ReadySetRead vs Writing Wizard
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ReadySetRead
This app uses over 100 interactive lessons and 24 original stories to help children develop essential reading skills. It focuses on connecting letter sounds with word patterns and reinforces learning through engaging word activities. Parents can track progress and manage multiple student profiles.
- Interactive reading lessons
- Build-A-Word, Word Chain, Sentence Scramble activities
- Original stories for context
- Research-based teaching methodology
- Parent progress tracking
- Multiple student profiles
- Safe and age-appropriate content
Read full descriptionHide full description
Encourage early readers to develop the skills essential for reading with over 100 interactive lessons designed to solidify the reader’s ability to connect the sounds they hear with the letter patterns found in words. ReadySetRead’s lessons expose the student to the letters and sounds in over 500 different words. Individual lessons consist of three types of word activities (Build-A-Word, Word Chain and Sentence Scramble) and then put those words in context in one of the app’s 24 engaging and original stories. ReadySetRead's teaching methodology is based on the researched scope and sequence of the Targeted Reading Intervention program, developed by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The app includes a Parent's section that provides detailed explanations of the app’s activities and gives parents a concise explanation of the teaching process with references for further information. The app also allows the parent to monitor the student's progress through the lessons, as well as his or her performance on individual sounds, lessons and activities. Do you have more than one child learning to read? No problem - ReadySetRead can be configured to support multiple simultaneous students, each with his or her own progress and performance tracking. ReadySetRead provides a safe listening and viewing experience for children of all ages. The graphics and audio are designed to be child-like in nature and the choice of words and subject matter for the stories is age-appropriate.
Writing Wizard
This app helps children learn to trace letters, numbers, and words with a fun, motivating system. It offers customizable tracing practice, interactive games, and progress reports for parents and educators.
- Trace letters, numbers, and words
- Customizable tracing practice
- Interactive games and animated stickers
- Create custom word lists with audio
- Progress reports for tracking
- Printable PDF worksheets
Read full descriptionHide full description
"Fantastic, customizable tracing practice with fun rewards." 5 Stars - Common Sense Media 500,000+ units sold (including 300,000+ to schools) ! Writing Wizard is designed to help every child learn how to trace letters, numbers, and words through a fun system carefully designed to maintain motivation. • Show and enforce how to trace letters correctly • Letter names and phonics (customizable) • 16 Fonts available (including 3 most popular in the US) • Fun tracing using 50+ animated stickers, sound effects and interactive games that animate letters at the end of tracing • Uppercase & lowercase letters, numbers, and words • Ability to create your own word lists (and record audio for each word) • Fully customizable to suit every child’s needs (letter size, difficulty,...) • Check progress thanks to reports that display what the child has traced • Shapes tracing activity for toddlers • Create PDF Worksheets and print them to help your child to write on paper • Use Apple pencil to write at a very small size All the shapes, the first 7 letters, numbers, and words are free. The remaining letters and the ability to add your own words can be unlocked with a one-time purchase or a monthly subscription. _______ ACCOLADES • "Writing Wizard is the most complete and intelligent letter tracing app we’ve seen"" AppoLearning.com • "This brand-new app should be the go-to for every parent, teacher and therapist to work on handwriting" - TOP PICKS - 5 stars - SmartAppsForKids.com • "Writing Wizard by L’Escapadou is everything a parent wants in a handwriting app, and more." 5/5 - kids-app-reviews.com • "L’Escapadou has made handwriting fun." AppyMall.com 5/5 • Listed in "20 best educational iPhone and iPad apps for kids of 2013" - appsplayground.com • Editor's Choice Award for Excellence in Design - Children's Technology Review _______ PERFECT FOR KIDS Kids want to have fun, and Writing Wizard offers a lot of fun to keep them motivated in the learning process! • They can trace using 50+ animated stickers and sound effects • Once tracing is complete, they can interact with them on 4 games that animate letters • They can trace any word - like their name - and record their voice for each word • They can collect stars in 5-Stars play mode _______ PERFECT FOR PARENTS & TEACHERS • Ability to create your own word lists (and record audio for each word) • Detailed reports provide information on what kids have done, including the ability to replay and export the tracings to view kids' progress • Share word lists via iCloud Drive or other cloud providers, adhoc network, or email • Multiple parameters to customize the app according to the child’s current education level (e.g. letter size, difficulty, show/hide model, allow to stop between key points, etc.) • 3 most popular fonts in the US (ZB, DN & HWT) and 13 international fonts (UK, Scandinavia, Australia, Germany and France) • Upper and lower case letters, numbers (and word lists) • Letter names and letter sounds (which can be customized) • A customizable 5-Stars play mode prompting the child to trace a letter or a word 5 times using different parameters (each step is more challenging) • Create an unlimited number of users • Many settings to customize the app (sound, game time limit, black background,...) • In the A-Z section, special graphics available to match letters (e.g. ant graphic for A/a) _______ Privacy Policy KNOW WHAT'S INSIDE As a Moms with Apps member, we follow the "Know what's inside" best practices for kids’ apps L’Escapadou takes children’s privacy seriously. We believe you should not have to worry about your kids being tracked by apps or websites. This app: • Does not collect any user information (we do not use data collection tools) • External Links : Before accessing a parent section, an operation must be solved so that young kids cannot access it. Terms of use : https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Writing Wizard at Free against ReadySetRead's $3.99. Writing Wizard also leads on ratings volume (5K vs 4). ReadySetRead's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.4) and in-app purchases (none vs 4). On update cadence, ads 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
Writing Wizard is free to download; ReadySetRead costs $3.99 up front. Writing Wizard sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month. ReadySetRead asks for nothing beyond the download.
ReadySetRead holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Writing Wizard has 5K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of ReadySetRead's written reviews are positive against 74% of Writing Wizard's.
ReadySetRead ships an update every 6 months, Writing Wizard every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 12, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ReadySetRead | Writing Wizard |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | 4.4 (5K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 73.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 5K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 68 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pamela Holland | Pierre Abel |
Customer experience
ReadySetRead
Writing Wizard
Bugs and requests
ReadySetRead
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Writing Wizard
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes when trying to access locked features
- Purchased content not unlocking properly
- Inconsistent letter formation guidance
Requested features
4 requests- Add more letters, numbers, and shapes
- Allow recording of custom voice instructions
- Improve compatibility with stylus/digital pens
- Provide more customization options
In-app purchases
ReadySetRead
No in-app purchases
Writing Wizard
- Full Access - Monthly$2.491 Month
- All Letters and Numbers$5.99
- Add Your Words and Word Lists$5.99
- Lifetime Full Access$9.99
Questions
Is ReadySetRead free?
Is Writing Wizard free?
Which has better reviews, ReadySetRead or Writing Wizard?
Do ReadySetRead or Writing Wizard have ads?
Which is updated more often, ReadySetRead or Writing Wizard?
Other comparisons















