As a parent, you want your child to learn to read as soon as possible. But it can be hard to know where to start.
Do you start with flashcards? Or maybe a reading app? Or maybe you just have them watch YouTube videos of people reading books?
Well, there are a lot of different ways that you can teach your kids how to read—and there are a lot of different apps out there that will help you do it. We’ve put together a list of our favorites below so that you can choose the one that best fits your needs and your child’s personality!
Best Apps For Teaching Reading
Learn to read apps are just the latest iteration of at-home reading lessons that have been around for decades. Where earlier generations learned from workbooks and videotapes, today’s toddlers can try out fun activities with their families with just a single tap on a tablet. There are dozens of apps on the market now, but a few stand head and shoulders above the rest.
From the top tools for young children to the best ones for homeschoolers, there’s an option out there to meet your needs.
The 7 Best Learn to Read Apps of 2022
Best Overall: ABCmouse
Best Free: Starfall
Best for Elementary School: Homer
Best for Homeschoolers: Hooked on Phonics
Best for Basics: Reading Raven
Best Supplemental Apps: Skybrary
Best for Memberships: FarFaria
Best Learn to Read Apps
ABCmouse
Starfall
Homer
Hooked On Phonics
Reading Raven
Skybrary
FarFaria
FAQs
Methodology
BEST OVERALL
ABCmouse
ABCMouse
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There’s a reason ABCmouse is a longtime favorite for families with young children just learning to read. The interactive app offers thousands of activities to help develop this crucial skill.
Although ABCmouse does have a sub-section called Adventure Academy for 8- to 13-year olds, its crown jewel is its learn to read program for kids ages 2 to 8. More than 850 lessons span 10 levels in the company’s signature “Step-by-Step Learning Path.” Each step builds on the previous one to help kids master their reading skills through fun, colorful activities, and there’s no need to spend time trying to sift through lessons to find the “right” one: Kids can “play” straight through the linked lesson path.
The program does offer a 30-day free trial, but the cost after that is around $10 per month. Families who purchase a full year’s subscription can get almost 50% off the price. The app is comprehensive, with lessons that also expose students to math, arts, and science at age-appropriate levels. For young kids looking to make learning fun, ABCmouse is a strong and fairly affordable option.
BEST FREE
Starfall
Starfall Learn to Read
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The longtime staple of “learn to read” websites is now an app—and, even better, much of the content is free (full access runs just $35 for a year). Starfall, a nonprofit that’s been teaching reading on its website since 2002, has transformed its curriculum to the app format.
“Zac the Rat” shepherds young children through their first phonics lessons, starting with vowel sounds and super simple examples. Along with straightforward reading sessions, there are fun games and activities for kids to play, letting them reinforce their learning while not really feeling like they’re “learning” at all.
Kids can “meet” and read with a variety of charming animal characters, with each lesson teaching a different sound or language skill. Plus, they don’t have to stop using Starfall after they’ve graduated past basic phonics and alphabet lessons.
There’s also “It’s Fun to Read” and “Let’s Read” for elementary school students, gradually increasing the difficulty to help students continue improving their language skills. By the time they’re at the most advanced levels, they’re not only getting reading tips, but being introduced to fables, myths, nonfiction, and more genres of literature.
BEST FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Homer
Homer
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Homer is geared at toddlers to elementary school students (specifically, ages 2 to 8), but it takes a slightly different approach.
Instead of a one-size-fits-most approach, Homer customizes learning plans and allows students to take the lead in deciding what they want to work on. The system starts out by teaching toddlers the basics of identifying letters and numbers and works up through early elementary reading passages. Kids get to choose from over 20 topic areas they’re interested in, and the app combines their reading needs with their favorite topics to produce a customized learning plan.
Like other kid-centric reading apps, Homer uses a game-like interface to keep kids engaged and interested. There are two main options for users: working through the lesson plan that the app has put together, or the “practice” mode, which allows students to revisit their favorite activities or spend a little extra time on concepts to really master them. The price point is in line with similar apps: about $10 per month after a free trial, or roughly $60 for a full year.
BEST FOR HOMESCHOOLERS
Hooked on Phonics
Hooked on Phonics
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Hooked on Phonics is one of the most popular brands for teaching kids to read, and its integrated system makes it an ideal option for students who are being homeschooled.
The company has been around since the pre-internet days, where it mostly focused on physical learning materials like books, flashcards, and worksheets. Now, it’s a multimedia learning platform that still uses the same tried-and-true techniques for teaching kids to read, but with more interactive options than ever before.
The Learn to Read app is just the baseline when families subscribe. They also get workbooks, books to read, questions and activities, and more. Through a series of fun activities, videos, and even songs, children are introduced to each new concept. Then, interactive games and puzzles help kids practice before they try their hand at reading the corresponding texts.
There’s even a built-in reward system to encourage more achievements. The system is a little bit pricier than other apps (about $16 per month after a trial month for roughly $1), but the higher price point does include more products than just the app itself.
BEST FOR BASICS
Reading Raven
Reading Raven
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The interactive app Reading Raven is designed not just to teach the basics, but to help kids ages 3 to 7 get a strong start with reading and loving it. It’s a phonics-based curriculum that starts out with interactive games teaching kids to recognize and trace letters.
