Comparison

Starfall Learn to Read vs LeapFrog Academy™ Learning

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

Head to head
About

Starfall Learn to Read

This free app offers engaging books, games, and movies to help children learn to read. It focuses on vowel sounds and spelling through interactive activities, songs, and movies, fostering a love for language and reading.

Highlights
  • Interactive reading activities
  • Engaging games and movies
  • Focus on vowel sounds and spelling
  • Songs and positive reinforcement
  • Suitable for emerging readers
  • Supports English language learners
Features
Read full description

Starfall® Learn to Read is the second step of Starfall’s Learn to Read phonics sequence, which teaches the foundational skills for learning to read. Step 1: ABCs Step 2: Learn to Read Step 3: It’s Fun to Read Step 4: I’m Reading! In Starfall Learn to Read, children explore early phonics in a sequential, stress-free environment. Each step of the learning journey comes to life with help from the Vowel Pals—delightful characters that add depth and personality to each vowel sound. Children develop their phonics skills through the use of CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, sight words, and vowel teams. Mastering the skills taught in Starfall Learn to Read helps children become confident, independent readers. Travel-ready. No internet connection required. Find Starfall Learn to Read, along with 700+ additional activities and counting across reading, math, music, and more in the Starfall app. The Starfall website and applications are program services of Starfall Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) publicly supported nonprofit organization. Starfall® and Starfall.com® are registered trademarks in the US, the European Union, and various other countries. Copyright © 2002–2026 by Starfall Education. All rights reserved. Starfall apps are inclusively designed to support all children, including English Language Learners (ELLs). Starfall also provides an Enhanced Accessible Index for children with visual, hearing, or mobility impairments. For more information, please contact Customer Service at (+1) 303-417-6414.

About

LeapFrog Academy™ Learning

This interactive educational app offers over 2,000 ad-free learning activities designed by educators for children aged 3-6. It covers math, reading, spelling, science, critical thinking, creativity, and social-emotional skills through games, eBooks, puzzles, and videos.

Highlights
  • 2,000+ learning activities
  • Ad-free educational content
  • Math, reading, and spelling skills
  • Science and critical thinking
  • Creativity and social-emotional learning
  • Parent Dashboard for progress tracking
  • Offline play mode
Read full description

2,000+ Learning Activities with No Ads Our interactive educational app provides a well-rounded curriculum that helps build key developmental skills. Designed by educators and built by the leading brand in learning for kids, LeapFrog Academy™ provides learning games for kids ages 3, 4, 5 and 6 years old that explore a variety of skills that are important to development. Log in to your existing account or sign up for this learning app and get a 1 Month FREE trial. The program includes more than 2,000 of our best eBooks, games, puzzles and videos. Each Learning Adventure provides a well-rounded curriculum that includes traditional school subjects blended with life skills like creativity, problem solving and social-emotional skills. • Reading & Writing – Early reading, language and spelling skills build a critical foundation for learning. Become confident readers with lessons in the ABCs, syllables, uppercase and lowercase letters and rhymes. • Math – Skills like counting, comparing and sorting help young learners think critically and solve problems to challenge them at the right level. • Science – Explore scientific concepts including STEM skills, life cycles, human body, simple machines, observations and more. • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving – Develops memory and planning skills by exercising logic and reasoning. • Creativity – A strong foundation of music and art help children in their ability to create and imagine. • Health & Feelings – Strong social and emotional skills allow children to develop and engage with learning that they can bring to their daily lives. LeapFrog Academy™ Key Features: • More than 2,000 learning activities including eBooks, games, puzzles, videos, music and art across a variety of Learning Adventures that become more advanced as your child progresses. • My Learning Lab, which provides extra activities that offer additional practice in subjects your child needs help mastering or more difficult activities designed to keep them challenged. • Earn rewards by collecting marbles or completing lessons. Rewards include clothes, accessories, pets or pieces for their Collection. • Up to 5 child profiles included with your subscription. • The Parent Dashboard lets you choose and change your kid’s Learning Adventure and see what activities are offered in My Learning Lab. It also lets you see how your child is progressing, view your account, manage each profile and more. • No Wi-Fi, no problem! Play most of your favorite activities by adding up to 24 of them to your Favorites. Then, continue to play your favorite games without an internet connection. • Also includes access to the LeapFrog Streaming Video Library. Learn about the alphabet, letter sounds, word-building, numbers, shapes and much more. LeapFrog Academy™ learning app is a safe environment for children. There’s no advertising or ability for an external party to contact your child. Terms and Conditions: www.leapfrog.com/terms-academy Privacy Policy: www.leapfrog.com/privacypolicy Subscription Details: Upon downloading the app, choose your subscription plan and activate a 1-Month free trial. Cancel any time from your iTunes account and enjoy the app until your subscription plan ends. • While the app is free to download, one of three subscription plans is required to access the program. Choose from the following plans to get started: • Monthly Plan: $7.99/month • 6-Month Plan: $39.99 every 6 months • 12-Month Plan: $69.99 every 12 months • FREE 1 Month trial starts after you sign up for the subscription • Subscription fee will be charged on the first day following the 1-Month free trial and will be charged to your iTunes account • Subscription is automatically renewed at the end of each billing period unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period • Subscription can be managed at any time via your iTunes account • If you have any questions, visit www.leapfrog.com/support

