Comparison

Starfall vs ABCmouse

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

Head to head
About

Starfall

This app offers engaging reading and math activities for children from preschool to 5th grade. It features games, songs, and interactive lessons designed by educators to support early literacy and numeracy skills. The platform also includes accessibility features for children with impairments.

Highlights
  • Reading phonics and fluency
  • Math concepts and operations
  • Interactive games and songs
  • Accessibility features
  • Sequential learning objectives
  • Holiday activities and sing-alongs
Features
Read full description

Starfall® fun activities, games, and songs includes reading, math, music, and more – read, learn, and play preschool to fifth grade. Includes free and subscriber content. Starfall provides an Enhanced Accessible Index for children with visual, hearing, or mobility impairments. For more information, please contact Customer Service at (+1) 303-417-6414. Join Zac the Rat® and his friends on an exciting learning journey, starting with the ABCs and 123s and advancing up to grade 5 grammar and mathematics. Starfall's playful open format intuitively guides children through sequential learning objectives for reading, math, art, music, and social subjects like kindness and caring. *Highlights* *Reading (phonics, fluency, grammar) -- ABCs, Learn to Read, I’m Reading, Talking Library, Punctuation, Parts of Speech *Math -- Numbers, Addition and Subtraction, Multiplication and Division, Geometry and Measurement, Fractions *More -- Holiday Activities, Nursery Rhymes, Sing-Alongs, Interactive Calendar *Why Starfall* *Research based, teacher tested, child approved. The Starfall® systematic approach was created by experienced educators using time-tested instructional methods. *Try it for free. All of the basics for learning how to read are available to everyone. *No advertisements. Whether a free user or subscriber, you won’t see any ads. *Pass it forward! Subscribers gain access to hundreds of additional activities and support the free sections for others to enjoy. *What people are saying about Starfall* Listed on PC Magazine’s “15 best Online Learning Services for Kids,” Think Five’s “Top 5 Most Used Apps by Elementary Teachers,” and as one Parent's Magazine's "70 Best Apps for Families." "Kids can learn about letter recognition, phonics, and reading. Skill acquisition is appropriately gradual... Starfall does an excellent job of offering clear and intriguing early literacy lessons." —Common Sense Media “I truly believe that Starfall set the foundation for my future.” —Sarah, undergraduate at Stanford University *Subscription information* If you choose to purchase a Starfall subscription, a $5.99 (USD) payment will be applied to your Apple ID account upon confirmation of purchase and monthly after that. Your subscription will automatically renew unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. This subscription is valid only for home use. It can be used on devices signed in with your Apple ID, as well as any associated Family Sharing devices. *Additional Info* This app requires an internet connection and is intended for Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Grades 1-5. It also supports English language development, special education, and homeschool environments. Privacy Policy: https://teach.starfall.com/privacy Terms of Service: https://teach.starfall.com/terms The Starfall website and applications are program services of Starfall Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) publicly supported nonprofit. Copyright © 2002–2024 by Starfall Education and its licensors. All rights reserved. Starfall® and Starfall.com® are registered trademarks in the U.S., the European Union, and various other countries.

About

ABCmouse

This app offers a comprehensive curriculum for children aged 2-8, covering reading, math, science, art, and more through engaging games and activities. It provides a safe, ad-free learning environment with a personalized learning path to foster early academic skills.

Highlights
  • 13,000+ educational activities
  • Learning games for ages 2-8
  • Reading, math, science, art curriculum
  • Personalized learning path
  • Safe, ad-free environment
  • Creative play areas
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Experience the all-new ABCmouse! Kids ages 2–8, including preschool and kindergarten, can enjoy brand-new kids’ learning games, creative play areas, and more—backed by the same award-winning curriculum chosen by over 50 million families worldwide and used in 650,000 US classrooms. **Mom’s Choice GOLD Award** **500K+ Parents Rate ABCmouse 5 Stars** **National Parenting Product Award Winner 2025** FREE LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS AGES 2–8 Play ABCmouse FREE with a daily curated collection of engaging learning games, read-to-me books, videos, songs, puzzles, and art activities. • Daily Curated Content: Every day holds new learning opportunities with a select collection of engaging learning activities in reading, math, science, music, art, social studies, and more • Designed by Learning Experts: Backed by research, each activity is crafted with specific learning objectives in mind UNLIMITED ACCESS WITH ABCMOUSE PREMIUM Upgrade to access 13,000+ learning activities, brand new play areas, and other features • Unlimited Access to ALL Learning Areas: hundreds of hours of educational activities in math, reading, social studies, science, art, music, and more • Personalized Step-by-Step Learning Path: Encourages independent or guided, personalized learning. • Learning through Play: From social emotional learning to spatial reasoning to coding basics, ABCmouse offers learning through creative play areas • Safe Learning Environment: 100% ad-free. Earned the kidSAFE+ COPPA Seal as a COPPA-compliant program • Tickets and Rewards System: Designed to motivate toddlers and kids to complete activities No wifi, no problem. Once installed, ABCmouse works offline on your device, so learning can continue on road trips, flights, or anywhere without a connection. EARLY LEARNING CURRICULUM Engaging educational activities tailored for preschool and kindergarten learners in key academic subjects, including: • Reading: Spans the entire range of early reading and includes phonics activities, letter recognition, parts of speech, and more • Math: Teaches numbers, addition and subtraction, shapes, patterns, measurements, and more through fun games and creative activities • Social Studies: Enriches understanding on history, geography, symbols, holidays, and cultures of the world • Science: Sparks curiosity about the world, health, space, and more through live action experiments, videos, and kid-friendly animation • Arts and Colors: Drawing and painting gives children the opportunity to use lines, shapes, and colors to create original works of art • Music: Rhyme, repetition, and catchy tunes help reinforce important subjects and concepts Learning doesn’t stop when the app closes. Join over 2 million subscribers on the ABCmouse® YouTube channel for brand-new, age-appropriate educational videos every month: youtube.com/@ABCmouse WHAT PARENTS AND TEACHERS SAY "On ABCmouse my children are learning to read, they're doing math problems, social studies, science, everything.” —Elementary School Teacher "I am a first grade teacher, and I think this site is absolutely terrific! There are many engaging activities for a wide variety of academic areas. My 5-year-old twins LOVE it...I can't wait to have ABCmouse in our family for many years! Thank you, from a veteran teacher." —First Grade Teacher and mother of 5-year-old girls Subscription Options This app offers monthly and annual membership options. • Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase • Subscription automatically renews until canceled • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and may be canceled by visiting user's Account Settings after purchase • See ABCmouse-sponsored studies at www.ageoflearning.com/research See our full Terms & Conditions at: https://www.ageoflearning.com/abc-tandc-current/

