Comparison

Starfall Learn to Read vs Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC

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

Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC

This app teaches foundational reading skills for young learners, focusing on rhyming, segmenting, and blending CVC words. It uses a unique "reverse phonics" approach with interactive feedback to build phonemic awareness and improve spelling and reading.

Highlights
  • Teaches CVC words and short vowel sounds
  • Interactive "reverse phonics" approach
  • Phonics hint feature for blending
  • Spelling rule hints
  • Letter-by-letter feedback
  • Supports up to 40 user accounts
  • Progress reports and user stats
Features
Read full description

- Earned a spot as one of the "Best Five Phonics Apps" by Teachers With Apps. Simplex Spelling CVC Words teaches rhyming, segmenting and blending of over 300 three letter CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words covering all five short vowel sounds. The concepts taught are aligned with many of the US Common Core Standards for Foundational Skills in Reading for Kindergarten. Children will learn phonics and the primary letter sounds and letter names for the alphabet while building the phonemic awareness skills that are critical for becoming a fluent speller and reader. Simplex Spelling Phonics improves English spelling and reading skills in a fun and interactive way by combining a unique “reverse phonics” approach with contextually relevant spelling rules that explain why words are spelled in a particular manner. It works like a personal spelling coach with every word. Recommended for ages 4+. Note: You can not create your own spelling lists in Simplex Spelling Phonics - Rhyming With CVC Words. Features: - Over 300 three letter CVC words covering all five short vowel sounds (e.g. cat, sat, pig, wig, log, bog, bug, rug, get, set). - Words are spoken and used in a sentence to establish context. - Introduction seamlessly leads a student through the application’s features by providing spoken information while having the student spell new words. - The keyboard can be customized to speak either the primary phoneme for each letter , or the letter's name as it is typed. - Powerful phonics hint feature sounds out each word by phonemes from left to right to aid with blending and phonemic awareness skills. - The hint feature also provides a mapping of all the possible graphemes that can represent each sound. - Word lists are organized by onsets, rhymes and medial vowels to allow students to understand and spell new words by changing only a single sound from other words in the same list. - Contextually relevant spelling rule hints that help explain “how to spell” English words. - Unique letter by letter feedback system that provides immediate feedback. - Guaranteed success on every word. - Support for up to 40 user accounts. - Export and email student progress reports. - User stats screen that allows you to see words that have been mastered and words that require further practice. - Remembers each user’s position and progress. - Supports both upper and lower case letters. - Supports both alphabetic and QWERTY keyboard layouts. - Supports both US, UK and Canadian English spelling. Privacy Disclosure: - Does not contain 3rd party ads - Does not share any data - Does not contain In-App purchases - Contains child protected links to "email the developer questions" and developer's website for additional information, support and teaching tips. COPPA Compliant https://pyxwise.com/privacy-policy/

Screenshots

Starfall Learn to Read4 screens
Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Starfall Learn to Read at Free against Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC's $4.99. Starfall Learn to Read also leads on rating (4.2 vs 3.7) and ratings volume (226 vs 9). Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 75%). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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

Starfall Learn to Read is free to download; Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC costs $4.99 up front. 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 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Starfall Learn to Read has 226 ratings behind it against 9, 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 100% of Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC'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 11 months, Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC every 13 months. The most recent releases landed on September 5, 2026 and July 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Starfall Learn to Read versus Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarfall Learn to ReadSimplex Spelling Phonics CVC
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.2 (226 ratings) — better3.7 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews74.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings226 — better9
Update frequencyEvery 11 months — betterEvery 13 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size91 MB153 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStarfall Education FoundationPyxwise Software Inc.

Customer experience

Starfall Learn to Read

All ratings226 ratings
Positive77.0%
Neutral7.1%
Negative15.9%
Written reviews75 reviews
Positive74.7%
Neutral1.3%
Negative24.0%

Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC

All ratings9 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Starfall Learn to Read

No in-app purchases

None

Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC

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 Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC free?
Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Starfall Learn to Read or Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC?
Starfall Learn to Read is rated higher. Starfall Learn to Read averages 4.2 out of 5 from 226 ratings, while Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC averages 3.7 from 9 ratings.
Do Starfall Learn to Read or Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC have ads?
Neither Starfall Learn to Read nor Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Starfall Learn to Read or Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC?
Starfall Learn to Read ships an update every 11 months, and Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC every 13 months. Most recently, Starfall Learn to Read was updated on September 5, 2026 and Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC on July 21, 2026.

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