Starfall Learn to Read vs Ten Together
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
Ten Together
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Teach your child early reading and math in about ten minutes a day, side by side. Ten Together gives you, the parent, a plan for each day, the exact words to say, and what to do when your child gets something wrong. You don't need to be a teacher, or a "math person." Your child answers by tapping pictures, touching objects to count them, tracing letters, or saying the answer aloud, and you keep track with a tap. WHAT YOUR CHILD LEARNS (AGES 2–6) • Reading: rhymes, hearing the sounds in words, letter sounds (not just letter names), tracing and writing letters, and sounding out first words • Math: shapes, seeing small amounts at a glance, counting objects, numerals to 10, more and fewer, one more and one fewer, and first sums • Language: colors, opposites, positions like "on" and "under", categories, and words like "same," "different," "some," and "all" WHY TOGETHER Young children learn best with a caring adult beside them. Research shows early math skills are among the strongest predictors of later school success, yet many parents feel less sure teaching math than reading. Ten Together scripts every lesson, so you always know what to say. Tap the speaker to hear each letter's sound. REAL PROGRESS, NOT JUST PLAY • Each day's session is planned for your child: a warm-up, something new, review, and a finish that ends on success • About ten minutes a day, with a little more whenever your child is still eager • A skill only counts as learned when your child gets it right on two different days • Learned skills come back on a spaced schedule so they stick • A missed question returns later in the session, after you show the answer together • New skills unlock in order, set by your child's answers, never by age • A quick check at the start skips what your child already knows MADE FOR FAMILIES • Separate progress for each child • A weekly recap of what your child can now do, ready to share with family • "Why this works" notes explain the research behind each lesson • Practice any unlocked skill anytime PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No accounts, no ads, no tracking, no analytics • All learning data stays on your device Ten Together draws on decades of research into how young children learn, including Siegfried Engelmann's teaching methods. It's designed for a parent and child to use together, and it isn't a replacement for preschool, reading aloud, or play.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Ten Together at every 3 weeks against Starfall Learn to Read's every 9 months. Starfall Learn to Read's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Starfall Learn to Read ships an update every 9 months, Ten Together every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Starfall Learn to Read | Ten Together |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (228 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 74.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 228 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 91 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Starfall Education Foundation | Dayton Thorpe |
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
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- 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
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- 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
Ten Together
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Starfall Learn to Read
No in-app purchases
Ten Together
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Starfall Learn to Read free?
Is Ten Together free?
Do Starfall Learn to Read or Ten Together have ads?
Which is updated more often, Starfall Learn to Read or Ten Together?
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