Comparison

Level One Reading vs Phonicademy

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

Head to head
About

Level One Reading

Features
Read full description

Level One Reading is a free phonics app for children aged 4–6, made by a teacher. Every book, game, and lesson follows the same phonics method used in UK reception classrooms. WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT Free, forever. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no ads. Decodable video books. Beautifully illustrated stories with video and narration — and every word can be sounded out using the phonics your child has already learned. No memorising. No guessing. Phonics games. Designed to make practice feel like play, not homework. Progress reports for grown-ups. See exactly which sounds your child knows, which books they've read, and what they're ready for next. Made by a teacher, used by parents and teachers. WHAT'S INSIDE — Phase 2, 3, 4 and 5 sounds, taught one stage at a time — 30+ decodable books, with new ones added regularly — Tappable phoneme dots under every word, so your child can hear each sound separately and blend them together — Sound it Out — practise individual words at each stage, with mouth videos showing how each sound is formed — Flashcards — See, Draw, Repeat. Watch how a sound is made, trace the letter, then say it back. — Tricky Words — high-frequency words that don't follow phonics rules, taught with their own dream-world videos — Stage Check — alien words at the end of each stage. Made-up words that can only be read by sounding them out. The truest test of phonics. PRIVACY No accounts. No logins for children. No advertising. No tracking. No data sold. Your child's first name and reading progress are stored on their device. If you choose to save progress to the cloud, you can give us your email — and that's the only data we ever ask for. See our privacy policy for full details. Level One Reading is built and maintained by Gamer School, a small UK education project. Made by a teacher and parent, for parents.

About

Phonicademy

This educational app uses a child's voice as the controller for interactive pretend play. Children learn phonics and vocabulary through speaking words and phrases, with engaging animations and themed environments. It offers a safe, ad-free experience designed for early learners.

Highlights
  • Voice-driven pretend play
  • Interactive mini-games
  • Word Discovery with open vocabulary
  • Voice Adventures with phrase packs
  • Story Time interactive scenes
  • Progress tracking with reward system
  • Ad-free and safe environment
Features
Read full description

Phonics plus 20 word games for little readers. Phonicademy teaches kids to read, spell and write: 49 letter sounds with friendly letter pals, tracing worksheets and 1,900+ game levels, from the very first sounds (s, a, t, p, i, n) to blending CVC words, sight words, spelling and word power. Everything is spoken in a clear American-English voice. It works offline, with no ads and no tracking. FREE TO TRY, SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK Try it free: the first 2 phonics units of Sound Street and levels 1-2 of every word game. A monthly or yearly subscription unlocks everything else. No ads and no in-app coins. Subscribing sits behind a grown-up lock. The price is shown by the App Store before you buy. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings. Restore Purchases is in the grown-ups corner. Terms of Use: https://phonicademy.com/term Privacy Policy: https://phonicademy.com/privacy/phonics-games-app HOW IT WORKS Sound Street has 12 neighborhoods, one for each unit of the Phonicademy phonics course: 49 letter sounds in all. Every sound is a pal who lives in a house. Your child visits a pal, meets the sound, plays a few short games, and lights up the house with a sticker. Two levels, Little and Big, fit the child. Short visits, sounds first, no reading needed. 20 WORD GAMES, 1,900+ LEVELS Every game has 30 levels, a level map, chests and a boss to beat. - Letters: Big & Little, b–d Detective, ABC Express, Letter Workshop, Key Quest - Spelling and sight words: Sight Word Splash, Spelling Bee, Rule Rescue, Word Ladder - Word power: Hungry Monsters, Syllable Chop, Compound Crash, Prefix & Suffix Lab - Meaning: Homophone Duel, Sorting Station, Opposite Island, Silly or Sensible, Sentence Doctor, Dictionary Dash, Word Hunt NEW: TRACING ABC Trace capital letters A-Z, handwriting Aa-Zz and numbers 0-9 with a finger. Then try the worksheets on screen, the same ones as the printable lessons: short words (CVC), blending, sound boxes, word families, b and d, tricky words, digraphs and magic e. CLEAR SOUNDS Your child hears a friendly American-accent narrator. Each sound is said clearly, without an extra "uh". CUB'S ARCADE, CARTOONS, SONGS AND BOOKS Every learning visit earns an arcade ticket for four 2D games with Cub: Cub Run, Cub Bakery, Cub Rocket and Cub Hop. Watch 12 Cub & Friends cartoons, one for each neighborhood. Sing and dance along to 12 songs on Song Stage. Read 36 short decodable Pal Books, three for each neighborhood. DAILY WORD, STICKERS AND STARS A new Daily Word every day. Your child earns stickers and weekly stars while learning. SAFE FOR LITTLE HANDS - No ads, no accounts, no tracking, no data collected - Works fully offline - The microphone is optional and a grown-up decides. Say It and singing are played back once, then deleted. Clap games just listen live and save nothing. Nothing leaves the device - Settings, purchases and links to the outside sit behind a grown-up lock - Daily time limit, bedtime and up to 4 child profiles FOR GROWN-UPS See which sounds your child knows in the parent report (it stays on the device), get tips for practice at home and print the lesson worksheets as PDFs. Great for learning at home. IF YOU USED ABC PHONICS This is a brand new app that replaces ABC Phonics. Your ABC Phonics subscription is the same subscription: it keeps working here and is managed in your App Store account settings. Your old activities were replaced by the new phonics games, and progress starts fresh. Questions? doodlecub.com@gmail.com

Screenshots

Level One Reading4 screens
Phonicademy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Level One Reading at none against Phonicademy's 2. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Phonicademy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Level One Reading asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Level One Reading against 5.0 for Phonicademy. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Level One Reading ships an update every 6 months, Phonicademy every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Level One Reading versus Phonicademy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLevel One ReadingPhonicademy
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 5 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB177 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperANDREW MARK DAVIDSONHue Hoang Thi

In-app purchases

None

Level One Reading

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Phonicademy

Subscriptions2
  • ABC Pro Monthy3 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • ABC Pro Yearly3 Days trial$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Level One Reading free?
Level One Reading is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Phonicademy free?
Phonicademy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Level One Reading or Phonicademy?
Level One Reading and Phonicademy are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Level One Reading or Phonicademy have ads?
Neither Level One Reading nor Phonicademy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Level One Reading or Phonicademy?
Level One Reading ships an update every 6 months, and Phonicademy every 5 months. Most recently, Level One Reading was updated on November 9, 2026 and Phonicademy on October 31, 2026.

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