Screenshots

Starfall Learn to Read4 screens
LeapFrog Academy™ Learning4 screens

Verdict

The call

Starfall Learn to Read and LeapFrog Academy™ Learning both sit at 4.2 stars, but that hides the real split: 75% of Starfall Learn to Read's written reviews are positive against 17% of LeapFrog Academy™ Learning's. Starfall Learn to Read also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3). LeapFrog Academy™ Learning's advantage is ratings volume (1.9K vs 229) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 9 months). On price, rating, 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

Both are free to download. LeapFrog Academy™ Learning sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Starfall Learn to Read asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

LeapFrog Academy™ Learning holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: LeapFrog Academy™ Learning has 1.9K ratings behind it against 229, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of Starfall Learn to Read's written reviews are positive against 17% of LeapFrog Academy™ Learning's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Starfall Learn to Read ships an update every 9 months, LeapFrog Academy™ Learning every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 22, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Starfall Learn to Read versus LeapFrog Academy™ Learning: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarfall Learn to ReadLeapFrog Academy™ Learning
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (229 ratings)4.3 (1.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews74.7% of reviews — better16.5% of reviews
Number of ratings2291.9K — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size91 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStarfall Education FoundationLeapFrog Enterprises, Inc.

Customer experience

Starfall Learn to Read

All ratings229 ratings
Positive77.3%
Neutral7.0%
Negative15.7%
Written reviews75 reviews
Positive74.7%
Neutral1.3%
Negative24.0%

LeapFrog Academy™ Learning

All ratings1,874 ratings
Positive82.8%
Neutral5.5%
Negative11.7%
Written reviews133 reviews
Positive16.5%
Neutral15.0%
Negative68.4%

User reviews

Starfall Learn to Read

From 229 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📚 Excellent phonics and reading instruction method
  • 🎵 Engaging songs and catchy tunes that maintain interest
  • 🎨 Well-designed animations and interactive stories
  • 👶 Effective for children with learning difficulties (dyslexia, ADHD, special needs)
  • 💰 Free version available with substantial content

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes and fails to load on some devices
  • ❌ Math games incompatible with certain iOS versions
  • 📱 Technical issues with black/green screens on launch
  • 🔄 Requires multiple restarts to function properly
  • 💳 Misleading pricing - paid version converted to free

LeapFrog Academy™ Learning

From 1.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great when it works
  • 👍 Fun and engaging content
  • 👍 Helps kids learn

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Constantly freezes and crashes
  • 🐛 Inconsistent performance
  • 🐛 Frequent login issues
  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable

Bugs and requests

Starfall Learn to Read

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • App won't load beyond launch screen (black or green screen)
  • Math games incompatible with iPhone updates
  • Sound not playing in some instances
  • App requires deletion and reinstallation to function
  • Crashes on iOS 9.2.1 and older versions
Show 3 more
  • Glitches when pressing letter machine words
  • App needs to be opened twice each time to run
  • Compatibility issues with various iOS versions

Requested features

10 requests
  • Reward/star system for motivation and progress tracking
  • Lesson progression markers showing mastery of modules
  • Writing and spelling exercises to reinforce learning
  • More stories and content variety
  • UK English version option
Show 5 more
  • Settings to control word pronunciation features
  • More word-building exercises
  • Sight vocabulary games for common words
  • Additional phonics rules (ng, tch, ck, tion, sion)
  • Level progression system to track advancement

LeapFrog Academy™ Learning

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App freezes and crashes frequently
  • Login and loading issues
  • Compatibility problems with newer devices
  • Sound not working

Requested features

3 requests
  • More non-fiction books
  • Ability to exit tutorial videos
  • Improved stability and reliability

In-app purchases

None

Starfall Learn to Read

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

LeapFrog Academy™ Learning

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Subscription1 Month trial$7.991 Month
  • 6-Month Subscription1 Month trial$39.996 Months
  • 12-Month Subscription1 Month trial$69.991 Year

Questions

Is Starfall Learn to Read free?
Starfall Learn to Read is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is LeapFrog Academy™ Learning free?
LeapFrog Academy™ Learning is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Starfall Learn to Read or LeapFrog Academy™ Learning?
LeapFrog Academy™ Learning is rated higher. Starfall Learn to Read averages 4.2 out of 5 from 229 ratings, while LeapFrog Academy™ Learning averages 4.3 from 1.9K ratings.
Do Starfall Learn to Read or LeapFrog Academy™ Learning have ads?
Neither Starfall Learn to Read nor LeapFrog Academy™ Learning shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Starfall Learn to Read or LeapFrog Academy™ Learning?
Starfall Learn to Read ships an update every 9 months, and LeapFrog Academy™ Learning every 4 months. Most recently, Starfall Learn to Read was updated on October 22, 2026 and LeapFrog Academy™ Learning on October 22, 2026.

Other comparisons