Comparison

Phonogram Sounds vs Phonics Bear

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Hear correct pronunciation of sounds
  • Clear enunciation of letters and combinations
  • Includes all 72 basic phonograms
  • Supports reading and spelling skills
  • Interactive learning experience
Features
Read full description

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!

About

Phonics Bear

This app helps young children learn to read through guided phonics sessions. It focuses on letter sounds and blending them into words, with progress tracking for parents. The design is calm and premium, keeping attention on learning.

Highlights
  • Learn letter sounds
  • Blend sounds into words
  • Guided practice mode
  • Full phonics curriculum
  • Progress tracking
  • Adaptive flashcards
Features
Read full description

Teach kids to read with phonics. Short, guided sessions for letter sounds, blending, and CVC words — with progress tracking parents can see. Phonics Bear is a calm learn-to-read app for preschool and kindergarten. No ads. A few minutes a day is enough. What kids do • Learn letter sounds and common sound patterns • Practice blending sounds into simple words • Repeat just enough to turn practice into progress What parents get • Clear progress tracking and learned milestones • A simple learning path that stays motivating • A calm, premium design that keeps attention on the skill Built for early readers Phonics Bear focuses on the fundamentals that matter most: sound recognition, blending, and word-building — the core of phonics-based reading. Privacy Phonics Bear is built for families. No ads. We do not capture or track any personal information from children. We use anonymous analytics to improve app performance. Paid Features & Plans In addition to its extensive free flashcard resources, Phonics Bear offers a premium Gold membership which includes: - Guided practice mode with adaptive flashcards based on your child learning progress - Full phonics curriculum: all phases including digraphs, long-vowel sounds, r-controlled vowels, and more - Progress tracking: view practicing and learned status for every sound Premium subscription costs: - Monthly plan - $9.99 per month - Annual plan - $59.99 per year Premium is an auto-renewable subscription. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal in your Account Settings after purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Phonogram Sounds3 screens
Phonics Bear4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Phonics Bear at 5.0 against Phonogram Sounds's 4.0. Phonics Bear also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 70%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months). Phonogram Sounds's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (84 vs 7). On price 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. Phonics Bear sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Phonogram Sounds asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Phonics Bear holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Phonogram Sounds has 84 ratings behind it against 7, 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 Phonics Bear's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Phonogram Sounds ships an update every 6 months, Phonics Bear every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Phonogram Sounds versus Phonics Bear: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhonogram SoundsPhonics Bear
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (84 ratings)5.0 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews69.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings84 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB409 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAll About Learning Press, Inc.Max Ogles

Customer experience

Phonogram Sounds

All ratings84 ratings
Positive70.2%
Neutral14.3%
Negative15.5%
Written reviews46 reviews
Positive69.6%
Neutral13.0%
Negative17.4%

Phonics Bear

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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 more
  • 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 more
  • 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

Phonics Bear

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Phonogram Sounds

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Phonics Bear

Subscriptions2
  • Luma Gold – Full Access7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Luma Gold - Full Access7 Days trial$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Phonogram Sounds free?
Phonogram Sounds is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Phonics Bear free?
Phonics Bear is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Phonogram Sounds or Phonics Bear?
Phonics Bear is rated higher. Phonogram Sounds averages 4.0 out of 5 from 84 ratings, while Phonics Bear averages 5.0 from 7 ratings.
Do Phonogram Sounds or Phonics Bear have ads?
Neither Phonogram Sounds nor Phonics Bear shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Phonogram Sounds or Phonics Bear?
Phonogram Sounds ships an update every 6 months, and Phonics Bear every 2 months. Most recently, Phonogram Sounds was updated on October 16, 2026 and Phonics Bear on October 4, 2026.

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