Comparison

Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 vs Kiddie Bank

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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/

About

Kiddie Bank

Teach children about saving and spending with a reward points system. Track pocket money, gifts, and incentivize good behavior. Syncs across caregiver devices for consistent financial education.

Highlights
  • Pocket money tracking
  • Reward points system
  • Incentivize good behavior
  • Track savings and spending
  • Syncs across devices
  • Financial education tool
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Kiddie Bank, the app designed for parents to effortlessly juggle their little ones' pocket money. Keep track of that birthday cash from Grandma, lemonade stand earnings, and more! You can teach your little ones the value of saving while incentivizing good behavior through a reward points system. Kiddie Bank allows parents to easily track monetary gifts and also reward good behavior with points that are worth money. Kids can lose points for poor choices, too. Kiddie Bank encourages children to learn about saving and spending while reinforcing positive habits. Your kids’ points balance will sync effortlessly across any parents' or caregivers’ phones. With seamless syncing capabilities, all parents and caregivers stay in the loop, ensuring consistency in managing their child's financial education. Every penny saved and point earned shapes your child's future and fosters responsible financial habits! Even though this app is incredibly simple, it may encounter issues. If that is the case, don't hesitate to reach out to let us know about any bugs (or feature requests :) ) using the question mark button in the menu bar. Thanks for using Kiddie Bank!

Screenshots

Simplex Spelling Phonics 34 screens
Kiddie Bank4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Kiddie Bank at 5.0 against Simplex Spelling Phonics 3's 4.2. Kiddie Bank also leads on price ($0.99 vs $4.99) and review sentiment (100% vs 92%). Simplex Spelling Phonics 3's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.0). On ratings volume, 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

Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 costs $4.99 and Kiddie Bank $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Kiddie Bank holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 9 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of Simplex Spelling Phonics 3's written reviews are positive against 100% of Kiddie Bank's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 ships an update every 13 months, Kiddie Bank every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 versus Kiddie Bank: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimplex Spelling Phonics 3Kiddie Bank
Price$4.99$0.99 — better
Rating4.2 (5 ratings)5.0 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews92.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings59 — better
Update frequencyEvery 13 monthsEvery 12 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS14.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size230 MB38 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPyxwise Software Inc.Nicholas Parrish

Customer experience

Simplex Spelling Phonics 3

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive92.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative0.0%

Kiddie Bank

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Simplex Spelling Phonics 3

No in-app purchases

None

Kiddie Bank

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 free?
Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Kiddie Bank free?
Kiddie Bank costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 or Kiddie Bank?
Kiddie Bank is rated higher. Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 averages 4.2 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Kiddie Bank averages 5.0 from 9 ratings.
Do Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 or Kiddie Bank have ads?
Neither Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 nor Kiddie Bank shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 or Kiddie Bank?
Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 ships an update every 13 months, and Kiddie Bank every 12 months. Most recently, Simplex Spelling Phonics 3 was updated on November 2, 2026 and Kiddie Bank on November 3, 2026.

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