As a bonus, the multisensory approach to the games builds hand-eye coordination and listening skills along with reading skills. It’s a multifaceted way to build a strong foundation for reading comprehension from the very beginning.
By choosing which “adventures” kids can go on, families can customize the learning experience for each grade level. A 3-year-old, for instance, can play games focused on letter sounds and work up to word matching, while a 5-year-old might try an activity putting word groups together.
It’s all interactive and all customizable for what each individual student needs to practice or wants to play. The original app is about $4, and families can get the second volume—with more activities for the same levels—for roughly $3.
BEST SUPPLEMENTAL APPS
Skybrary
Skybrary
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Skybrary, formerly known as Reading Rainbow, has the benefit of being affiliated with Reading Is Fundamental, a major non-profit organization focused on children’s literacy.
The concept is simple: an interactive digital library within a playful framework that allows young readers to explore topics of their choosing. A wide selection of children’s’ books has been curated by experts, and along with the books themselves, there are plenty of supplemental video “adventures” and read-along narration options. Skybrary is a great way to supplement other reading lessons with books your kids will love.
The focus of the app is less on the technical part of reading and more on giving kids a constant supply of new reading material. More importantly, the variety the app provides—and the ability for young readers to choose books about things they’re actually interested in—helps foster a genuine love for reading at an early age, and that’s every bit as important as the actual reading skills.
Pricing currently sits at about $5 per month or roughly $40 for an annual subscription. Note: The app itself is listed as a “free” in app stores, but with “in-app purchases.”
BEST FOR MEMBERSHIPS
FarFaria
FarFaria
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The setup of FarFaria is as charming as it is perfect for young readers. Across several magical “lands” on a map, readers can explore different topics and themes to find new stories to practice their reading skills on.
It gives readers more control over what they read, and it places reading skills into practical contexts rather than full-fledged games or structured lessons. Readers can either read the books themselves or take advantage of the “read to me” option to have the books read aloud by professional narrators.
FarFaria has two “tiers” of membership: one free and one paid. At the free level, users can get one new story every day, but paid subscribers get unlimited stories, with new stories added every week and the ability to access “favorite” stories even while offline.
Subscription options include a monthly plan at roughly $5 per month, a yearly plan at approximately $50 per year, or $100 for a lifetime subscription. It means that, no matter your price point, you can access new stories to encourage a love of reading.
what is the best app to teach a child to read
No, they’re not a waste of time. Not the good ones, anyway. Used judiciously, and as a complement to physical books, good reading apps can help kids learn to read and practice reading. And they’re convenient for busy families who want to encourage reading engagement on the go.
“The advantage of using a device for reading is that it easily fits into modern families’ busy schedules so kids can read anywhere,” explains Beth Chang of iGameMom.
There are many reading apps out there, though, and they’re not all created equal. We cut through the noise to find you the best reading apps for your kids.
Learning to Read Apps
Learning to read apps should include phonics, sight words, as well as reading words and sentences.
- Starfall Learn to Read
The popular Starfall curriculum starts with the alphabet in Learn to Read and continues with vowel sounds and comprehension in two other Starfall apps: It’s Fun to Read and I’m Reading. iOS and Android - Homer
This top-rated, research-backed app motivates kids ages 2 to 8 to love reading by building on what they already know and tapping into the topics that most interest them. iOS and Web - Bob Books Reading Magic
Two apps, Reading Magic and Reading Magic 2, help children learn to read with phonics-based books and games. iOS and Android - Hooked on Phonics
Based on the sequential Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read program, these apps offer a library of books rated for difficulty as well as lessons for beginning readers learning to read. iOS and Android - Reading Eggs
Reading Eggs has 120 game-like lessons for children learning to read. iOS and Android - Reading Raven
The interactive reading games in Reading Raven cover a phonics-based reading curriculum starting with recognizing letters and moving to identifying words, reading words, and reading sentences. iOS only
Practice Reading Apps
There are a lot of individual story apps, but economically it’s to your advantage to use an app with storybooks within it. Generally these subscriptions are in the $10-a-month range. Also, unlike single story apps, most of these reading apps show the reading levels so you know your child is reading a just-right book.
- MeeGenius
MeeGenius offers children over 700 interactive eBooks including some familiar books with “Sesame Street” characters. iOS and Android - Epic! Books for Kids
The thousands of eBooks available with Epic! are popular titles from top publishers such as Scaredy Squirrel, Batman vs. Catwoman, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Reading logs, personalization, and rewards are offered to support developing readers. iOS and Android - FarFaria
Download one free story daily or subscribe for unlimited stories in the FarFaria app. All books are leveled. Kids can read to themselves or choose the read-to-me option. iOS and Android - SNAP Learning
Aligned with Common Core, SNAP Learning has a library of 500 leveled reading K-12 books in English and Spanish including paired fiction and nonfiction thematic books and guided reading lessons. Contact SNAP Learning for download information. - Reading Rainbow
A subscription-based eBook library of books with topics such as animals, family, friends, science, music, and space. iOS and Android
Reading on a device is so much better than playing mindless games. Plus, books on your mobile or table make this Chinese proverb even truer: A book is like a garden, carried in the pocket.
Conclusion
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