Starfall I'm Reading vs First Steps to Reading Fluency
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Starfall I'm Reading
This app helps young children transition from learning to read to reading to learn. It offers a selection of stories and activities designed to build comprehension and fluency using high-frequency words in context. An AutoRead feature models fluent reading and can be toggled off for independent readers.
- Stories and activities for reading comprehension
- Controlled vocabulary with high-frequency words
- AutoRead feature to model fluent reading
- Plays, fiction, non-fiction, comics, and fables
- Audio support for fluency practice
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Starfall® I’m Reading is the fourth step of Starfall’s Learn to Read phonics sequence, which teaches the foundational skills for learning to read. Step 1: ABCs Step 2: Learn to Read Step 3: It’s Fun to Read Step 4: I’m Reading! Starfall I’m Reading is the final step of Starfall’s free early learn-to-read sequence. I’m Reading! focuses on bridging the gap between basic phonics and true reading mastery. The program expands fluency and comprehension through exercise with words from the Dolch and Fry sight word lists. These words are challenging to sound out phonetically, but represent the majority of words found in children’s texts. Familiarity with these words builds confidence and natural ease with reading. The texts cover a wide range of multicultural fiction and nonfiction stories, with clickable words and sentences for fluency assistance throughout. Travel-ready. No internet connection required. Find Starfall I’m Reading, along with 700+ additional activities and counting across reading, math, music, and more in the Starfall app. The Starfall website and applications are program services of Starfall Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) publicly supported nonprofit organization. Starfall® and Starfall.com® are registered trademarks in the US, the European Union, and various other countries. Copyright © 2002–2026 by Starfall Education. All rights reserved. Starfall apps are inclusively designed to support all children, including English Language Learners (ELLs). Starfall also 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.
First Steps to Reading Fluency
This educational game offers personalized practice for letter names, sounds, and sight words to build foundational reading fluency. It aims to help young learners achieve automaticity in these essential skills, aligning with kindergarten learning standards.
- Letter name practice
- Letter sound practice
- Sight word practice
- Personalized practice
- Automaticity building
- Kindergarten learning standards alignment
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First Steps to Reading Fluency is designed to provide players personalized, deliberate and engaging practice of letter names, letter sounds, and sight words for the purpose of achieving automaticity of these foundational reading skills. Automaticity is the ability to perform a skill with a high degree of accuracy and speed with the ultimate goal of well-practiced fluent performance. Achieving automaticity of letter names, letter sounds, and sight words is important to perform higher-order reading skills. These foundational reading skills are part of state and national learning standards for kindergarten. This game requires an account to be created outside of the app itself, it requires both a parent/teacher and a student account. The student account is the one used to sign into the game itself. To create an account go to https://eruditelearninglab.unl.edu/Live/ then in the top right of the screen press parental/teacher controls, then press register. Or in the app press new user.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: First Steps to Reading Fluency at 5.0 against Starfall I'm Reading's 4.2. First Steps to Reading Fluency also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and iOS requirement (7.0 vs 15.0). Starfall I'm Reading's advantage is ratings volume (47 vs 1). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
First Steps to Reading Fluency holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Starfall I'm Reading has 47 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Starfall I'm Reading's written reviews are positive against 100% of First Steps to Reading Fluency's.
| Parameter | Starfall I'm Reading | First Steps to Reading Fluency |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (47 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 47 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 7.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 102 MB | 402 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Starfall Education Foundation | University of Nebraska - Lincoln |
Customer experience
Starfall I'm Reading
First Steps to Reading Fluency
In-app purchases
Starfall I'm Reading
No in-app purchases
First Steps to Reading Fluency
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Starfall I'm Reading free?
Is First Steps to Reading Fluency free?
Which has better reviews, Starfall I'm Reading or First Steps to Reading Fluency?
Do Starfall I'm Reading or First Steps to Reading Fluency have ads?
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