Comparison

Seesaw vs Learn to Read

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

Head to head
About

Seesaw

This educational platform empowers elementary students to showcase their thinking and creativity through multimodal tools. It facilitates authentic assessments and fosters inclusive communication between students, teachers, and families, enhancing the learning process for all.

Highlights
  • Student digital portfolios
  • Multimodal learning tools
  • Inclusive family communication
  • Standards-aligned instruction
  • Formative assessments
  • Ready-to-teach lessons
Currently charting
Read full description

Beloved by teachers around the world, Seesaw is the only educational platform built specifically to address the unique needs of elementary classrooms. Seesaw brings together high-quality instruction, authentic assessments that drive deep learning insights, and inclusive communication – in one place. With Seesaw, students have the power to show their thinking and share their learning, ideas and creativity with their teachers and families. Used by 10M teachers, students and families in over a third of elementary schools in the US. Beyond the US, Seesaw is used in over 130 countries! Teachers love Seesaw—out of 1000 teachers surveyed, 92% said Seesaw makes their lives easier. Built on extensive educational research, Seesaw is validated by industry-leading third-party LearnPlatform as a designated evidence-based intervention, eligible for ESSA Federal Funding with Tier IV designation. Awarded the ISTE Seal of Alignment. Grounded in learning science research and based on practitioner experience, the ISTE Standards ensure that using technology for learning can create high-impact, sustainable, scalable and equitable learning experiences for all learners. High Quality Instruction - Enable teachers to deliver high-quality, standards-aligned instruction that encourages student voice and choice - Multimodal tools make learning accessible and engaging. Tools include video, voice, screen recording, photos, drawing, labeling and more! - Present to Class mode designed for front of class modeling, whole class instruction and discussions - Assign activities to all students for center/stations work or whole class independent work. Use student groups to easily differentiate assignments - Over 1600 research-based and ready-to-teach lessons created by Seesaw’s curriculum experts with whole group instruction videos, 1:1 or small group practice activities and formative assessments. Includes robust lesson plans to support teacher implementation. - 100k ready-to-assign activities created by our community of educators and 1600+ ready-to-teach scaffolded lessons Inclusive Family Engagement - Engage families as partners in the learning process through inclusive two-way communication through portfolios and messages - Provide a window into the classroom and insight into their child's progress with frequent sharing of student posts and assignments - Robust messaging with built-in translation into over 100 home languages - Message Progress Reports to families to keep them informed Digital Portfolios - Capture learning completed within and outside of Seesaw through digital portfolios that showcase student growth. - Organize student work by folder and skill - Simplify parent-teacher conferences and report cards Assessment to Support Data-Driven Decisions - Routinely assess student learning to glean meaningful insights into their understanding and make data-informed instructional decisions - Formative assessments with auto-graded questions provided detailed and actionable reporting - Tie skills and standards to activities for easy progress monitoring of key learning objectives Accessible and Differentiated Learning - Enable developmentally appropriate, accessible, and differentiated instruction to reach and engage all learners Seesaw is COPPA, FERPA and GDPR compliant. Learn more at web.seesaw.me/privacy Need help? Visit our Help Center at help.seesaw.me.

About

Learn to Read

This app offers a guided, co-play experience for parents and children aged 3-8 to learn reading skills. It uses research-backed phonics lessons, interactive storybooks, videos, and games to build foundational reading abilities.

Highlights
  • 99 step-by-step phonics lessons
  • 67 interactive digital storybooks
  • 42 educational videos
  • 3 expert-designed reading games
  • Printable offline activities
  • Family subscription with 3 profiles
  • Ad-free experience
Features
Read full description

Teach your child how to read! Ages 3-8. Reading.com is a fun, co-play experience designed by education experts for you to teach your child to read — with the love, care, and joy only a parent and child can share. RESEARCH-BACKED No cape? No problem. Our program gives you supercharged superparent powers! Reading.com’s research-backed, phonics-based lessons are fully scripted so they don’t require any special training or knowledge for you to become the most powerful teacher your child will ever have. FROM LETTER RECOGNITION TO CONFIDENT READING As your child masters more letters, sounds, and words, they'll unlock a playful world of reading activities including interactive storybooks, videos, digital games, and printable activities. THE MOST MEANINGFUL (TEAM)WORK OF YOUR LIFE Each lesson takes just 15 - 20 minutes to complete and they’re designed for you and your child to go at your own pace. Lessons cover letters, letter blends, long vowel sounds, and digraphs, taking your child from basic alphabetic knowledge to reading at a late 1st grade level. This is the easiest head start you’ll ever give your child! KEY FEATURES - 120 step-by-step phonics lessons for a grownup & child to do together - 84 interactive, decodable, digital storybooks - 42 videos featuring letters, letter sounds, and an exclusive alphabet song - 5 expertly-designed reading games for independent play that practice skills in: letter recognition, letter-phoneme correlation, beginning sounds, vocabulary, letter-writing, spelling - Access to printable games & activities for fun offline reinforcement - One subscription for the whole family with up to 3 profiles - Ad-free Download the app today, help your child learn to read and join other parents raising readers! Privacy Policy: https://www.reading.com/privacy-policy/ Terms and Conditions: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Seesaw4 screens
Learn to Read4 screens

