Best How To Learn How To Read Apps

250+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.4 avg rating
20 free apps
Updated September 2026

Whether you're new to how to learn how to read or looking for an upgrade, our curated collection of 250+ iOS apps has something for everyone. Each app is reviewed and rated by real users, helping you make an informed decision.

Compare top How To Learn How To Read Apps (September 2026)

#AppPriceRatingAdsIn-App PurchasesUpdated
1Learn to Read - Duolingo ABCLearn to Read - Duolingo ABCFree4.2★ (3.8K)NoNoSep 2026
2Learn to Read - Reading.comLearn to Read - Reading.comFree4.7★ (69K)NoYesSep 2026
3Duolingo: Language LessonsDuolingo: Language LessonsFree4.7★ (5.4M)YesYesSep 2026
4Read with ElloRead with ElloFree4.8★ (2.8K)NoYesSep 2026
5Speechify – Text to Speech PDFSpeechify – Text to Speech PDFFree4.7★ (524K)YesYesSep 2026
6Amazon Kindle: Reading AppAmazon Kindle: Reading AppFree4.9★ (5.8M)NoNoSep 2026
7ReadingIQReadingIQFree4.6★ (21K)NoYesSep 2026
8Readability - Learn to ReadReadability - Learn to ReadFree4.6★ (24K)NoYesSep 2026

Top Picks for How To Learn How To Read

Learn to Read - Duolingo ABC#1

Learn to Read - Duolingo ABC by Duolingo, Inc

Interactive Stories for Kids
Editor's Choice
📚 Education
4.2😊(3.8K ratings)
Free
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This app provides interactive stories and over 700 hands-on lessons designed to help children from preschool to second grade learn to read. It focuses on phonics, sight words, and vocabulary through engaging, multi-sensory activities and mini-games, all in a kid-safe, ad-free environment.

What We Love

  • 👍 Great for kids with autism
  • 👍 Engaging and fun for young learners
  • 👍 Helps with speech and language development
  • 👍 Effective for teaching reading and writing
  • 👍 Free and ad-free app

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent voice recognition
  • 🐛 Allows incorrect answers to be marked as correct
  • 🐛 Levels can get repetitive
  • 🐛 Difficulty settings not customizable
  • 🐛 Progress not saved properly
Learn to Read - Reading.com#2

Learn to Read - Reading.com by Teaching.com

Phonics & Reading App for Kids
Strong Contender
📚 Education
4.7😊(69K ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
#16in Education
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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.

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
  • 🎉 Motivating with rewards and progress tracking

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
Duolingo: Language Lessons#3

Duolingo: Language Lessons by Duolingo, Inc

Languages, Math, Music & Chess
Worth Considering
📚 Education
4.7😊(5.4M ratings)
FreeAdsIn-App Purchases
#1in Education
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Learn languages, math, music, and chess through fun, bite-sized lessons. Build vocabulary, grammar, and real-world skills with a science-based methodology. Track progress and stay motivated with a global community.

What We Love

  • 🤩 Fun and entertaining learning experience
  • 🎉 Motivating streak and league features
  • 🎨 Cute and engaging animations
  • 📚 Effective for learning vocabulary and basics
  • 🤖 Useful AI-powered features like voice lessons

Room to Improve

  • 🤖 Issues with voice recognition and pronunciation feedback
  • 🤑 Aggressive monetization tactics and paywall for key features
  • 🤯 Frustrating heart/health system that penalizes mistakes
  • 🤔 Lack of grammar explanations and focus on just memorizing phrases
  • 🤷‍♀️ Inconsistent app experience across platforms

More How To Learn How To Read apps to explore

FAQ about How To Learn How To Read

What are the best how to learn how to read apps for iPhone?
Learn to Read - Duolingo ABC tops our how to learn how to read apps ranking as of September 2026, with a 4.2-star average from 3.8K App Store ratings, and it's free to download.
Yes — 20 of the top how to learn how to read apps we rank are free to download, including Learn to Read - Duolingo ABC and Learn to Read - Reading.com.
Learn to Read - Duolingo ABC has no ads and has no in-app purchases, according to its App Store listing as of September 2026.
We track 250+ how to learn how to read apps on the iOS App Store as of September 2026, ranked by rating, recency, and analysis of real user reviews.
Duolingo ABC is an educational app designed to help children from preschool to second grade learn to read. It offers interactive stories and over 700 hands-on lessons that cover phonics, sight words, vocabulary, and more, using engaging and multi-sensory activities.
Key features include interactive stories with read-aloud functionality, bite-sized lessons focusing on phonics and sight words, multi-sensory activities like tracing and drag-and-drop, fun mini-games, and rewards to keep children motivated. It also offers offline learning capabilities.