Comparison

LetterSchool vs First Grade Reading Program

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read 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

About

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.

Highlights
  • Phonics-based reading approach
  • Read-along audio stories
  • Word family exercises
  • Reading comprehension questions
  • Fluency and confidence building
Features
Read 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

LetterSchool4 screens
First Grade Reading Program4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
LetterSchool versus First Grade Reading Program: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLetterSchoolFirst Grade Reading Program
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating4.5 (17K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.4% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings17K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 21 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size158 MB99 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLetterschool Enabling Learning B.V.Visual Learning Aids, LLC

Customer experience

LetterSchool

All ratings16,985 ratings
Positive87.6%
Neutral6.1%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews250 reviews
Positive54.4%
Neutral8.0%
Negative37.6%

First Grade Reading Program

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

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

14 purchases

LetterSchool

Subscriptions10
  • 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 more
  • 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
One-time4
  • Unlock All Shapes$2.99
  • Unlock Full Block Alphabet$6.99
  • Unlock Full Cursive Alphabet$6.99
Show 1 more
  • All-in-one Package$79.99
None

First Grade Reading Program

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LetterSchool free?
LetterSchool is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is First Grade Reading Program free?
First Grade Reading Program costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, LetterSchool or First Grade Reading Program?
First Grade Reading Program is rated higher. LetterSchool averages 4.5 out of 5 from 17K ratings, while First Grade Reading Program averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do LetterSchool or First Grade Reading Program have ads?
Neither LetterSchool nor First Grade Reading Program shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LetterSchool or First Grade Reading Program?
LetterSchool ships an update every 2 months, and First Grade Reading Program every 21 months. Most recently, LetterSchool was updated on October 12, 2026 and First Grade Reading Program on October 6, 2026.

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