Comparison

Barton Tiles® 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

Barton Tiles®

This app enhances the Barton Reading & Spelling System for tutors and students. It automates lesson setup, word generation, and student progress tracking, saving valuable teaching time per session. Features include student profiles, lesson notes, and direct email communication.

Highlights
  • Student progress tracking
  • Automated lesson setup
  • Digital tile manipulation
  • Word generation
  • Note-taking
  • Email communication
Read full description

This app is only for people who own or use the Barton Reading & Spelling System. More than just tiles on an iPad, this app will save Barton tutors at least 10 minutes each session. How? Student tracking Set up each student once. This app keeps track of their current level and lesson. You can enter notes after each lesson. You can even send an email to the student and/or their parents or teacher – right from the app. Tiles appear automatically Tap on a student’s name and their lesson appears – with all the tiles needed for that lesson. Words appear automatically No need to build the words when you are teaching. Just click on the Next Word button. You will gain at least 10 minutes of teaching time per session. Never put tiles away When spelling with tiles, your student will pull down a COPY of each tile. When he is done, just click on the “Erase Screen” button. You never have to put tiles away.

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: Barton Tiles® at 76% against Read Live's 29%. Barton Tiles® also leads on ratings volume (17 vs 1) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). Read Live's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.1) and in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, ads, monetization model 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

Both are free to download. Barton Tiles® sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Read Live asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Read Live holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Barton Tiles® has 17 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 76% of Barton Tiles®'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

Barton Tiles® ships an update every 2 months, Read Live every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 12, 2026 and June 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Barton Tiles® versus Read Live: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBarton Tiles®Read Live
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (17 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.5% of reviews — better28.6% of reviews
Number of ratings17 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPadiPad
Requires iOS15.014.3 — better
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBright Solutions for Dyslexia, Inc.Read Naturally, Inc.

Customer experience

Barton Tiles®

All ratings17 ratings
Positive76.5%
Neutral5.9%
Negative17.6%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive76.5%
Neutral5.9%
Negative17.6%

Read Live

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

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Barton Tiles®

One-time10
  • Phonemic Awareness$29.99
  • Consonants & Short Vowels$29.99
  • Closed & Unit Syllables$29.99
Show 7 more
  • Multi-Syllable words and Vowel Teams$29.99
  • Prefixes & Suffixes$29.99
  • Six Reasons for Silent-E$29.99
  • Vowel-R's$29.99
  • Advanced Vowel Teams$29.99
  • Influence of Foreign Languages$29.99
  • Latin Roots and Greek Combining Forms$29.99
None

Read Live

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Barton Tiles® free?
Barton Tiles® is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Read Live free?
Read Live is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Barton Tiles® or Read Live?
Read Live is rated higher. Barton Tiles® averages 4.1 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while Read Live averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Barton Tiles® or Read Live have ads?
Neither Barton Tiles® nor Read Live shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Barton Tiles® or Read Live?
Barton Tiles® ships an update every 2 months, and Read Live every 4 months. Most recently, Barton Tiles® was updated on September 12, 2026 and Read Live on June 4, 2026.

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