Starfall I'm Reading vs Funetix
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.
Funetix
This app offers a comprehensive reading learning experience for children, simulating 12 hours of one-on-one tutoring. It guides learners from basic phonics to a second-grade reading level using a unique, patented method with pictograms and tiered support tools.
- Simulates 12 hours of private tutoring
- Teaches all 44 English sounds with pictograms
- Progresses from ABCs to 2nd grade reading level
- Patented Diacritic Support for clarity
- Uses unique games and challenges
- Builds reading confidence
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FUNetix® is a completely new, game changing “Reading Learning” app truly designed “from the ground up,” and proven through 17 years of field testing by the American Youth Literacy Foundation, 501 c 3. -With over 2,000 screens of fully narrated linear content, kids enjoy a confidence building, reading learning experience that simulates 12 hours of private, professional 1-on-1, tutoring. -Forty modules take children from the ABC’s to a 2nd grade reading level in just about 12 hours, giving them powerful, newfound confidence in their ability to decode any English word. -Patented in 2012 (US 8,131,538 B2), FUNetix stands apart from virtually every other reading app in the marketplace for its wholly unique approach to teaching all 44 sounds of the English language (phonemic awareness) using pictograms, and for naming every English sound before moving on to English spelling conventions and irregularities. -FUNetix takes the stress and anxiety out of learning how to read. Children aren’t spooked by Kindercode™, otherwise known as 21E®, the children’s phonetic English code that teaches blending and segmentation with fully predictable symbol/sound correspondences. -Children advance with unprecedented speed to reading everyday English words and sentences (say good-bye to “The cat sat on the mat.”), using powerful, tiered learning support tools to include: Audio Support, Phonetic Support, and our 8-years-patented and proven Diacritic Support. -Learners are systematically weaned off of diacritics when they are ready, and as they become accustomed to English Verbal Word Form Patterns and as they begin to read sentences and stories with comprehension. -Short “phonics” break out sessions populate the later modules to reinforce certain common English letter patterns, but FUNetix is primarily a step by step “treasure hunt” (in the form of unique games and challenges) that leads to fully capable and confident readers in record time. -FUNetix’ success comes, in part, by taking away the intimidation factor many children experience when they can’t “sound out” a word. For example, how is a child supposed to know that the “ea” in the word “read” sounds different than the “ea” in the word “bread?” With FUNetix, children don’t have to guess, or feel anxious, because all of the “sound data” is provided to them by our proprietary learning support tools. -Of note, the patented FUNetix system was created by a former Spanish and Arabic linguist for the 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army, in 2003, who, as a father, was driven to find a solution to his 8-year-old son’s reading challenges, and, as a result, stumbled upon the insight of applying the “Diacritic Method” used by the ancient Greeks, Arabs, Hebrews and Persians to clarify their own written codes. Since 2008, the American Youth Literacy Foundation’s mission has been to scale the 100% free, FUNetix reading system to reach every child in America and millions more around the world. -FUNetix is a simple, easy, fun, logical and achievable path to literacy for beginning English readers presented in the form of a smartphone, “treasure hunt” app, that teaches most children how to read in about 12 hours. -Children complete 21 primers and books from K-2nd grade level within the app, and in a “surprise ending / fresh beginning,” kids are treated to a wonderful graduation / trophy ceremony and are invited to become permanent, VIP Members of the “Wonderful Content Library,” where they can browse books, games, puzzles and treasure hunts (all accompanied by the patented, FUNetix learning support tools) each time they return to the app. -If you want your child to become a strong, confident reader, understanding grade level, everyday English, in about 12 hours, with a further understanding of English letters, sounds and phonics patterns, please download and play the FUNetix 12 Hour Reading App. It’s 100% free and presented as a gift to your child from the American Youth Literacy Foundation, 501 c 3.
Screenshots
Verdict
Starfall I'm Reading and Funetix both sit at 4.3 stars, but that hides the real split: 75% of Funetix's written reviews are positive against 67% of Starfall I'm Reading's. Starfall I'm Reading's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Starfall I'm Reading against 4.4 for Funetix. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 47 and 18 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of Starfall I'm Reading's written reviews are positive against 75% of Funetix's.
Starfall I'm Reading ships an update every 10 months, Funetix every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Starfall I'm Reading | Funetix |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (47 ratings) | 4.4 (18 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 47 — better | 18 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | Every 7 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 102 MB | 99 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Starfall Education Foundation | American Youth Literacy Foundation, Inc. |
Customer experience
Starfall I'm Reading
Funetix
In-app purchases
Starfall I'm Reading
No in-app purchases
Funetix
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Starfall I'm Reading free?
Is Funetix free?
Which has better reviews, Starfall I'm Reading or Funetix?
Do Starfall I'm Reading or Funetix have ads?
Which is updated more often, Starfall I'm Reading or Funetix?
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