Read Live vs Keyboarding Without Tears
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Read Live
This app provides a structured, audio-supported system to improve reading fluency, phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension for learners of all ages. It offers access to four distinct curriculum options, including support for Spanish readers, and tracks student progress across devices. A Read Live account is required to use the program.
- Four curriculum options
- Audio-supported system
- Develops reading fluency
- Improves comprehension
- Tracks student progress
- Spanish reading support
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Read Live delivers measurable results for struggling and developing readers of all ages. With this app, your students can access their Read Live student stories and exercises in an experience designed to take advantage of the iPad’s capabilities. Improve fluency and phonics skills while supporting vocabulary and comprehension development with Read Naturally Live. Build mastery and automaticity in phonics and decoding with systematic phonics instruction with Word Warm-ups Live. Enable structured, engaging, and independent reading practice with One Minute Reader Live. Help native Spanish speakers or others to learn to read Spanish text fluently with Read Naturally Live–Español. Visit our website to learn more about Read Live: readnaturally.com/go-read-live *** A Read Live account and internet connection are required to use this app. Don’t have an account yet? Don't worry: you can create a free account and start using the program within 1 business day! Read Live was designed by teachers for use in schools. Here's what some teachers are saying: “A great program. Kids enjoy using it. They see their progress in fluency and comprehension skills.” – Special Education Teacher, VT “Love, Love, Love this program to help build our students' fluency. All of the stories are engaging for the students. The technology is easy for both students and teachers to use.” – First-Grade Teacher, WI “This program has dramatically increased the fluency, comprehension and writing abilities of my ELL students. Their MAP scores have risen as much as 15 points in a trimester. It provides great individualization.” – ELL/ESL Teacher, IL KEY FEATURES • Full access to all four curriculum options: Read Naturally Live, Word Warm-ups Live, One Minute Reader Live, and Read Naturally Live–Español. • Structured, audio-supported system keeps students motivated and holds them accountable for their own success. • Develops reading fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and phonics. • Excellent for Response to Intervention (RTI) or Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). • Student progress syncs across computer and iPad. • Free iPad app for Read Live account holders. ________________________________________ Need support? We’re here to help. Email us at support@readnaturally.com *** IMPORTANT!! You must have a Read Live account to use this app.
Keyboarding Without Tears
This app provides touch-typing practice for K-5 students using a game-based curriculum. Licensed users can log in to access assigned activities and develop essential computer skills. An educator account is required for access.
- Game-based touch-typing activities
- Pre-keyboarding lessons
- Developmentally appropriate lessons
- Online progress monitoring
- Digital citizenship training
- Cross-curricular connections
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Access the Keyboarding Without Tears K-5 student curriculum. This app is available for licensed students of Keyboarding Without Tears web-based program and serve as a companion app for touch-typing practice on mobile devices. Students can login and access their Keyboarding Without Tears activities assigned to them by their educator. An existing educator account in +Live Insights educator dashboard is required to access the app. The Keyboarding Without Tears K-5 curriculum features: • Effective, game-based activities • Pre-keyboarding and touch-typing lessons • Developmentally appropriate lessons by grade • Easy online progress monitoring • Digital citizenship and general computer readiness activities • Strong English Language & Arts and other Cross-Curricular connections
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Read Live at 5.0 against Keyboarding Without Tears's 3.7. Read Live also leads on review sentiment (29% vs 4%). Keyboarding Without Tears's advantage is ratings volume (6 vs 1). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Read Live holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Keyboarding Without Tears has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of Read Live's written reviews are positive against 4% of Keyboarding Without Tears's.
Read Live ships an update every 4 months, Keyboarding Without Tears every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.
| Parameter | Read Live | Keyboarding Without Tears |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 3.7 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 28.6% of reviews — better | 4.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 6 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPad | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.3 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 83 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Read Naturally, Inc. | Handwriting Without Tears & Get Set for School |
Customer experience
Read Live
Keyboarding Without Tears
Bugs and requests
Read Live
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Keyboarding Without Tears
Reported bugs
10 issues- App crashes frequently
- App freezes during use
- External keyboards are not recognized
- Progress is deleted without warning
- Puzzle pieces do not work correctly
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Screen does not rotate
- No sound after sign-in
- Login issues (PIN required, invalid email)
- Inconsistent skipping of review content
- Grammar errors in the app
Requested features
11 requests- Make the app more fun and engaging
- Fix the keyboard recognition issue
- Improve app performance and stability
- Allow skipping of review content
- Ensure puzzle pieces work correctly
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Fix screen rotation issues
- Add sound to tutorials and lessons
- Clarify PIN/license requirements
- Make the app available to the general public
- Improve grammar and spelling
- Use the default iOS keyboard
In-app purchases
Read Live
No in-app purchases
Keyboarding Without Tears
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Read Live free?
Is Keyboarding Without Tears free?
Which has better reviews, Read Live or Keyboarding Without Tears?
Do Read Live or Keyboarding Without Tears have ads?
Which is updated more often, Read Live or Keyboarding Without Tears?
Other comparisons
