Comparison

Solve the Outbreak vs Read Live

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

Head to head
About

Solve the Outbreak

Become a Disease Detective and solve simulated outbreaks by analyzing clues and data. Make critical decisions to contain diseases and save lives, earning badges and climbing ranks. Learn about real-world disease investigation in an engaging, game-like experience.

Highlights
  • Solve simulated outbreaks
  • Analyze clues and data
  • Make critical decisions
  • Earn badges and ranks
  • Learn about diseases
  • Challenge friends
Features
Read full description

Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to get clues and analyze data to solve the outbreak and save lives! In this fun app, you get to be a Disease Detective. Do you quarantine the village? Interview people who are sick? Run more lab tests? The better your answers, the higher your score - and the quicker you’ll climb the ranks to become a decorated Disease Detective. In level 1, you’ll start as a Trainee and earn badges by solving scenarios — with the goal of earning the top rank: Disease Detective. Unlock Level 2 by mastering all the 12 outbreaks of Level 1. Then earn honors by solving new and more challenging scenarios. Earn recognitions like Surveillance and Treatment Honors. New outbreaks happen every day and CDC's Disease Detectives are on the front lines — working 24/7 to save lives and protect people. When a new outbreak occurs, Disease Detectives are sent in to figure out how the outbreak started before it spreads further. In this app, you'll also: • Learn about diseases and outbreaks in an engaging way. • See how CDC's Disease Detectives save lives around the world. • Have the option to post your scores on Facebook or Twitter and challenge your friends to play!

About

Read Live

This app provides a structured, audio-supported system to improve reading fluency, phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension for learners of all ages. It offers access to four distinct curriculum options, including support for Spanish readers, and tracks student progress across devices. A Read Live account is required to use the program.

Highlights
  • Four curriculum options
  • Audio-supported system
  • Develops reading fluency
  • Improves comprehension
  • Tracks student progress
  • Spanish reading support
Read full description

Read Live delivers measurable results for struggling and developing readers of all ages. With this app, your students can access their Read Live student stories and exercises in an experience designed to take advantage of the iPad’s capabilities. Improve fluency and phonics skills while supporting vocabulary and comprehension development with Read Naturally Live. Build mastery and automaticity in phonics and decoding with systematic phonics instruction with Word Warm-ups Live. Enable structured, engaging, and independent reading practice with One Minute Reader Live. Help native Spanish speakers or others to learn to read Spanish text fluently with Read Naturally Live–Español. Visit our website to learn more about Read Live: readnaturally.com/go-read-live *** A Read Live account and internet connection are required to use this app. Don’t have an account yet? Don't worry: you can create a free account and start using the program within 1 business day! Read Live was designed by teachers for use in schools. Here's what some teachers are saying: “A great program. Kids enjoy using it. They see their progress in fluency and comprehension skills.” – Special Education Teacher, VT “Love, Love, Love this program to help build our students' fluency. All of the stories are engaging for the students. The technology is easy for both students and teachers to use.” – First-Grade Teacher, WI “This program has dramatically increased the fluency, comprehension and writing abilities of my ELL students. Their MAP scores have risen as much as 15 points in a trimester. It provides great individualization.” – ELL/ESL Teacher, IL KEY FEATURES • Full access to all four curriculum options: Read Naturally Live, Word Warm-ups Live, One Minute Reader Live, and Read Naturally Live–Español. • Structured, audio-supported system keeps students motivated and holds them accountable for their own success. • Develops reading fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and phonics. • Excellent for Response to Intervention (RTI) or Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). • Student progress syncs across computer and iPad. • Free iPad app for Read Live account holders. ________________________________________ Need support? We’re here to help. Email us at support@readnaturally.com *** IMPORTANT!! You must have a Read Live account to use this app.

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Solve the Outbreak at 96% against Read Live's 29%. Solve the Outbreak also leads on ratings volume (61 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.3). Read Live's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Read Live holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Solve the Outbreak has 61 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 96% of Solve the Outbreak's written reviews are positive against 29% of Read Live's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Solve the Outbreak ships an update every 5 months, Read Live every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Solve the Outbreak versus Read Live: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolve the OutbreakRead Live
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (61 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews95.7% of reviews — better28.6% of reviews
Number of ratings61 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPadiPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better14.3
Further details — not scored
Size258 MB11 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperCenters For Disease Control and PreventionRead Naturally, Inc.

Customer experience

Solve the Outbreak

All ratings60 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews141 reviews
Positive95.7%
Neutral0.7%
Negative3.5%

Read Live

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive28.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative71.4%

Bugs and requests

Solve the Outbreak

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when attempting to reset scores in settings
  • Old scores and progress remain after reset attempt
  • Accidental question selection due to bottom screen placement

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add more outbreak cases and scenarios
  • Create harder difficulty levels for advanced players
  • Include visual aids and images for better understanding
  • Add background music and sound effects
  • Implement branching storylines with different outcomes
Show 5 more
  • Create Level 3 with more complex cases
  • Add ability for users to create custom outbreaks
  • Improve text size and readability on smaller screens
  • Release app on iPhone in addition to iPad
  • Include more historical and special plague scenarios

Read Live

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Solve the Outbreak

No in-app purchases

None

Read Live

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Solve the Outbreak free?
Solve the Outbreak is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Read Live free?
Read Live is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Solve the Outbreak or Read Live?
Read Live is rated higher. Solve the Outbreak averages 4.6 out of 5 from 61 ratings, while Read Live averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Solve the Outbreak or Read Live have ads?
Neither Solve the Outbreak nor Read Live shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Solve the Outbreak or Read Live?
Solve the Outbreak ships an update every 5 months, and Read Live every 4 months. Most recently, Solve the Outbreak was updated on November 3, 2026 and Read Live on November 1, 2026.

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