Phonogram Sounds vs 26 Letters
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Phonogram Sounds
This interactive app provides clear audio pronunciations for letter sounds and combinations, featuring all 72 basic phonograms from a popular language arts curriculum. It's designed to support reading and spelling development for learners of all ages.
- Hear correct pronunciation of sounds
- Clear enunciation of letters and combinations
- Includes all 72 basic phonograms
- Supports reading and spelling skills
- Interactive learning experience
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Touch a button and hear the correct pronunciation! *Check that your sound is turned on!* This interactive program features clear enunciation of the sounds of the letters and letter combinations (also known as phonograms). Contains all 72 of the basic phonograms as taught in the All About Reading and All About Spelling language arts curriculum. All About Reading is a multisensory, mastery-based program that starts with essential pre-reading skills and continues on to teach all five key components of reading. All About Spelling teaches encoding skills, spelling rules, and multisensory strategies to help your student become a proficient speller for life. Our lightly scripted “open and go” lesson plans and mastery-based approach leave no gaps and make this curriculum a favorite of homeschool families everywhere. Suitable for all ages and learning styles!
26 Letters
This app helps beginner readers learn letter shapes and sounds through interactive tracing and image association. It offers a structured learning path with tests and practice with everyday words, designed for all ages.
- Interactive letter tracing
- Image-based sound association
- Progressive lesson testing
- Everyday word sound practice
- Visually-focused design
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The 26 Letters method was developed by an Adult Literacy volunteer tutor to help beginner readers quickly learn the alphabet letter shapes and their main sounds. While it was created to serve adults, 26 Letters is visually-designed for learners of all ages: LEARN LETTER SHAPES Practice writing upper and lowercase letters on-screen with your finger or stylus. A moving hand guides the direction to correctly trace each letter. LEARN LETTERS’ MAIN SOUNDS IN TWO SIMPLE STEPS 1: Learn the names of 26 images that artfully mimic letter shapes 2: Isolate the first sound in each name and see the letter shapes revealed in the same 26 images TEST UNDERSTANDING A test after each lesson ensures learners have mastered the content before unlocking the next lesson. PRACTICE WITH EVERYDAY WORDS An additional 150+ images of everyday words to practice listening for first, middle and last sounds. Images are accompanied by audio – perfect for beginner English speakers to learn simple words while learning to read. VISUALLY-FOCUSED Friendly images, video tutorials and clear icons make it simple for the non/beginner reader to understand and navigate. FREE & EASY 100% cost and ad-free. Easy and fun to use.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: 26 Letters at 4.8 against Phonogram Sounds's 4.0. 26 Letters also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 70%) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.0). Phonogram Sounds's advantage is update cadence (every 6 months vs every 22 months) and ratings volume (84 vs 5). 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.
26 Letters holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Phonogram Sounds has 84 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Phonogram Sounds's written reviews are positive against 100% of 26 Letters's.
Phonogram Sounds ships an update every 6 months, 26 Letters every 22 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Phonogram Sounds | 26 Letters |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (84 ratings) | 4.8 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 69.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 84 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months — better | Every 22 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 104 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | All About Learning Press, Inc. | Penny Sidik |
Customer experience
Phonogram Sounds
26 Letters
Bugs and requests
Phonogram Sounds
Reported bugs
7 issues- R says /er/ instead of /r/
- Sound not working
- App crashes
- No sound when tapping phonograms
- Sound only works with ringer on
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- List of phonograms cut off on iPad
- App is stick, no audio, no movement
Requested features
9 requests- Videos showing lip/tongue placement
- Interactive game app
- App for building words/movable tiles
- Level-based sound availability
- Enlarging tapped tile
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Adding missing phonograms (Level 6, Spalding)
- Adding more sounds for /i/, /e/, /x/, /ou/, /ei/, /oe/, /wor/, /ear/
- Spelling lists for review
- All About Reading app with word reading
26 Letters
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Phonogram Sounds
No in-app purchases
26 Letters
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Phonogram Sounds free?
Is 26 Letters free?
Which has better reviews, Phonogram Sounds or 26 Letters?
Do Phonogram Sounds or 26 Letters have ads?
Which is updated more often, Phonogram Sounds or 26 Letters?
Other comparisons
