Comparison

Starfall Learn to Read vs Duck Duck Moose Reading

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

Duck Duck Moose Reading

This app offers interactive games and activities designed to teach young children phonics and letter sounds. Kids can collect animals and build their own zoo scenes while learning foundational reading skills. Developed with educators, it aligns with Common Core Standards.

Highlights
  • 9 word and letter activities
  • Teaches phonics and letter sounds
  • Spelling practice for CVC words
  • Parent reporting tool
  • Aligned with Common Core Standards
  • Zoo scene creation
Read full description

*** Parents’ Choice Gold Award winner - Parents’ Choice Foundation *** Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award for Excellence in Design Join Milo the Meerkat and his sidekick Puffs at the zoo on a phonics learning adventure! Duck Duck Moose Reading has 9 different word and letter activities that help kids learn by feeding and playing with flamingos, monkeys, lions, and more. Collect animals and make your own zoo scene as you learn more letter sounds. AGES 3-7. CATEGORY: Curriculum 9 WORD AND LETTER ACTIVITIES - Teaches phonics - the letter sounds for all consonants, short vowels, and long vowels - Practice spelling consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words PARENT REPORTING - Includes a new reporting tool so teachers and parents can see how a child is progressing and which letter sounds they have learned DEVELOPED WITH EDUCATORS - Based on the Common Core State Standards - Foundational Skills of Reading - Developed in conjunction with a Stanford University educator, Jennifer DiBrienza, PhD in Early Elementary Education, and a former NYC public school teacher (K-Grade 2) - Tested extensively in classrooms BASED ON COMMON CORE STANDARDS - Letter-sound and word activities - Recognizing and naming lowercase letters - Demonstrating knowledge of letter-sound correspondences - Isolating and pronouncing sounds in CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words - Covered CCSS include: RF.K.1d, RF.K.2d, RF.K.2e, RF.K.3a, RF.K.3b _________________ Brought to you by Duck Duck Moose, the creator of Wheels on the Bus and Itsy Bitsy Spider and winner of 15 Parents’ Choice Awards. Check out more fun, educational apps from Duck Duck Moose: Favorite Nursery Rhymes: - Wheels on the Bus - Old MacDonald - Itsy Bitsy Spider - Baa Baa Black Sheep - Peek-a-Zoo (Animal Book for Toddlers) Curriculum Based Learning: - Fish School (Letters, Numbers, Colors, Matching) - Park Math (Addition, Subtraction, Patterns) - Word Wagon (Letters, Phonics, Spelling) - Musical Me! (Music, Notes, Pitch, Rhythm) - Puzzle Pop (Animated Puzzles for all ages) - [NEW!] Duck Duck Moose Reading (Phonics) Creative Play: - Draw and Tell (Draw, Color, Record Voice) - Trucks (Carwash, Tow Truck, Recycling) - [NEW!] More Trucks (Fire Truck, Monster Trucks) - Princess Fairy Tale Maker - Superhero Comic Book Maker ABOUT DUCK DUCK MOOSE (A wholly-owned subsidiary of Khan Academy) Duck Duck Moose, an award-winning creator of educational mobile apps for families, is a passionate team of engineers, artists, designers, and educators. Founded in 2008, the company has created 21 top-selling titles and has received 21 Parents’ Choice Awards, 18 Children’s Technology Review Awards, 12 Tech with Kids’ Best Pick App Awards, and a KAPi award for “Best Children’s App” at the International Consumer Electronics Show. Khan Academy is a nonprofit with a mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Duck Duck Moose is now part of the Khan Academy family. Like all Khan Academy offerings, all Duck Duck Moose apps are now free, without ads or subscriptions. We rely on our community of volunteers and donors. Get involved today at www.duckduckmoose.com/about. Check out the Khan Academy app to learn and practice all kinds of topics for elementary school through college and beyond. We’d love to hear from you! Visit us at www.duckduckmoose.com or drop us a line at support@duckduckmoose.com.

Screenshots

Starfall Learn to Read4 screens
Duck Duck Moose Reading4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Starfall Learn to Read at 4.2 against Duck Duck Moose Reading's 3.8. Starfall Learn to Read also leads on ratings volume (228 vs 25). Duck Duck Moose Reading's advantage is review sentiment (80% vs 71%) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On price, 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

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 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Starfall Learn to Read has 228 ratings behind it against 25, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 71% of Starfall Learn to Read's written reviews are positive against 80% of Duck Duck Moose Reading'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, Duck Duck Moose Reading every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Starfall Learn to Read versus Duck Duck Moose Reading: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarfall Learn to ReadDuck Duck Moose Reading
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (228 ratings) — better3.8 (25 ratings)
Positive reviews71.3% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings228 — better25
Update frequencyEvery 9 months — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size91 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStarfall Education FoundationDuck Duck Moose LLC

Customer experience

Starfall Learn to Read

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

Duck Duck Moose Reading

All ratings25 ratings
Positive68.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative24.0%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative16.0%

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

Duck Duck Moose Reading

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Starfall Learn to Read

No in-app purchases

None

Duck Duck Moose Reading

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 Duck Duck Moose Reading free?
Duck Duck Moose Reading is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Starfall Learn to Read or Duck Duck Moose Reading?
Starfall Learn to Read is rated higher. Starfall Learn to Read averages 4.2 out of 5 from 228 ratings, while Duck Duck Moose Reading averages 3.8 from 25 ratings.
Do Starfall Learn to Read or Duck Duck Moose Reading have ads?
Neither Starfall Learn to Read nor Duck Duck Moose Reading shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Starfall Learn to Read or Duck Duck Moose Reading?
Starfall Learn to Read ships an update every 9 months, and Duck Duck Moose Reading every 11 months. Most recently, Starfall Learn to Read was updated on November 3, 2026 and Duck Duck Moose Reading on November 1, 2026.

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