Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 vs Reading Speed/Fluency Builder.
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Simplex Spelling Phonics 3
This app enhances English spelling and reading skills through phonics lessons, word patterns, and a unique reverse phonics approach. It scientifically helps students improve their spelling, covering over 750 high-frequency words and 52 instructional lists.
- Phonics lessons and word patterns
- Reverse phonics approach
- 750+ high-frequency words
- 52 instructional lessons
- Contextual spelling rule hints
- Progress tracking for 40 users
- Exportable progress reports
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Simplex Spelling is one of the best ways to improve English spelling and reading skills. Using a powerful combination of phonics lessons, spelling/word patterns, syllabication, our unique “reverse phonics” (phonics encoding) approach and contextually relevant spelling rules. Scientifically validated as a highly effective approach to improving spelling skills, a published study revealed that students demonstrated an average spelling improvement of 1.9 grades among children in a classroom setting who regularly used Simplex Spelling over a 18 week period. The largest student improvement observed over the same time period was 4.4 grade levels as assessed by administering the Schonell Spelling Test. Teaching over a year of spelling curriculum with more than 750 high frequency words divided into 52 lists that are organized by spelling patterns and difficulty levels. Each of the 52 lists comes with a lesson that teaches one of the basic building blocks of spelling in the English language. Students learn a new concept for each lesson building on the skills learned from previous lessons and those covered in Simplex Spelling Phonics 1 & 2. Simplex Spelling Phonics Advanced Phonograms guides the student and acts as a personal spelling coach with every word, while teaching students "how to spell" English words. Every word is broken down into its syllables both visually and auditorily to help students build phonological awareness skills. Our “reverse phonics” hint feature breaks each word down further into individual phonemes to improve phonemic awareness, a critical skill in achieving literacy. Simplex Spelling Advanced Phonograms focuses on some of the more difficult phonograms in the English language in addition to lessons covering contractions and the capitalization of proper nouns. Recommended age 9+ Note: You can not create your own spelling lists. Features: - Over 750 high frequency spelling words to help build literacy. - Words are spoken and used in a sentence to establish context and improve vocabulary. - Introductory spelling list seamlessly leads a student through all of the application’s features. - 52 instructional lessons teach phonics, phonograms, spelling rules, contractions and the capitalization of proper nouns. - A full “reverse phonics” approach that builds phonemic awareness. - Contextually relevant spelling rule hints that help explain “how to spell” English words. - Letter by letter feedback system provides feedback while the student is in the process of spelling each word. - Support for 40 user accounts. - Remembers each user’s progress in every list. - User stats screen track progress with every word. - Export and email progress reports. - Ability to set the number of times a word must be spelled correctly to become mastered. - Supports upper and lower case letters. - Supports alphabetic and QWERTY keyboard layouts. - Supports US, UK and Canadian English spelling of words. Please check the word lists provided on www.pyxwise.com to ensure that the word lists provided in Simplex Spelling meet your educational needs. - Advanced Phonograms has previously been featured by Apple as New & Noteworthy in 20 countries. - "Best Educational App of 2014" - Balefire Labs. -iTeach: Apps For The Classroom - "I was immediately in awe of the design and educational thought that has gone into this product." -Teachers With Apps - Certified Developer - Academics' Choice Award. Privacy Disclosure: - Does not contain 3rd party ads - Does not share any data - Does not contain In-App purchases - Contains child protected links in app to developer's website for additional information, support and teaching tips. - Contains child protected link to developer email support. COPPA Compliant https://pyxwise.com/privacy-policy/
Reading Speed/Fluency Builder.
This app helps children and adults improve reading speed and fluency through a game-like environment. It offers graduated practice, audio support, and a reward system to motivate learners. Designed for various needs, it progresses users from early elementary to fifth-grade reading levels.
- Graduated reading practice
- Mastery-based progression
- Audio support for fluent reading
- 'At a glance' progress reporting
- Fun Reward Center
- Supports multiple reading levels
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** Happy Frog Apps is a Mom’s Choice Award Winner! Also featured on FunEducationalApps.com, TeachersWithApps.com, and more! ** Reading Fluency Builder quickly develops your child's reading speed to meet grade level expectations. Reading fluency is a key prerequisite if your child is struggling with reading comprehension. Reading Fluency Builder provides a fun game-like environment that motivates even hesitant learners. What parents say about our awesome apps: *** 5 stars! Brilliant! An app that understands how kids actually learn. Thank you! *** 5 stars! My kids love this app because of the fun, silly sentences. I love it because it works! Reading Fluency Builder provides: - Graduated practice starting with simple texts and slower speeds. - Students progress only when they demonstrate mastery. - Students can practice with multiple texts per level. - 'At a glance' reporting shows you instantly how your learner is progressing. - Audio support is provided so learners can hear a fluent model. - Fun Reward Center increases student motivation. - Incremental levels take a student from mid Grade 1 reading speed up to mid Grade 5 reading speed. Our app is based on proven research on the effectiveness of modeled and repeated reading to increase fluency -- but we make it fun! Our apps are designed for and tested by typical and special needs children. Testers include children with Autism and other special needs. Our apps work for them! Our apps are also suitable for adults dealing with aphasia or learning English as a Second Language. To evaluate the app, download the free version, which has four free levels. Additional levels and additional players can be accessed with in-app purchases. (All levels can be purchased for $2.99 -- price may change.) If you prefer no in-app purchases, download the School Edition of this app, which includes all levels and up to 10 players. We take customer service very seriously! If you ever have a problem or find that we've missed something, contact us at our website and we will do our best to fix the problem. We collect NO private information in our app. None! Our apps do not allow unrestricted web or social media access. We conform to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Reading Speed/Fluency Builder. at 5.0 against Simplex Spelling Phonics 3's 4.2. Reading Speed/Fluency Builder. also leads on update cadence (every 4 months vs every 13 months) and iOS requirement (12.2 vs 14.0). Simplex Spelling Phonics 3's advantage is price ($4.99 vs $8.99) and review sentiment (92% vs 75%). On ratings volume, 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
Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 costs $4.99 and Reading Speed/Fluency Builder. $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Reading Speed/Fluency Builder. holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 3 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 92% of Simplex Spelling Phonics 3's written reviews are positive against 75% of Reading Speed/Fluency Builder.'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 ships an update every 13 months, Reading Speed/Fluency Builder. every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 | Reading Speed/Fluency Builder. |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 — better | $8.99 |
| Rating | 4.2 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 92.0% of reviews — better | 75.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 13 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 12.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 230 MB | 39 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pyxwise Software Inc. | Janine Toole |
Customer experience
Simplex Spelling Phonics 3
Reading Speed/Fluency Builder.
In-app purchases
Simplex Spelling Phonics 3
No in-app purchases
Reading Speed/Fluency Builder.
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 free?
Is Reading Speed/Fluency Builder. free?
Which has better reviews, Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 or Reading Speed/Fluency Builder.?
Do Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 or Reading Speed/Fluency Builder. have ads?
Which is updated more often, Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 or Reading Speed/Fluency Builder.?
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