ELSB Lite vs PreviewBrowser
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ELSB Lite
This app provides systematic instruction for print and phonemic awareness, featuring seven levels and ongoing assessments for personalized student progress. Research supports its effectiveness as a literacy program.
- Systematic print and phonemic awareness instruction
- Seven distinct learning levels
- Ongoing student assessments
- Personalized progress tracking
- Research-backed effectiveness
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The Early Literacy Skills Builder app incorporates systematic instruction to teach both print and phonemic awareness. ELSB is a multi-year program with seven distinct levels and ongoing assessments so students progress at their own pace. Note: This free version comes with level 1 - Lesson 1 and Level 5 - lesson 1. Full levels can be purchased from the in-app store. Five years of solid research have been completed through the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, proving ELSB to be a highly effective literacy program and more effective than a sight-word only program. ELSB is based upon the principles of systematic and direct instruction. It incorporates scripted lessons, least-prompt strategies, teachable objectives, built-in lesson repetition, and ongoing assessments. The seven ELSB levels contain five structured lessons each. All students begin at Level 1. Instruction is one-on-one or in small groups. Teach scripted lessons daily in two 30-minute sessions. On the completion of each level, formal assessments are given. ELSB includes everything you need to implement a multi-year literacy curriculum.
PreviewBrowser
This application serves as a specialized tool for educators to review test items on iOS devices. It is designed for use with the Level12 delivery platform and is not intended for general public access.
- Test item review
- iOS device compatibility
- Level12 platform integration
- Educator-specific tool
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Note *** This app is not intended for general public use. The Preview Browser is a tool used by selected educators to review test items on iOS devices for the Level12 delivery platform.
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PreviewBrowser at none against ELSB Lite's 7. PreviewBrowser also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). ELSB Lite's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support 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. ELSB Lite sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. PreviewBrowser asks for nothing beyond the download.
PreviewBrowser holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 2 respectively.
ELSB Lite ships an update every 2 months, PreviewBrowser every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on June 6, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ELSB Lite | PreviewBrowser |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 7 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 236 MB | 50 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Attainment Company, Inc. | NWEA |
Customer experience
ELSB Lite
PreviewBrowser
In-app purchases
ELSB Lite
- Level 1$21.99
- Level 2$21.99
- Level 3$21.99
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- Level 4$21.99
- Level 5$21.99
- Level 6$21.99
- Level 7$21.99
PreviewBrowser
No in-app purchases
