Comparison

First Words Professional vs Starfall Numbers

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

Head to head
About

First Words Professional

This app helps children develop early reading and language skills through interactive word and letter recognition. It offers extensive customization for educators and parents, including word selection, category management, and language options.

Highlights
  • Over 350 words in 12 categories
  • Six language options
  • Phonics or letter name spelling
  • Customizable word categories
  • Customizable word lists
  • Develops fine motor control and letter recognition
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Thousands of schools use First Words to help their students develop pre-reading, early reading, and language skills. Now there’s a version of First Words specifically for educators and speech language pathologists. Of course, it's great for kids at home, too! First Words Professional has the same child-friendly design and uncluttered interface that made First Words one of the all-time best selling lines of educational apps for iOS. The new additional features make it the ideal choice for individual, institutional and professional use: * More Words --- Over 350 words in 12 categories, including shapes, numbers, food, feelings, clothes, animals, and more. * Six Languages --- Options include American English, British English, Spanish, French, German, and Japanese. * Phonics -- English word lists includes options for spelling with phonics or letter names. * Category Management --- Choose which categories of words are shown to students. Hide word lists that you don't want them to see. * Word Management --- Choose which words to include in each category. Focus on shorter words, longer words, or words with particular letter combinations. Hide words that your child finds particularly distracting. First Words Professional uses the same intuitive interface that is so easy for preschoolers, kindergartners, and kids with special needs to use. They'll giggle with delight at the beautifully drawn pictures and entertaining sounds, all the while learning how letters correspond to sounds and how letters sounds form words. First Words Professional helps kids develop: * Fine Motor Control * Letter Recognition * Phonemic Awareness * Word Recognition First Words Professional includes a large number options: * Phonics or Letter Names * Uppercase, Lowercase, or Capitalized Words * Spell Words Slowly or Quickly * Serif or Sans-Serif font Here's what educators and reviewers have said about earlier versions First Words: “First Words is an app that teaches letters and words in fun and interactive way. Very easy to use these apps will help support your little ones learning with great illustrations and bright colors. Each app supports kids learning and encourages kids to explore and discover by revealing, rewarding and teaching.” -- Fun Educational Apps “Excellent - As a teacher, I love this game! Just what technology was meant to do!” -- iTunes Review “This app has great settings that let you control the level of difficulty for the child – either with lots of hints or almost none at all. The letters slide nicely into each word and when completed the child is rewarded by having the pictured animal enlarge and animate briefly.” --Carisa Kluver at Digital Stortyime “First Words Deluxe is a very straightforward word-building game. Words are either said letter by letter as they are dragged into the appropriate gray boxes or, if chosen in the settings, a smaller set of words can be sounded out with phonics. This makes this game a treat for both pre-readers and early spellers.” --Common Sense Media “Looking to guide your toddler towards recognizing letters and how to spell words up to eight letters long? Then First Words Deluxe might be just what you are looking for. This pre-reader and spelling application encourages vocabulary development in a wide range of categories such as: vehicles, animals, at home, colors, and shapes.” --Andrea Gardner at Applicable2u "First Words is a great app -- as I said at the time, 'Leo loves First Words because it's fun and easy. I love it because he's learning to spell words, and the interface makes that learning error-free.'" ---Shannon Des Roches Rosa at Squidalicious

About

Starfall Numbers

This app uses interactive activities and songs to help children learn number recognition and counting skills. It connects numbers to real-world objects and introduces basic math concepts for early learners.

Highlights
  • Number symbol and value recognition
  • Counting activities
  • Interactive introductions for numbers 0-100
  • Coin counting and math expressions
  • 15 animated math songs
  • Closed captioning for songs
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Explore numbers through the magic of curiosity and the power of motivation: the Starfall way! With this app, your child will learn to recognize number symbols and values by connecting them to real-world objects (such as 1 sun, 5 fingers, and 10 toes). Your child will then apply these concepts with counting activities and songs! Starfall Numbers includes interactive introductions for numbers 0-20, 25, 50, and 100. Counting activities introduce coins, math symbols, and simple expressions while building counting skills from 0 to 100 in entertaining and practical ways. Your child will also enjoy singing along with 15 Starfall math songs! Counting song favorites and calendar concepts are animated playfully, with a closed caption option to display song lyrics. Each activity and song reinforces simple language and basic vocabulary, making this app an excellent choice for pre-readers, emerging readers, and English language learners alike.

Screenshots

First Words Professional4 screens
Starfall Numbers4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: First Words Professional at 77% against Starfall Numbers's 25%. First Words Professional also leads on rating (4.2 vs 3.3). Starfall Numbers's advantage is price ($4.99 vs $9.99). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

First Words Professional costs $9.99 and Starfall Numbers $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

First Words Professional holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 39 and 36 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of First Words Professional's written reviews are positive against 25% of Starfall Numbers's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

First Words Professional ships an update every 16 months, Starfall Numbers every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
First Words Professional versus Starfall Numbers: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFirst Words ProfessionalStarfall Numbers
Price$9.99$4.99 — better
Rating4.2 (39 ratings) — better3.3 (36 ratings)
Positive reviews77.4% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings39 — better36
Update frequencyEvery 16 monthsEvery 11 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#181#94 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.212.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size103 MB78 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLearning Touch LLCStarfall Education Foundation

Customer experience

First Words Professional

All ratings39 ratings
Positive79.5%
Neutral5.1%
Negative15.4%
Written reviews31 reviews
Positive77.4%
Neutral3.2%
Negative19.4%

Starfall Numbers

All ratings35 ratings
Positive51.4%
Neutral8.6%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral6.3%
Negative68.8%

In-app purchases

None

First Words Professional

No in-app purchases

None

Starfall Numbers

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is First Words Professional free?
First Words Professional costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Starfall Numbers free?
Starfall Numbers costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, First Words Professional or Starfall Numbers?
First Words Professional is rated higher. First Words Professional averages 4.2 out of 5 from 39 ratings, while Starfall Numbers averages 3.3 from 36 ratings.
Do First Words Professional or Starfall Numbers have ads?
Neither First Words Professional nor Starfall Numbers shows ads.
Which is updated more often, First Words Professional or Starfall Numbers?
First Words Professional ships an update every 16 months, and Starfall Numbers every 11 months. Most recently, First Words Professional was updated on October 15, 2026 and Starfall Numbers on October 21, 2026.
Which is more popular, First Words Professional or Starfall Numbers?
First Words Professional currently peaks at #181 in the App Store charts, and Starfall Numbers at #94. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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