Screenshots

Starfall4 screens
ABCmouse4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: ABCmouse at every 11 days against Starfall's every 2 months. ABCmouse also leads on ratings volume (147K vs 4.4K) and chart position (#26 vs unranked). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Starfall sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $5.99 per month and ABCmouse sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.1 for Starfall against 4.1 for ABCmouse. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ABCmouse has 147K ratings behind it against 4.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 73% of Starfall's written reviews are positive against 66% of ABCmouse's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Starfall ships an update every 2 months, ABCmouse every 11 days. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Starfall versus ABCmouse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarfallABCmouse
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (4.4K ratings)4.1 (147K ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.6% of reviews — better66.4% of reviews
Number of ratings4.4K147K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 11 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
Best chart rank—#26 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size155 MB327 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStarfall Education FoundationAge of Learning, Inc.

Customer experience

Starfall

All ratings4,382 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral6.5%
Negative18.5%
Written reviews296 reviews
Positive72.6%
Neutral8.4%
Negative18.9%

ABCmouse

All ratings146,131 ratings
Positive75.7%
Neutral8.6%
Negative15.8%
Written reviews633 reviews
Positive66.4%
Neutral6.2%
Negative27.5%

User reviews

Starfall

From 4.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy and fun learning
  • 🎨 Engaging activities and games
  • 🧠 Helps with reading, math, and more
  • 🌟 Nostalgic childhood memories
  • 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Great for kids of all ages

Room to improve

  • 💰 Limited free content, requires subscription
  • 🔒 Difficulty managing parental controls
  • 🐛 Technical issues like crashes and freezes
  • 📱 Compatibility problems on mobile devices
  • 🔍 Repetitive content and lack of updates

ABCmouse

From 147K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Engaging and fun learning experience
  • 🎨 Vibrant and colorful design
  • 🧠 Effective educational content
  • 👍 Helpful for child development

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional technical issues and bugs
  • ⚠️ Limited access to certain features

Bugs and requests

Starfall

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Subscription issues and trouble logging in
  • Freezing and crashing on certain devices
  • Glitches in specific games and activities
  • Compatibility problems with newer OS versions
  • Incorrect pronunciation of numbers and dates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more advanced content for older kids
  • Improve accessibility for visually impaired users
  • Provide offline mode for use without internet
  • Allow customization of character and settings
  • Integrate with other educational platforms

ABCmouse

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Piano game sound not working
  • Difficulty accessing math learning

Requested features

2 requests
  • Add more math learning options
  • Improve piano game functionality

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Starfall

Subscriptions1
  • Starfall Monthly$5.991 Month
9 purchases

ABCmouse

Subscriptions9
  • ABCmouse 2 Assessments Monthly$3.991 Month
  • ABCmouse 2$14.991 Month
  • ABCmouse 21 Month trial$14.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • ABCmouse 2.07 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • ABCmouse 2.0$14.991 Month
  • ABCmouse 2 Assessments Annual$39.991 Year
  • ABCmouse 2$45.001 Year
  • ABCmouse 2$59.991 Year
  • ABCmouse 2.01 Year trial2 variants$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Starfall free?
Starfall is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ABCmouse free?
ABCmouse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Starfall or ABCmouse?
ABCmouse is rated higher. Starfall averages 4.1 out of 5 from 4.4K ratings, while ABCmouse averages 4.1 from 147K ratings.
Do Starfall or ABCmouse have ads?
Neither Starfall nor ABCmouse shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Starfall or ABCmouse?
Starfall ships an update every 2 months, and ABCmouse every 11 days. Most recently, Starfall was updated on November 7, 2026 and ABCmouse on November 7, 2026.

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