Fry Words vs Carroll School
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Customizable word lists
- Record your own voice
- Multiple game modes
- Adjustable speed and font
- Continuous looping
- Infant mode
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"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
Carroll School
This app centralizes essential information for parents, students, and faculty, offering easy mobile access to news, events, photos, and a community directory. Users can browse content, filter for relevance, and quickly find contact information.
- Blogs, news, and announcements
- Photo and document access
- Calendar events with filtering
- Constituent directory
- Faculty contact information
- Direct email to constituents
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The Carroll School app provides parents, students, and faculty members with all the information they need in one place, conveniently accessed and explicitly formatted for consumption on their mobile devices. The App includes: - Blogs, news and announcements - Pictures and documents - Calendar events - Constituent directory and more Download the app today to ensure you are always aware of the most important news, announcements, and calendar events, and you have access to the most current community directory. Users can: - Browse the latest published photos - Filter content and store those preferences for subsequent use - Catch up on current news - Browse calendars for information about upcoming events. Filter calendars to see the events most relevant to their interests - Quickly find faculty contact information - Email a constituent directly from your device The information in the Carroll School app is drawn from the same source as the Carroll School website. Privacy controls restrict sensitive information only to authorized users.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Carroll School at Free against Fry Words's $0.99. Carroll School also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 35 months). Fry Words's advantage is rating (3.6 vs 3.3) and ratings volume (44 vs 3). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Carroll School is free to download; Fry Words costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Fry Words holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Fry Words has 44 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Fry Words ships an update every 35 months, Carroll School every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Fry Words | Carroll School |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.6 (44 ratings) — better | 3.3 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 44 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 35 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 51 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | Innovative Mobile Apps | The Carroll School |
Customer experience
Fry Words
Carroll School
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 moreShow fewer
- 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 moreShow fewer
- 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
Carroll School
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Fry Words
No in-app purchases
Carroll School
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Fry Words free?
Is Carroll School free?
Which has better reviews, Fry Words or Carroll School?
Do Fry Words or Carroll School have ads?
Which is updated more often, Fry Words or Carroll School?
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