Monster ABC vs Lese
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Monster ABC
This educational app uses engaging monsters and interactive audio-visual elements to teach preschoolers letters and initial sounds. It supports literacy acquisition through fun, game-like activities with a motivating reward system.
- Learn letters via initial sounds
- Audio-visual interaction
- Spoken words and letters
- Motivating reward system
- Hand-drawn pictures and sounds
- English and German versions
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▶ Awarded in German ELTERN family magazine’s GIGA-Maus 2013 as "Best Learning Game" in the category "Kids from 4 to 6 years old" ▶ Awarded "Best Children Apps" 2013 in the category "Pre-School Apps" ▶ TOP #1 Education app for children in the German App Store ▶ Amusing monsters make learning letters enormous fun ▶ Perfect for children entering school and those who can’t wait for school to start ▶ The highly popular children’s app Monster ABC is now available in English! Monster ABC guides your child in a really fun way through the process of literacy acquisition. It helps children get to grips with letters and the initial sound of words in the best way possible. WHAT IS AN INITIAL SOUND? Today, little ones use initial sounds to navigate the first stages of literacy acquisition. An initial sound is the first sound of a word and is represented by a letter or a letter combination (like “mm” in the word “mouse” and “sh” in the word “sheep”). Children learn how to make out the initial sound of a word and match it to a letter. FEATURES • Learn letters based on initial sounds • Audio-visual interaction makes learning fun • Words and letters are spoken when tapped • Feedback spoken in a voice perfect for kids • English and German version included • English spoken with a charming British accent • Motivating reward system • Lovingly hand-drawn pictures and amusing sounds • Get to know the monsters Max, Bob, Sally and the rest of the gang! • Increasing level of difficulty • Full initial-sound table available to download free of charge How does Monster ABC support literacy acquisition? • The app helps children to learn letters and the sound they make in a fun way by using pictures. Each picture represents a word whose initial sound must be matched to the corresponding letter. If the initial sound and letter match, your child will enjoy a true sense of achievement. In doing so, the child easily recognizes the correct combination of initial sound and letter. The learning process is supported interactively with visualizations and sounds that are perfect for children. • In addition, a free-of-charge initial-sound table, featuring pictures and their matching initial sounds from Monster ABC, can be downloaded from the wonderkind website: https://s3.amazonaws.com/wk-anlaute/wonderkind_initial_sound_table.pdf • Monster ABC was developed together with grandparents, parents, and kids, taking into account professional pedagogical and linguistic considerations. Support information: We have thoroughly tested this app on all iOS devices. If you do however experience problems, please understand that we are unable to provide support on the basis of comments in the reviews section. Please e-mail our Support Team so we can respond and provide assistance quickly. Thanks very much.
Lese
This app helps early readers practice reading syllables and short words using made-up words. It uses speech recognition to provide feedback on pronunciation, enabling independent and effective reading practice. The difficulty can be adjusted based on the child's learning progress.
- Syllable and word reading practice
- Speech recognition for pronunciation feedback
- Customizable learning difficulty
- Uses pseudowords for focused practice
- Color-coded syllable highlighting
- Adjustable word length
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Mit der Lese-App können Leseanfänger das Lesen von Silben und kurzen Wörtern mit Hilfe von Pseudowörtern üben. Die App erkennt mit Hilfe von Spracherkennung in der Regel, ob korrekt vorgelesen wurde und gibt eine entsprechende Rückmeldung. Dadurch wird selbstständiges, effektives Leseüben ermöglicht. Die App kann auf den Lernstand des Kindes hin angepasst werden: Es können sowohl die bereits bekannten Buchstaben ausgewählt werden, wie auch die Darstellung und Länge der Pseudowörter eingestellt werden. Gerade bei noch wenigen erlernten Buchstaben ist die Auswahl an "echten" Wörtern sehr gering und wird schnell von den Kindern auswendig gelernt (z.B. Lama, Mama, Momo, ...). Deshalb werden hier Pseudowörter genutzt, die bei jedem Wort ein genaues Lesen der Silben erfordern. Mit dieser App bekommen die Kinder eine Möglichkeit, das Lesen von Silben (farbig markiert) und kurzen Wörtern mit Spaß zu üben. Die App bietet nicht nur die Wörter auf dem Bildschirm an, sondern erkennt mit Hilfe der integrierten Spracherkennung auch meist, ob das Pseudowort richtig erlesen wurde. Falls die Leseerkennung nicht funktioniert hat (was leider manchmal vorkommt), wird das Wort dem Kind nochmal laut vorgelesen und ein neues Wort angezeigt. Kinder lesen gerne Pseudowörter und lieben den Klang der Quatschwörter. Die App ist ein einfaches, schnörkelloses Werkzeug um Leseanfängern eine motivierende und spaßige Übungsmöglichkeiten zu bieten. Bei der App geht es rein um die Automatisierung des Leseprozesses durch das Synthetisieren von Buchstaben als Grundlage für flüssiges Lesen. Nicht geübt wird mit dieser App das sinnentnehmende Lesen, eben weil Pseudowörter verwendet werden. Das sinnentnehmende Lesen von Wörtern und kurzen Sätzen wäre eine gute Fortsetzungsübung, wenn das Erlesen der Pseudowörter weitgehend flüssig automatisiert ist.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Monster ABC at 85% against Lese's 43%. Monster ABC also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Lese's advantage is price ($1.99 vs $4.99). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Monster ABC costs $4.99 and Lese $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Monster ABC ships an update every 3 months, Lese every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Monster ABC | Lese |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 85.4% of reviews — better | 42.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 176 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | wonderkind GmbH | Christian Urff |
Customer experience
Monster ABC
Lese
In-app purchases
Monster ABC
No in-app purchases
Lese
No in-app purchases








