Comparison

Reading Train vs Crossword Puzzle Maker

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

Head to head
About

Reading Train

This app offers a comprehensive reading program for young learners, featuring interactive ABC books, engaging games, and songs. It helps children develop foundational reading skills, build vocabulary, and boost their confidence through a fun, safe, and ad-free experience.

Highlights
  • 24 ABC books at 3 reading levels
  • Interactive train game for word learning
  • Built-in picture/audio dictionary
  • 18 song books
  • Professional narration
  • User recording of books
  • Student reporting tools
Features
Read full description

Listen, read, and record 24 fun ABC books at 3 easy reading levels: 72 books in all! Play the train game; win coins for the music store; collect and learn new words in the train yard. "Beautifully designed storybooks and related games that teach foundational reading": Appolicious.com Books, songs and games to build skills, self confidence and a love of reading. Real reading, for fun and information, right from the start. "A dynamic tool to augment any beginning readers program": Teachers With Apps Safe for Kids: The Learning Station is a Proud Member of Moms With Apps Kid tested and teacher approved. We are ad-free and take our users privacy seriously. View our Privacy Policy here: http://www.readingtrain.org * Listen, read and record books at 3 different beginning reading levels to grow as a reader. * Play the train game after every book to learn letters and words * Built-in picture/audio dictionary * 18 song books * Professional narration- American English. All books can be recorded by users. * Unlimited user accounts * Powerful student reporting tools Books Kids CAN Read. Written by Libby Curran, a People Magazine Teacher of the Year, these engaging little books are field tested in real classrooms to get kids started on the path to reading independence. Books Kids LOVE to Read and Re-read. Children are naturally curious, so encourage them to explore our ABC books to learn new vocabulary and build the foundational knowledge they need to succeed in school. After reading stories they can play the train quiz game, explore the picture/audio dictionary and listen to song books. Give Your Kids the Tools to Succeed. Stuck on a word? Tap and hold to hear every word and access the built in audio dictionary filled with hundreds of words. Play a unique quiz game at the end of every book to extend the learning. The Reading Train Alphabet is packed full of tools to help children succeed, all on their own. Read to Learn- Meet Common Core Standards Read beginning level books with purpose and understanding. Develop the concepts of print: reading left to right and matching written words with spoken words. Learn letter names and sounds, build background knowledge and improve reading comprehension and foundational skills. Quizzes Disguised as Games. Play the train game after finishing every book, but don't tell them it's a quiz! Check progress on the parent's page to see all the books children have read and recorded as well as detailed scores on the quizzes. The Right Team For the Job Created by award winning master teacher and early literacy expert, Libby Curran,The Reading Train Alphabet is the culmination of 20+ years of teaching experience. Backed by an all-star team of teachers turned iOS developers and a professional children's musician, The Reading Train Alphabet is serious about making learning fun. Keep in Touch We welcome your feedback, to keep up with all things Reading Train check out: readingtrain.org facebook.com/readingtrain email: support@readingtrain.org We welcome suggestions on future books and curriculum. Contact Libby with suggestions about new content at: libby@readingtrain.org

About

Crossword Puzzle Maker

Easily create custom crossword puzzles with a title, answers, and clues. Personalize your puzzles with beautiful typefaces, backgrounds, and gradients. Save, edit, and share your creations as PDFs or PNGs.

Highlights
  • Automatic crossword generation
  • Customizable typeface and background
  • Save and edit past puzzles
  • Auto-save latest puzzle
  • Vector graphics support (PDF)
  • Share as PDF or PNG
Features
Read full description

Make beautiful crossword puzzle with ease! Brought to you by the creator of Tagxedo. With Crossword Puzzle Maker, you simply enter the title, answers, and clues, and a gorgeous puzzle will be created for you almost instantly! It is easy to make the crossword truly yours with beautiful typeface, gorgeous background, and seamless gradients. * FEATURES - Automatic generation of crossword puzzle - Smart tradeoff between sizes of title, crossword layout, and clues - Save a history of crossword puzzles you made, so you can make change later - Auto-save the latest puzzle - Type everything you need in one page in a simple format - Title and clues automatically highlighted for you as you type! - Make the most out of the single page to make the puzzle pop - Support background image - your own, 12 stock images, or none - Magnifying glass (tap and hold to magnify) - Background customization is easy - position, size, opacity, transition (fading) - Transition allows for gorgeous backdrop without making words illegible - Automatically adjust title color (black or white) for best contrast - Single tap to change typeface, with a choice of 10 curated typefaces - Support vector graphics (PDF) - Share via Email - crossword and key as two separate PDFs - Air Print support (PDF) - Share via Facebook or Twitter (PNG)

Screenshots

Reading Train4 screens
Crossword Puzzle Maker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Reading Train at 100% against Crossword Puzzle Maker's 39%. Reading Train also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.4) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.1). Crossword Puzzle Maker's advantage is monetization model (free vs paid) and ratings volume (45 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Reading Train costs $3.99 and Crossword Puzzle Maker $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Reading Train holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crossword Puzzle Maker has 45 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Reading Train's written reviews are positive against 39% of Crossword Puzzle Maker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Reading Train ships an update every 5 months, Crossword Puzzle Maker every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Reading Train versus Crossword Puzzle Maker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReading TrainCrossword Puzzle Maker
Price$3.99$3.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better3.4 (45 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better39.5% of reviews
Number of ratings145 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 months — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better13.1
Further details — not scored
Size698 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Learning Station, LLCKwok Leung

Customer experience

Reading Train

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Crossword Puzzle Maker

All ratings45 ratings
Positive55.6%
Neutral6.7%
Negative37.8%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive39.5%
Neutral15.8%
Negative44.7%

In-app purchases

None

Reading Train

No in-app purchases

None

Crossword Puzzle Maker

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Reading Train free?
Reading Train costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Crossword Puzzle Maker free?
Crossword Puzzle Maker costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Reading Train or Crossword Puzzle Maker?
Reading Train is rated higher. Reading Train averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Crossword Puzzle Maker averages 3.4 from 45 ratings.
Do Reading Train or Crossword Puzzle Maker have ads?
Neither Reading Train nor Crossword Puzzle Maker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Reading Train or Crossword Puzzle Maker?
Reading Train ships an update every 5 months, and Crossword Puzzle Maker every 6 months. Most recently, Reading Train was updated on October 12, 2026 and Crossword Puzzle Maker on October 21, 2026.

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