Comparison

Starfall Learn to Read vs Bogga Side

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

Bogga Side

Toddlers can learn left and right through interactive play. Decorate butterflies with colorful shapes and then guide a butterfly through a flying game, reinforcing directional words with spoken cues.

Highlights
  • Decorate butterflies with shapes
  • Spoken directions for left and right
  • Flying game with shape unlocks
  • Interface suitable for children
  • Kid-safe (COPPA compliant)
Features
Read full description

Let your toddlers learn left from right while they play with this totally FREE app! Kids get to decorate colorful butterflies and listen to the words "left" and "right" each time items are placed on the corresponding side of the screen. Once they're happy with their butterfly, they can make it fly, steering from side to side, picking up flowers and popping balloons on its way! Again with spoken directions to empower memory. FEATURES: ● Five bright butterflies to choose from ● Lots of colored shapes to decorate with ● A fun flying game that unlocks new shapes ● The words "Left" and "Right" repeatedly spoken in English ● Interface suitable for children ● No in-app purchases ● No third-party ads ● Kid-safe: Meets COPPA Bogga Side is all about helping your little ones learn which side is which while they play! ***** ABOUT BOGGATAP Boggatap is a small, independent game studio that creates playful apps for kids. We aim to promote learning through creative fun - digitoys that invites children and their parents to play together. We focus on safe and inspiring play and therefore have no third-party advertising. We also do not collect, transmit or access any personal information from the user. The only links to internet, including integration with social media sites, resides in the "For grown-ups" section with a parental lock - making it unavailable for small hands. The app does not generate any performance reports or track any usage. We are approved by Moms With Apps and ACT, a staff of parents and educators who filters safe apps for children, with no unwanted surprises. PRIVACY POLICY As designers of children's games, we understand the importance of privacy in this modern digital world. You can read our privacy policy: http://www.boggatap.com/privacy

Screenshots

Starfall Learn to Read4 screens
Bogga Side4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Starfall Learn to Read at 4.2 against Bogga Side's 2.3. Starfall Learn to Read also leads on ratings volume (228 vs 3) and review sentiment (71% vs 50%). Bogga Side's advantage is iOS requirement (6.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Starfall Learn to Read holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Starfall Learn to Read has 228 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Starfall Learn to Read's written reviews are positive against 50% of Bogga Side's.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Starfall Learn to Read versus Bogga Side: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarfall Learn to ReadBogga Side
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (228 ratings) — better2.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews71.3% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings228 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 9 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.06.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size91 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStarfall Education FoundationBoggatap

Customer experience

Starfall Learn to Read

All ratings228 ratings
Positive77.2%
Neutral7.0%
Negative15.8%
Written reviews87 reviews
Positive71.3%
Neutral3.4%
Negative25.3%

Bogga Side

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

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

Bogga Side

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Starfall Learn to Read

No in-app purchases

None

Bogga Side

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Starfall Learn to Read free?
Starfall Learn to Read is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Bogga Side free?
Bogga Side is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Starfall Learn to Read or Bogga Side?
Starfall Learn to Read is rated higher. Starfall Learn to Read averages 4.2 out of 5 from 228 ratings, while Bogga Side averages 2.3 from 3 ratings.
Do Starfall Learn to Read or Bogga Side have ads?
Neither Starfall Learn to Read nor Bogga Side shows ads.

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