Comparison

Kidioms 3 vs Word Builder

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

Head to head
About

Kidioms 3

Features
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Kidioms 3 - Even More Idioms for Kids Kidioms 3 introduces 64 more commonly used idioms.This iPad app makes learning idioms fun for children, ELL students, or anyone wishing to improve their understanding of English. The app uses an interactive notebook to present an idiom, it's meaning and an example showing the idiom used in context. Each page of the notebook also has a graphic to help illustrate the idiom’s meaning. In addition to the lessons, Kidioms offers three interactive activities to help reinforce the concepts and provide practice using and understanding the idioms. Word Drop challenges the learner to complete the idiom by choosing the correct missing word. Missing Word asks the user to spell the missing word. In Match-Up the player selects the correct idiom to fill in the blank in a larger block of text. Vocabulary Acquisition and Use Grade 3 •L.3.5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings. ◦Distinguish the literal and non-literal meanings of words and phrases in context (e.g.,take steps). ◦Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., describe people who are friendly or helpful). ◦Distinguish shades of meaning among related words that describe states of mind or degrees of certainty (e.g., knew, believed, suspected, heard, wondered). Grade 4 •L.4.5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. ◦Explain the meaning of simple similes and metaphors (e.g., as pretty as a picture) in context. ◦Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs. Demonstrate understanding of words by relating them to their opposites (antonyms) and to words with similar but not identical meanings (synonyms). Grade 5 L.5.5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. •Interpret figurative language, including similes and metaphors, in context. •Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs. Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., synonyms, antonyms, homographs) to better understand each of the words.

About

Word Builder

This tool helps teach phonics and English language decoding skills. It allows users to build words with letter-sound tiles, manipulate sounds, and create rhyming or nonsense words. Designed for beginning readers, students with reading difficulties, and English language learners.

Highlights
  • Build words with letter-sound tiles
  • Manipulate sounds within words
  • Create rhyming and nonsense words
  • Adjustable scaffolding for learning levels
  • Jolly Phonics letter groups integration
  • Customizable letter-sound tile sets
Features
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Word Builder™ is a must-have tool for anybody who is teaching phonics! Created by speech-language pathologist Dr. Bartek Rajkowski, PhD, Word Builder™ is a scientifically based, fun, intuitive means through which to learn how to use letter-sound patterns to crack the code in the English language. The app is perfect for teaching beginning readers, students with reading difficulties and students learning English as a second language. "Word Builder is the best program I have seen that enables students to play with sounds and hear the word it makes. They can manipulate the sounds within a word, make rhyming words, play with nonsense words and be told whether it is a real word or not. The scaffolding built into the program means students can be working at a task appropriate to their level of learning with very little assistance. An added bonus is that the Jolly Phonics letter groups are already built into the program. This app is an excellent way to give those beginning in English literacy at any age a tool to really help boost confidence and skill. Well worth the money!" - Jan Polkinghorne, SPELD phonics trainer PLEASE NOTE: - Requires iPad 2 or higher - Includes Australian, North American and British English accents. - Although students enjoy using WordBuilder™, it is a serious teaching tool, not a game! It does not read or spell words for students but makes it easier to teach students to read and spell words for themselves! - Wordbuilder™ is best used in parallel with a synthetic phonics program such as Jolly Phonics, MULTILIT or Letters & Sounds. - If you would like advice about how best to use the app, please see our website or contact us! Which skills does Word Builder™ help you to teach? Research shows that we read unfamiliar words by converting letter patterns to speech sounds and then mentally joining the sounds to read the word. Competent readers self-teach by successfully decoding new words, while poor letter-sound knowledge and decoding ability are hallmarks of reading difficulties. This code-cracking skill has been shown through decades of research to be crucial in learning to read and spell. WordBuilder™ helps you to teach students 'code-cracking' skills found through research to be vital in learning to read and write in English. How do parents, teachers and reading specialists use Word Builder™ to help students? - build words with letter-sound tiles for the student to read, or say a word for the student to build - change which letter-sound tiles are available so that beginning students can practice with the most basic building blocks of written language while more advanced readers can learn less common patterns - save your own letter-sound tile sets (corresponding to your phonics program or your student's needs) - an in-built memory-aid system helps students to remember letter-sound relationships. It can be adjusted to the level of help required by the student. - swap and remove letter-sound patterns from words - write irregular words by changing sounds while keeping letter patterns the same (so you can write words like 'said' and 'who') - insert blank tiles, syllable markers and apostrophes in words - save images of the words you create and create lists using the notes app - share the words you create via email, Facebook, Twitter, Airdrop and more! How do students use Word Builder™? Word Builder™ gives students an easy way to experiment with making and reading words using the most common letter-sound patterns in English. Students can: - tap on letter-sound patterns to hear the speech sounds they represent - make words by combining these patterns - slide a finger over the patterns in a word to hear the individual speech sounds in the word - see an animation of a mouth which explicitly teaches students about the relationship between speech and written language - move and replace letter-sound patterns by dragging and dropping them - check to see if words they have made are correctly spelled

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Kidioms 3 at $1.99 against Word Builder's $15.99. Word Builder's advantage is update cadence (every 5 months vs every 24 months) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 13.2). On 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

Kidioms 3 costs $1.99 and Word Builder $15.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kidioms 3 ships an update every 24 months, Word Builder every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Kidioms 3 versus Word Builder: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKidioms 3Word Builder
Price$1.99 — better$15.99
Rating—2.3 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—90.9% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 24 monthsEvery 5 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPadiPad
Requires iOS13.28.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB50 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVentura Educational SystemsReading Doctor Pty Ltd

In-app purchases

None

Kidioms 3

No in-app purchases

None

Word Builder

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Kidioms 3 free?
Kidioms 3 costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Word Builder free?
Word Builder costs $15.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Kidioms 3 or Word Builder have ads?
Neither Kidioms 3 nor Word Builder shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Kidioms 3 or Word Builder?
Kidioms 3 ships an update every 24 months, and Word Builder every 5 months. Most recently, Kidioms 3 was updated on October 26, 2026 and Word Builder on October 23, 2026.

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