Comparison

Phonogram Sounds vs Phonograms by SEI

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

Phonograms by SEI

This app helps students learn the connection between speech sounds and written symbols (phonograms). Mastering phonograms is crucial for accurate reading, writing, and spelling, expanding vocabulary and improving communication skills.

Highlights
  • Learn phonogram sound-symbol relationships
  • Phonogram introduction by group
  • Oral phonogram review with sound check
  • Written phonogram review with writing practice
  • Differentiated practice for specific phonograms
  • Supports phonemic awareness and letter recognition
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Welcome to The Spalding Method ™ Phonograms app! NOTICE: Upon installing this mobile application, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions. This Spalding Phonograms app is designed for helping students learn the phonics connection between speech sounds and written symbols that represent those sounds (phonograms). Learning the phonograms is essential for accurate and automatic reading, writing, and spelling. Teaching all the sounds of the phonemes represented by an alphabet letter or combination of two, three, or four letters (phonograms) enables students to read, spell, and write high-frequency words quickly. Students who learn the phonograms well expand their vocabulary and are able to use effective and creative communication skills in writing. Critical thinking is involved in learning the appropriate phonogram placement within words for accurate spelling and for applying information learned during phonogram reviews to pronounce unfamiliar words. The Spalding Phonograms app is for students that need additional practice, including home schooling, ESL (English as a Second Language), ELL (English Language Learners), ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students, and those with dyslexia or other learning disabilities. The school and home connection is encouraged through collaboration and communication with the teacher, parent, and student for practicing the phonograms appropriately and adequately. The Spalding Phonograms app aligns with the core reading foundational skills required by state and national standards that are most crucial to the development of early reading success and reading comprehension, including: • Phonemic awareness • Feature recognition • Letter recognition • Sound-symbol relationships (decoding) The Spalding Phonograms app provides the following options for all 87 phonograms. • Phonogram Introduction by selected group – The student sees the phonograms in order of instruction in The Writing Road to Reading, listens to the teacher say the sound(s), and then says the sound(s). • Oral Phonogram Review – A random phonogram card is show, followed by a pause. The student says the sound(s) and then listens to check accuracy. • Written Phonogram Review –The student hears the phonogram sounds, followed by a pause; the student repeats the sound(s), listens for a cue, if needed, and then writes the phonogram on lined paper. The card is immediately shown so the student can check for accuracy. • Differentiated Practice – Specific phonograms (from all 87) can be selected that need more practice. These phonograms can then be practiced in Phonogram Introduction, Oral Phonogram Review, or Written Phonogram Review.

Screenshots

Phonogram Sounds3 screens
Phonograms by SEI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Phonogram Sounds at 70% against Phonograms by SEI's 20%. Phonogram Sounds also leads on price (Free vs $3.99) and rating (4.0 vs 1.8). Phonograms by SEI's advantage is chart position (#63 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Phonogram Sounds is free to download; Phonograms by SEI costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Phonogram Sounds holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 1.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 84 and 220 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Phonogram Sounds's written reviews are positive against 20% of Phonograms by SEI's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Phonogram Sounds ships an update every 6 months, Phonograms by SEI every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Phonogram Sounds versus Phonograms by SEI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhonogram SoundsPhonograms by SEI
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.0 (84 ratings) — better1.8 (220 ratings)
Positive reviews69.6% of reviews — better19.8% of reviews
Number of ratings84220 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank—#63 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAll About Learning Press, Inc.Spalding Education International

Customer experience

Phonogram Sounds

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

Phonograms by SEI

All ratings220 ratings
Positive16.8%
Neutral5.0%
Negative78.2%
Written reviews91 reviews
Positive19.8%
Neutral7.7%
Negative72.5%

User reviews

Phonogram Sounds

From 84 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great supplement for AAS/AAR
  • 👍 Helpful for parents/teachers
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Clear phonetic sounds
  • 👍 Good for practice

Room to improve

  • 👎 Incorrect 'r' sound
  • 👎 Incomplete phonogram set
  • 👎 Not a standalone lesson
  • 👎 Not for fun
  • 👎 Missing Spalding compatibility

Phonograms by SEI

From 220 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✅ Effective for learning phonograms and improving reading skills
  • 🎯 Differentiated practice allows selecting specific phonograms
  • 🔊 Clear audio narration when functioning properly
  • 📱 Works well on multiple devices (iPhone, iPad)
  • 💰 Affordable price point at $3.99-$4.27

Room to improve

  • 🔇 Sound frequently doesn't work or is inconsistent
  • 🐛 Written practice shows blank/black screen
  • ⚙️ Poor app design and user interface
  • 🔧 Requires phone settings changes to function properly
  • ⏱️ Slow performance and long loading times

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

Phonograms by SEI

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Sound not playing despite volume settings being correct
  • Written phonogram review displays blank screen
  • App requires phone ringer to be off silent mode for audio
  • Letters not visible in dark mode display
  • Written practice button 'Show Me' displays nothing
Show 7 more
  • Inconsistent sound functionality requiring app restart
  • Phonograms not displaying in correct font style
  • App crashes frequently on older devices
  • Cannot advance to next phonogram in some cases
  • Sound cuts out after partial completion
  • App stops functioning after updates
  • Slow download speed for phonogram files

Requested features

12 requests
  • Save selected phonogram lists for future sessions
  • Allow writing directly in the app instead of on paper
  • Add FAQ or troubleshooting guide
  • Implement dark mode compatibility
  • Enable sound to work while phone is on silent
Show 7 more
  • Add feedback system like Duolingo for practice
  • Provide cursive and print writing options
  • Allow random phonogram selection without sequential playback
  • Improve visual design and user interface
  • Add multiple differentiated practice lists per user
  • Include audio cues for writing instructions
  • Create lesson overview or search functionality

In-app purchases

None

Phonogram Sounds

No in-app purchases

None

Phonograms by SEI

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Phonogram Sounds free?
Phonogram Sounds is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Phonograms by SEI free?
Phonograms by SEI costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Phonogram Sounds or Phonograms by SEI?
Phonogram Sounds is rated higher. Phonogram Sounds averages 4.0 out of 5 from 84 ratings, while Phonograms by SEI averages 1.8 from 220 ratings.
Do Phonogram Sounds or Phonograms by SEI have ads?
Neither Phonogram Sounds nor Phonograms by SEI shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Phonogram Sounds or Phonograms by SEI?
Phonogram Sounds ships an update every 6 months, and Phonograms by SEI every 4 months. Most recently, Phonogram Sounds was updated on October 16, 2026 and Phonograms by SEI on October 15, 2026.

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