ScratchJr vs Read for School
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ScratchJr
This app allows young children to create their own interactive stories and games by snapping together graphical programming blocks. It fosters problem-solving, creative expression, and develops early numeracy and literacy skills in a fun, motivating context.
- Program interactive stories
- Create games
- Snap-together programming blocks
- Develop problem-solving skills
- Foster creative expression
- Learn coding fundamentals
Read full descriptionHide full description
With ScratchJr, young children (ages 5-7) learn important new skills as they program their own interactive stories and games. By snapping together graphical programming blocks, children can make characters move, jump, dance, and sing. In the process, children learn to solve problems, design projects, and express themselves creatively on the computer. They also use math and language in a meaningful and motivating context, supporting the development of early-childhood numeracy and literacy. With ScratchJr, children don’t just learn to code, they code to learn. ScratchJr was inspired by the popular Scratch programming language (http://scratch.mit.edu), used by millions of people (ages 8 and up) around the world. The ScratchJr interface and programming language were redesigned to make them appropriate for younger children’s cognitive, personal, social, and emotional development. ScratchJr is a collaboration between the Lifelong Kindergarten research group at the MIT Media Lab, the Developmental Technologies research group at Tufts University, and the Playful Invention Company. The ScratchJr project has received generous financial support from the National Science Foundation (NSF DRL-1118664), Scratch Foundation, LEGO Foundation, and British Telecommunications. If you enjoy using this free app, please consider making a donation to the Scratch Foundation (www.scratchfoundation.org), a nonprofit organization that provides ongoing support for ScratchJr. We appreciate donations of all sizes, large and small.
Read for School
This educational tool uses AI eye-tracking technology to diagnose and improve reading habits for students. It provides personalized course assignments based on reading level and tracks progress through data-driven analysis.
- AI eye-tracking for reading diagnosis
- Personalized course assignment
- Visualizes eye movement patterns
- Quantifies reading abilities
- Tracks student progress
Read full descriptionHide full description
Read for School is an AI literacy diagnostic and training courseware designed for teachers and students. Innovative Learning Tool: AI Eye-Tracking Technology - Lead utilizes eye-tracking technology to easily and accurately diagnose and coach reading habits that are difficult for humans to identify. Identify Areas for Improvement at a Glance with Eye Movement Patterns - By visualizing the student’s eye movements while reading, Lead helps teachers quickly pinpoint factors that may be hindering reading progress. AI-Powered Course Assignment for Successful Learning - With just one test, Lead learns and analyzes a student’s reading level to provide the most suitable, personalized course. Data-Driven Korean Language Learning—Only Available with Lead - By combining eye-tracking data and comprehension assessment results, Lead quantifies reading abilities into five key indicators. This allows for more precise tracking of each student’s status and training outcomes. Terms of Service https://visualcamp.notion.site/ebd988a9bb87415ea4bb09d80e0fbc52?pvs=4 Privacy Policy https://visualcamp.notion.site/ebe0ae6bd5cf4f35875aa5da5d49191c?pvs=4
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Read for School at 5.0 against ScratchJr's 3.9. Read for School also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months). ScratchJr's advantage is review sentiment (67% vs 33%) and ratings volume (1.8K vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 for School holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ScratchJr has 1.8K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of ScratchJr's written reviews are positive against 33% of Read for School's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
ScratchJr ships an update every 6 months, Read for School every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ScratchJr | Read for School |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (1.8K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.8% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.8K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 51 MB | 98 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Scratch Foundation, Inc. | VisualCamp |
Customer experience
ScratchJr
Read for School
Bugs and requests
ScratchJr
Reported bugs
4 issues- Freezing and crashing issues
- Incorrect character movements and positioning
- Saving and loading problems
- Microphone and recording bugs
Requested features
5 requests- Add more frames/scenes per project
- Improve drawing/editing tools
- Expand color and customization options
- Enhance audio features and sound library
- Integrate with the full Scratch platform
Read for School
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ScratchJr
No in-app purchases
Read for School
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ScratchJr free?
Is Read for School free?
Which has better reviews, ScratchJr or Read for School?
Do ScratchJr or Read for School have ads?
Which is updated more often, ScratchJr or Read for School?
Other comparisons















