# Reading Raven vs Monkey Word School Adventure

The clearest difference is rating: Monkey Word School Adventure at 4.6 against Reading Raven's 4.3. Monkey Word School Adventure also leads on update cadence (every 4 months vs every 16 months) and price ($1.99 vs $2.99). Reading Raven's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Reading Raven costs $2.99 and Monkey Word School Adventure $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Monkey Word School Adventure holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 65 and 26 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 87% of Reading Raven's written reviews are positive against 81% of Monkey Word School Adventure's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Reading Raven ships an update every 16 months, Monkey Word School Adventure every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Reading Raven | Monkey Word School Adventure |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **$1.99** |
| Rating | [4.3 (65 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/reading-raven/id508474629/reviews) | **[4.6 (26 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monkey-word-school-adventure/id565951597/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **65** | 26 |
| Positive reviews | **86.8% of reviews** | 81.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 16 months | **Every 4 months** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 92 MB | 366 MB |
| Requires iOS | **8.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Early Ascent, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/496586138) | [THUP Games](https://appshunter.io/developer/328205878) |

## What reviewers say

### Reading Raven

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/reading-raven/id508474629)

This app guides young children through a fun, adventure-filled journey to learn reading. It offers step-by-step lessons from pre-reading skills to reading full sentences, incorporating games and printing practice.

**Highlights:** Self-paced reading lessons, Eleven types of educational games, Customizable by age/reading level, Dynamic speed and tolerance adaptation, Sticker rewards, Free form letter and word writing, Voice instructions and feedback

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Highly effective for learning to read
- 🤩 Fun and engaging for children
- 🚀 Well-thought-out progression
- 💡 Innovative voice recording feature
- 👍 Easy to navigate and understand

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💸 Charges money without authorization
- 👎 No way to cancel subscriptions
- 😞 Slow email support
- 💰 Have to pay again for each device
- 😠 Poor customer service

**Reported bugs**

- Freezes iPhone during letter tracing
- Background noise makes letter names hard to hear
- No option to add more than 1 player profile (despite guide saying so)
- In-app purchases removed (positive feedback, but implies previous issue)

**Requested features**

- Add multi-user profiles
- Option to change manuscript style (D'Nealian)
- More levels for paid app
- Add more volumes/lessons
- Dark mode option


### Monkey Word School Adventure

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monkey-word-school-adventure/id565951597)

This app offers an engaging adventure for young children to learn early literacy skills. It covers letter recognition, phonics, spelling, and sight words through interactive games. Designed for ages 3-7, it adapts to the child's learning pace.

**Highlights:** Interactive learning games, Letter and word recognition, Phonics and spelling lessons, Sight word focus, Adaptive difficulty, Customizable settings, Reward system

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great for learning letters/reading
- 👍 Engaging and fun for kids
- 👍 Good for short attention spans
- 👍 Positive reinforcement
- 👍 Multiple user profiles

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Trace the letter portion broken/buggy
- 🐛 Latest update issues
- 🐛 No sound in latest update
- 🐛 Hint button broken (always on)
- 🐛 Too advanced for under 5s (American accent)

**Reported bugs**

- Trace the letter portion is completely broken and buggy
- Latest update issues: random completion of writing, no sound
- Hint button appears to be broken, always on
- App crashes and loses terrarium progress
- App won't open/respond

**Requested features**

- Update trace the letter portion
- Fix latest update issues
- Fix no sound issue
- Fix hint button always on
- Add difficulty settings


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Reading Raven free?

Reading Raven costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Monkey Word School Adventure free?

Monkey Word School Adventure costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Reading Raven or Monkey Word School Adventure?

Monkey Word School Adventure is rated higher. Reading Raven averages 4.3 out of 5 from 65 ratings, while Monkey Word School Adventure averages 4.6 from 26 ratings.

### Do Reading Raven or Monkey Word School Adventure have ads?

Neither Reading Raven nor Monkey Word School Adventure shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Reading Raven or Monkey Word School Adventure?

Reading Raven ships an update every 16 months, and Monkey Word School Adventure every 4 months. Most recently, Reading Raven was updated on November 1, 2026 and Monkey Word School Adventure on November 4, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*