Verdict

The call

Seesaw and Learn to Read both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 81% of Learn to Read's written reviews are positive against 46% of Seesaw's. Learn to Read also leads on chart position (#12 vs #113). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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

Both are free to download. Seesaw sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Learn to Read sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $12.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Seesaw against 4.7 for Learn to Read. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 100K and 77K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 46% of Seesaw's written reviews are positive against 81% of Learn to Read's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Seesaw ships an update weekly, Learn to Read every 6 days. Both last shipped on October 22, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Seesaw versus Learn to Read: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSeesawLearn to Read
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (100K ratings) — better4.7 (77K ratings)
Positive reviews46.0% of reviews81.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings100K — better77K
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#113#12 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size86 MB253 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSeesaw Learning, Inc.Teaching.com

Customer experience

Seesaw

All ratings100,074 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral1.8%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews966 reviews
Positive46.0%
Neutral12.0%
Negative42.0%

Learn to Read

All ratings76,868 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral3.3%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews739 reviews
Positive81.1%
Neutral3.5%
Negative15.4%

User reviews

Seesaw

From 100K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Great communication tool
  • 💡 Versatile for teachers and students
  • 🚀 Efficient for remote/online learning
  • 👍 Engaging for students

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and glitchy
  • 💡 Limited text editing options
  • 🔒 Security and privacy concerns
  • 👎 Difficult to navigate
  • 👎 Confusing interface

Learn to Read

From 77K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Engaging and fun for kids
  • 🚀 Effective at teaching reading skills
  • 💡 Structured, step-by-step approach
  • 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Promotes parent-child bonding
  • 🎨 Colorful and visually appealing

Room to improve

  • 🤑 Expensive subscription model
  • 🐢 Slow progression for more advanced learners
  • 🤖 Lack of flexibility to customize or skip lessons
  • 🤔 Placement assessment not accurate for all levels
  • 🤯 Frustrating when app crashes or logs out

Bugs and requests

Seesaw

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes and freezes
  • Losing work when switching apps
  • Inconsistent performance on different devices
  • Issues with uploading and sharing content
  • Notification problems

Requested features

6 requests
  • Allow parents to post and comment
  • Improve text editing capabilities
  • Add auto-save functionality
  • Provide better organization and tracking of assignments
  • Enhance video recording and editing options
Show 1 more
  • Allow for easier switching between student accounts

Learn to Read

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional app crashes or freezes
  • User data loss after app updates
  • Inability to redeem promo codes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Option to learn cursive writing
  • More independent practice games and activities
  • Ability to jump to appropriate lesson level
  • Support for multiple languages or accents
  • Printable resources like flashcards or worksheets

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Seesaw

One-time1
  • 1 Month of Seesaw Plus$12.99
9 purchases

Learn to Read

Subscriptions9
  • Learn to Read (Monthly)7 Days trial5 variants$12.491 Month
  • Learn to Read (Monthly)2 variants$12.491 Month
  • Monthly (With Free Trial)$12.491 Month
Show 6 more
  • Monthly Subscription$12.491 Month
  • Learn to Read (Monthly)7 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • Learn to Read (Monthly)7 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Learn to Read (Monthly)7 Days trial$17.991 Month
  • Learn to Read (Yearly)7 Days trial$66.991 Year
  • Learn to Read (Yearly)7 Days trial2 variants$74.991 Year

Questions

Is Seesaw free?
Seesaw is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Learn to Read free?
Learn to Read is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Seesaw or Learn to Read?
Seesaw is rated higher. Seesaw averages 4.8 out of 5 from 100K ratings, while Learn to Read averages 4.7 from 77K ratings.
Do Seesaw or Learn to Read have ads?
Neither Seesaw nor Learn to Read shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Seesaw or Learn to Read?
Seesaw ships an update weekly, and Learn to Read every 6 days. Most recently, Seesaw was updated on October 22, 2026 and Learn to Read on October 22, 2026.
Which is more popular, Seesaw or Learn to Read?
Seesaw currently peaks at #113 in the App Store charts, and Learn to Read at #12. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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