make up approximately 1/3 of all items published. 100 words comprise approximately 1/2 of all of the words found in publications. 300 words make up approximately 65% of all written material. To make learning the Fry Words fun, simple, and easy, we have broken all 1,000 Fry words into unique sets of 10 words each. Why Fry Words from Alligator Apps? We believe that educational apps should be ridiculously fun, immensely educational, and affordable for all. Ideal for Kids 1 - 4 Years Old Alligator Apps User Stories: "I really love this app! I use it daily with my daughter and she has already picked up on a handful of words within a weeks time. Easy to use and customize to your child needs." "My son is learning the Fry's word list in school and this is the perfect app! What a time saver. Instead of having to create hundreds of flashcards here they are and it's FREE." "Wonderful App! As a mom & as a certified Kindergarten teacher, I love all of the Alligator Apps. I use them with my infant twins daily & am brainstorming ways to use it with my students in the fall (specifically the shapes)!" Why you and your kids will love this app: • Add your own cards - you can add an unlimited number of new words and record your own voice • Add new lists - you can add and group flash cards into customizable lists which is ideal for learning • Fun & engaging voice artist keeps kids engaged • The application works both in portrait and landscape mode • 5 unique game modes from easy (2 words only) to challenging (6 words per page) • Fully customizable font size, font color, spelling (upper case, lower case, etc.) • Unique continuous looping feature so you can go through hundreds of flashcards automatically • Customizable speed - you decide how fast to go from flashcard to flashcard • Infant mode - includes ability to select extra large font size and red font color (ideal for babies less than 12 months of age) • Don't want to teach a given word? No problem, just delete the card • Multi-sensory learning tool - combining audio, voice, and written words HEROIC SUPPORT Heroic Support is not just what we do.  It's really what makes us, well, us.  It's that drive to make a difference in your life - no matter how big or small.  Really, it's our way of life because we want you to be our customer for a lifetime of fun and learning. Have questions?  We are here to help.  Email us at support@alligatorapps.com

About

Bookshare Reader

Access a vast library of ebooks designed for individuals with reading barriers. Enjoy high-quality audio narration and customize your reading experience with adjustable fonts, colors, and speeds. Continue reading seamlessly from where you left off.

Highlights
  • Access millions of ebooks
  • High-quality audio narration
  • Customizable reading experience
  • Adjustable font size and colors
  • Follow along with highlighted text
  • Offline reading
Features
Read full description

Get the official Bookshare Reader app. Access millions of ebooks from Bookshare, the world's largest library of ebooks for people with reading barriers like dyslexia, blindness, low vision, and physical disabilities. Listen to books in high quality audio and customize your reading experience in ways that work for you. Read bestsellers, new releases, textbooks and educational books, children’s books, young adult, mysteries, biographies, and more. Read your way with these customizable features: • Listen to books in high quality audio • Adjust reading speed, font size, and colors • Follow along with highlighted text • Navigate by page and chapter • Stop reading and pick up from your last spot • Download books and read offline To use Bookshare Reader, you must have a Bookshare membership. Learn more by visiting the Bookshare website.

Screenshots

Fry Words4 screens
Bookshare Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Bookshare Reader at Free against Fry Words's $0.99. Bookshare Reader also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 35 months). Fry Words's advantage is review sentiment (76% vs 36%) and rating (3.6 vs 3.3). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Bookshare Reader is free to download; Fry Words costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Fry Words holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 44 and 68 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Fry Words's written reviews are positive against 36% of Bookshare Reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Fry Words ships an update every 35 months, Bookshare Reader every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Fry Words versus Bookshare Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFry WordsBookshare Reader
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating3.6 (44 ratings) — better3.3 (68 ratings)
Positive reviews75.9% of reviews — better35.7% of reviews
Number of ratings4468 — better
Update frequencyEvery 35 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#166 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB81 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperInnovative Mobile AppsBenetech

Customer experience

Fry Words

All ratings44 ratings
Positive65.9%
Neutral6.8%
Negative27.3%
Written reviews79 reviews
Positive75.9%
Neutral7.6%
Negative16.5%

Bookshare Reader

All ratings68 ratings
Positive51.5%
Neutral13.2%
Negative35.3%
Written reviews56 reviews
Positive35.7%
Neutral21.4%
Negative42.9%

User reviews

Fry Words

From 44 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Highly customizable word lists
  • 👍 Excellent for learning Fry words
  • 👍 Good variety of modes (flashcard, game)
  • 👍 Useful for various age groups (kindergarten to adult)
  • 👍 Offers spoken pronunciation of words

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sound issues (not working, low volume)
  • 🐛 App freezes/crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Recording feature doesn't work
  • 🐛 Basic functionality, lacks instructions
  • 🐛 Some words not capitalized correctly

Bookshare Reader

From 68 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for dyslexic readers
  • 👍 Realistic text-to-speech voices
  • 👍 Offline book downloads
  • 👍 Essential for blind users
  • 👍 Significant improvements made

