Comparison

Teach Your Monster to Read vs Note Naming

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

Head to head
About

Teach Your Monster to Read

This app offers fun, phonics-based reading games for children aged 3-6. It helps build essential literacy skills through interactive play, allowing children to create their own monster and embark on a reading adventure. Designed by experts, it's a safe and trusted tool for home and school.

Highlights
  • Interactive reading games for ages 3-6
  • Improve letter sound recognition
  • Learn to read sentences
  • Track player progress
  • Phonics games designed by experts
  • Supports UK phonics programmes
Read full description

Welcome to Teach Your Monster to Read, the award-winning app that makes learning to read fun and engaging! Our educational phonics and reading games have helped millions of children build essential literacy skills. Create your own monster and embark on a magical journey through interactive games designed for home and school use. With a safe, trusted, and highly recommended approach, Teach Your Monster to Read offers phonics-based reading games for all levels. Teaching through play is what we do best—download today and start your child’s reading adventure! TEACH YOUR MONSTER TO READ FEATURES INTERACTIVE KIDS READING GAMES • Take your custom-designed monster through educational games that are suitable for ages 3-6. • Improve letter sound recognition with reading games • Explore a world of phonics and educational games that teach your child to read sentences • Easily track their player’s progress to identify areas where their reader may need extra support PHONICS & READING GAMES DESIGNED BY EXPERTS • Designed in collaboration with Roehampton University and leading game designers • Phonics tools and educational games that complement phases 2-5 of UK Government-approved Letters and Sounds and other major systematic synthetic phonics programmes • 3 reading games designed for those in preschool, primary school, kindergarten, and first grade EDUCATIONAL PLAY AT NO ADDITIONAL COST • Teach Your Monster to Read is available on iPad and iPhone • Explore phonics and educational games without in-app purchases, hidden costs, or in-game adverts • Teach Your Monster to Read supports your child through every step of their reading journey HEAR FROM TEACHERS AND PARENTS WHO USE OUR READING GAMES "This game is the absolute best quality phonics game I have come across for educational and fun value." Marie Lewis, Rochdale “My class have reaped loads of benefits from using the programme and the difference in some of their reading skills has been dramatic." Maria Andrews, Foundation Phase Teacher "This is a fabulous game. I'm not kidding when I say that my daughter essentially learned all her letter sounds using First steps, with relatively minimal input from me! Great for parents to practise their letter sounds too." Eleanor Jones PART OF THE USBORNE FOUNDATION CHARITY Teach Your Monster to Read has been created by Teach Monster Games Ltd. which is a subsidiary of The Usborne Foundation. The Usborne Foundation is a charity founded by children’s publisher, Peter Usborne MBE. Harnessing research, design and technology, we create playful media addressing issues from literacy to health. Teach a monster today when you download our educational app! Teach Monster Games Ltd is a subsidiary of The Usborne Foundation, a registered charity in England and Wales, charity number 1121957.

About

Note Naming

Features
Read full description

This simple app will help music students, both adults and children, become familiar with the names of the notes on the treble and bass clefs. It is configured in five different levels and is ideal for beginner pianists as it spreads from middle C outwards. It can also help players of other instruments, as it has the facility to focus on either the treble clef or the bass clef.

Screenshots

Teach Your Monster to Read4 screens
Note Naming2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Note Naming at Free against Teach Your Monster to Read's $8.99. Teach Your Monster to Read's advantage is chart position (#7 vs unranked). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Note Naming is free to download; Teach Your Monster to Read costs $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Teach Your Monster to Read ships an update every 6 weeks, Note Naming every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Teach Your Monster to Read versus Note Naming: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTeach Your Monster to ReadNote Naming
Price$8.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (31K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings31K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
Best chart rank#7 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.3
Further details — not scored
Size96 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTeach Your MonsterMarcelo Palacios

Bugs and requests

Teach Your Monster to Read

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Loss of progress and collected items
  • Compatibility issues on certain devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add American English pronunciation option
  • Introduce more practice modes and customization options
  • Implement progress tracking and parental controls
  • Allow selective review of specific letter sounds/words

Note Naming

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Teach Your Monster to Read

No in-app purchases

None

Note Naming

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Teach Your Monster to Read free?
Teach Your Monster to Read costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Note Naming free?
Note Naming is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Teach Your Monster to Read or Note Naming have ads?
Neither Teach Your Monster to Read nor Note Naming shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Teach Your Monster to Read or Note Naming?
Teach Your Monster to Read ships an update every 6 weeks, and Note Naming every 2 months. Most recently, Teach Your Monster to Read was updated on November 1, 2026 and Note Naming on September 29, 2026.

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