LetterSchool vs First Grade Reading Program
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LetterSchool
This app helps young children learn to write letters, numbers, and shapes through interactive tracing and engaging animations. It offers progress tracking and is designed by educational professionals to be safe and fun for toddlers and preschoolers.
- Block and cursive letter tracing
- Uppercase and lowercase letters
- Numbers 1-10 tracing
- Geometric shape tracing
- Progress tracking for multiple players
- Interactive animations and sound effects
- CVC, CVCC, and long sound word practice
Read full descriptionHide full description
The #1 alphabet tracing and words spelling app for toddlers & pre-schoolers. Recommended and used by parents, teachers, and occupational therapists! Loved & played by more than 2 million kids and used at more than 5,000 schools! - Winner of 'National Parenting Product Awards' - NAPPA Awards - ‘Best Mobile App Platinum Award’ nominee! – BMA SPECIAL FEATURES: - Block & Cursive Letters, - Uppercase and Lowercase, - Numbers 1-10, - 24 geometric shapes for toddlers! - Keep track of your child’s progress, - Unlock Golden Levels! - 72 CVC words, 36 CVCC words, and 39 long sound words! - Progress and settings stored for up to three players on the same device, - Interactive and visually attractive fun animations, - Available for both iPads and iPhones! IMPORTANT: The first five letters of the alphabet (both uppercase and lowercase), five shapes, and the first three CVC flashcards (nine words) are completely for free. They can be played entirely (on 3 game steps). Enjoy this trial and have fun! PERFECT FOR KIDS: Kids want to have fun and LetterSchool offers an educational journey with the most engaging and entertaining educational material! - Learn while engaging with over 20+ exciting animations, graphics, and sound effects. - Associate letters with words, master and memorize tracing directions and the correct formation of each character. - Learn phonics, the formation of words, understand syllable formations, and spell entire words. - Perfect for home-schooling kids and kindergartens. A user-friendly app for children with special educational needs. PERFECT FOR PARENTS & TEACHERS: - Choice of the three most popular font families in handwriting education (Handwriting Without Tears, D’Nealian, and Zaner-Bloser). - Complete a set of letters, numbers, or shapes to unlock the Golden Levels! - Golden Level allows progress tracking and displays exactly how the letter was drawn! - A new challenge at every step: Your child traces a letter, number or shape 3 times using different parameters. SAFE: - An educational app created together with parents and educational professionals. - NO ADS! - Advanced settings or purchases only accessible by an adult! - Extremely committed Customer Support ready to answer all questions and fix any issues. LET'S PLAY & LEARN! Join LetterSchool on this exciting educational journey! Download the app and allow your toddler to discover the magical world of letters and words. Before you know it, your kid will become a pro in writing and spelling! SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS: LetterSchool offers several auto-renewing subscription options: per month. quarter, and year. - You can cancel your subscription anytime without an extra cancellation fee. - Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. - The account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours before the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during an active subscription period. - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. - Your iTunes account will be charged automatically after the 7-day free trial. CONTACT For more reviews and information, visit our website www.letterschool.com If you have any question or suggestions, please contact us at support@letterschool.com You can also check our FAQ page on https://www.letterschool.com/en/help. Terms of service and privacy policy: https://www.letterschool.com/legal/terms-of-use & https://www.letterschool.com/legal/privacy-policy
First Grade Reading Program
This phonics-based reading program helps young learners develop fluency and comprehension. It features read-along audio for stories and interactive word family exercises. Multiple-choice questions after each story reinforce understanding.
- Phonics-based reading approach
- Read-along audio stories
- Word family exercises
- Reading comprehension questions
- Fluency and confidence building
Read full descriptionHide full description
This app is a great reading program that will teach students how to read using a phonics based approach. This app is great for visual and auditory learners. Students will read the stories fluently with confidence as they read along with the audio. Each story has audio which will aid students who are learning to read. The stories are written with a phonics based approach. After each story, there are multiple choice questions to answer. This will help students with reading comprehension. Additionally, this app contains word families. Students must find the correct word out of a word family that matches a picture. Word families help students with reading. Fluency and reading comprehension go hand in hand. All formal reading assessments consist of fluency and reading comprehension. Students will be confident when they are formally assessed by using this app. Over 20 stories
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: LetterSchool at Free against First Grade Reading Program's $0.99. LetterSchool also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 21 months) and ratings volume (17K vs 1). First Grade Reading Program's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and in-app purchases (none vs 14). On review sentiment, 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
LetterSchool is free to download; First Grade Reading Program costs $0.99 up front. LetterSchool sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. First Grade Reading Program asks for nothing beyond the download.
First Grade Reading Program holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: LetterSchool has 17K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 54% of LetterSchool's written reviews are positive against 50% of First Grade Reading Program's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
LetterSchool ships an update every 2 months, First Grade Reading Program every 21 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LetterSchool | First Grade Reading Program |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (17K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 54.4% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 17K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 21 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 158 MB | 99 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Letterschool Enabling Learning B.V. | Visual Learning Aids, LLC |
Customer experience
LetterSchool
First Grade Reading Program
Bugs and requests
LetterSchool
Reported bugs
4 issues- Dari letter (پ) keeps glitching
- Subscription issues (app reverts to lite version, need to restore purchases)
- Incompatibility with older devices
- Login screen freezes
Requested features
5 requests- Add more languages (Russian, Serbian, Thai, Korean, Hebrew, Hindi, etc.)
- Allow creating custom words/names to practice
- Improve letter sound pronunciations
- Add more visual options (fonts, themes, etc.)
- Integrate with International Phonetic Alphabet
First Grade Reading Program
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
LetterSchool
- Monthly Access Pass7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- LetterSchool - Monthly Pass7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Monthly Access Pass7 Days trial$9.991 Month
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Quarterly Access Pass7 Days trial$12.993 Months
- LetterSchool - Monthly Pass7 Days trial$14.991 Month
- Quarterly Access Pass7 Days trial$19.993 Months
- Annual Access Pass7 Days trial$44.991 Year
- LetterSchool - Annual Pass$59.991 Year
- Yearly Access Pass7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- LetterSchool - Annual Pass7 Days trial$74.991 Year
- Unlock All Shapes$2.99
- Unlock Full Block Alphabet$6.99
- Unlock Full Cursive Alphabet$6.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- All-in-one Package$79.99
First Grade Reading Program
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is LetterSchool free?
Is First Grade Reading Program free?
Which has better reviews, LetterSchool or First Grade Reading Program?
Do LetterSchool or First Grade Reading Program have ads?
Which is updated more often, LetterSchool or First Grade Reading Program?
Other comparisons















