Comparison

Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC vs Letter Tiles for Learning

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 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/

About

Letter Tiles for Learning

Build words, divide them into syllables, and explore phonogram sounds. This educational tool supports specific reading and spelling programs, offering relevant letter tiles for each lesson. Ideal for interactive learning on tablets.

Highlights
  • Build words
  • Divide words into syllables
  • Hear phonogram sounds
  • Supports All About Reading
  • Supports All About Spelling
  • Lesson-specific letter tiles
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

This app is designed for tablets. It is not recommended for phones. Our Letter Tiles app lets you build words, divide words into syllables, and hear the sounds of the phonograms. Just choose your program from the menu (All About Reading or All About Spelling) and select which lesson number you are currently teaching. The appropriate letter tiles for that lesson will appear, making it easy for you to teach and easy for your child to learn. The app contains all the phonograms, suffixes, and word parts taught in the All About Reading and All About Spelling lesson plans. Suitable for all ages and learning styles! Please Note: This app does not read words aloud.

Screenshots

Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC4 screens
Letter Tiles for Learning4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC at 100% against Letter Tiles for Learning's 38%. Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC also leads on price ($4.99 vs $19.99) and rating (3.7 vs 3.2). Letter Tiles for Learning's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 13 months) and ratings volume (93 vs 9). 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

Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC costs $4.99 and Letter Tiles for Learning $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Letter Tiles for Learning has 93 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC's written reviews are positive against 38% of Letter Tiles for Learning's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC ships an update every 13 months, Letter Tiles for Learning every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC versus Letter Tiles for Learning: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimplex Spelling Phonics CVCLetter Tiles for Learning
Price$4.99 — better$19.99
Rating3.7 (9 ratings) — better3.2 (93 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better37.7% of reviews
Number of ratings993 — better
Update frequencyEvery 13 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank—#23 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size106 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPyxwise Software Inc.All About Learning Press, Inc.

Customer experience

Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC

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

Letter Tiles for Learning

All ratings93 ratings
Positive48.4%
Neutral8.6%
Negative43.0%
Written reviews69 reviews
Positive37.7%
Neutral10.1%
Negative52.2%

Bugs and requests

Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Letter Tiles for Learning

Reported bugs

50 issues
  • Drop-down menu not staying down
  • Blank white screen
  • App crashes constantly
  • Tiles go missing when splitting syllables
  • Spaces appear randomly in words
Show 45 more
  • Replacing letters moves them to end
  • Cannot drag tiles to top
  • App crashes on opening after update
  • App not working after update
  • New version not compatible with curriculum
  • Letters freeze up constantly
  • Cannot clear tiles easily
  • Tapping letters to appear on screen not working
  • Sound stopped working
  • Difficulty downloading app components
  • Dragging syllable tags is difficult
  • Cannot get syllable tags to move
  • App orientation locked
  • Cannot put two separate words on same line
  • Cannot play 'change the word' activity
  • Drop-down for picking lesson not working
  • Hardly ever works, difficult to select level/lesson
  • Stuck on white screen
  • App freezes
  • Can't see all letters on screen, cut off
  • Let you switch out letters fluidly
  • Word building area cut off by letter tiles
  • Child cannot hold on a letter blend to hear sound
  • Child cannot hold built word to see spelling
  • Interface difficult to use
  • Tiles don't always respond to touch
  • Tiles go missing
  • Clears for no reason
  • Cannot find sounds, don't fit on screen
  • Letters too large
  • Constantly have to swipe to get to vowel teams
  • Cannot drag them up there, have to fling
  • App unusable for many activities
  • App keeps closing itself
  • Letters freeze up
  • Cannot get any of it to work
  • Too sensitive to clear tiles
  • Tapping letters doesn't work
  • Cannot divide syllables easily
  • Cannot put divided syllables back together
  • Difficult to slide screen to access syllable tags
  • Cannot drag tiles on iPad
  • Issues dragging tiles
  • Cannot get tiles to respond
  • Words popping up on screen within lessons

Requested features

14 requests
  • Undo feature
  • Tile scramble mode
  • Apple Pencil/stylus support
  • Card quiz feature
  • Option to adjust tile size
Show 9 more
  • Ability to write on whiteboard
  • Sound out words in lessons
  • Add end mark punctuation
  • Add 'q' tile for advanced learners
  • Fix /r/ and /er/ sound issue
  • Add 'are you sure?' for deleting tiles
  • Allow multiple words on one line
  • Fix first line bug
  • Allow user to adjust keyboard area size

In-app purchases

None

Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC

No in-app purchases

None

Letter Tiles for Learning

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC free?
Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Letter Tiles for Learning free?
Letter Tiles for Learning costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC or Letter Tiles for Learning?
Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC is rated higher. Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC averages 3.7 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Letter Tiles for Learning averages 3.2 from 93 ratings.
Do Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC or Letter Tiles for Learning have ads?
Neither Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC nor Letter Tiles for Learning shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC or Letter Tiles for Learning?
Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC ships an update every 13 months, and Letter Tiles for Learning every 6 weeks. Most recently, Simplex Spelling Phonics CVC was updated on October 22, 2026 and Letter Tiles for Learning on October 26, 2026.

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