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Prolonged pauses in speech
  • 🐛 Library not syncing across devices
  • 🐛 Reading lists don't sync
  • 🐛 Progress not saved across devices
  • 🐛 Stuck on copyright page (manga)

Bugs and requests

Fry Words

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • Sound unavailable/not working
  • Volume is too low
  • App freezes often
  • Recording option doesn't work
  • Sound does not remain on in settings
Show 9 more
  • App freezes and requires reinstallation
  • Lost custom lists after app freezes
  • Edit mode not working correctly
  • App freezes on iPhone 6
  • Customized lists not opening
  • Problems recording voice
  • Record option worked once then stopped
  • Buggy app
  • App not working correctly with new iOS

Requested features

14 requests
  • Ability to mark mastered cards
  • Option to create quick lists from all words
  • Improvement to the recording section
  • Update app for new iOS compatibility
  • Correct capitalization of 'I'
Show 9 more
  • Change font for 'a' to circle with a stick
  • Improve edit mode functionality
  • Group words according to current Fry lists
  • Add more games (rhyming, meaning)
  • Add a back button
  • Change transition motion to two-finger tap/swipe
  • Option to put custom lists first
  • Record keeping component for multiple students
  • Ability to self-check by clicking for pronunciation after word is presented

Bookshare Reader

Reported bugs

42 issues
  • Prolonged pauses in text-to-speech
  • Library not syncing across devices
  • Reading lists not syncing
  • Reading progress not saved across devices
  • Manga stuck on copyright page
Show 37 more
  • Pages disappear during reading
  • Trouble downloading books
  • Frequent app crashes
  • App won't load books
  • App shuts down when typing
  • App crashing repeatedly
  • Books disappearing from library
  • Cannot download added books
  • Search tab closes the app
  • Poor VoiceOver compatibility
  • App crashes on any click
  • Text-to-speech voice change kicks user out
  • Copyright issues preventing audio playback
  • Download errors
  • Playback stops when screen is locked
  • Clunky user interface
  • Picture books not displaying images
  • Unable to play videos from other sources
  • Form controls not coded correctly for VoiceOver
  • Cannot delete searched titles from library
  • App requires screen to be on for reading
  • Blank screen after orientation change
  • Too many bugs and crashes
  • Next chapter fails to load
  • Blank white page after pausing and resuming
  • Table of Contents only shows first few chapters
  • App displays as phone screen on iPad
  • Cannot access reading lists
  • Synthesized speech has limited control
  • Speech randomly cuts off
  • Reading stops if phone ringer is off
  • Pause/Play restarts from chapter beginning
  • Text-to-speech voices do not indicate language
  • Voice selection process is cumbersome
  • No functional stop and start button
  • Limited speaking speed options
  • Paragraph by paragraph reading limitation

Requested features

38 requests
  • Fix prolonged pauses in text-to-speech
  • Sync library across devices
  • Sync reading lists across devices
  • Save reading progress across devices
  • Fix manga page navigation
Show 33 more
  • Fix disappearing pages bug
  • Improve book download reliability
  • Fix app crashes
  • Fix app shutdown when typing
  • Improve VoiceOver compatibility
  • Allow adjustment of speaking rate by specific value
  • Make reading lists accessible
  • Add highlighting for textbooks
  • Improve navigation of Contents menu
  • Highlight current location in Contents menu
  • Include missing video content in textbooks
  • Fix copyright issues for audio playback
  • Allow background playback
  • Add ability to listen to human-narrated audiobooks
  • Add 'Read Now' for periodicals
  • Add VoiceOver gestures for page turning
  • Add percentage of reading completed on mobile devices
  • Make downloaded books tab default on opening app
  • Fix inability to delete searched titles
  • Add 'where am I' feature (page/percentage)
  • Fix blank screen after orientation change
  • Make app accessible for students without teacher assignment
  • Fix next chapter loading issue
  • Fix blank white page after pause
  • Fix incomplete Table of Contents
  • Improve app scaling on iPad
  • Fix inability to access reading lists
  • Allow users to choose which word reader begins reading
  • Fix paragraph by paragraph reading limitation
  • Indicate language for text-to-speech voices
  • Improve voice selection process
  • Add functional stop and start button
  • Increase speed options for text-to-speech

In-app purchases

None

Fry Words

No in-app purchases

None

Bookshare Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Fry Words free?
Fry Words costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Bookshare Reader free?
Bookshare Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Fry Words or Bookshare Reader?
Fry Words is rated higher. Fry Words averages 3.6 out of 5 from 44 ratings, while Bookshare Reader averages 3.3 from 68 ratings.
Do Fry Words or Bookshare Reader have ads?
Neither Fry Words nor Bookshare Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Fry Words or Bookshare Reader?
Fry Words ships an update every 35 months, and Bookshare Reader every 3 weeks. Most recently, Fry Words was updated on October 17, 2026 and Bookshare Reader on October 19, 2026.

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