The quick answer: it rebranded to Vocabulary A-Z and tripled in price. Here are your three options, starting at free.
STSpellingJoy Team
•Last Updated: July 2, 2026
Quick answer: no, SpellingCity is not gone. It still exists - just under a different name. The platform was acquired by Learning A-Z and now operates as Vocabulary A-Z. Your bookmark broke because spellingcity.com redirects, and the deep links teachers shared for years - specific games, lists, and assignments - didn't survive the move. A dead link plus a missing brand name is why half the internet assumes the site was shut down.
What actually changed is the business model. In the old days, a family or a single teacher could pay about $35/year and get everything. Vocabulary A-Z is sold as a classroom license around $108/year for up to 36 students - a product designed to be bought by schools, not by the person who just typed "spelling city" into Google at 9pm before a spelling test.
Your Three Options Now
Option 1 - Pay for Vocabulary A-Z: If your school will fund the ~$108/year license, you get the original platform, games and all, under its new name
Option 2 - Switch to a free replacement: SpellingJoy covers the everyday essentials - custom word lists, text-to-speech, auto-graded practice, printables, and progress tracking - for $0 with no student caps
Option 3 - Pay less elsewhere: Spelling Shed offers gamified practice at a much lower price point than Vocabulary A-Z, if you specifically want a paid product
How to Choose in Under a Minute
Ask one question: who is paying? If the answer is a school purchasing department, Vocabulary A-Z is a legitimate choice - it's the same tool your students may already know. If the answer is you, start free. Most parents and teachers discover that the handful of features they genuinely used every week - typing in this week's list, having words read aloud, running a practice test, checking who's struggling - are fully covered without paying anyone. The ranked list below walks through all three paths.
SpellingJoy is a 100% free spelling practice platform for K-6 students. Unlimited spelling games, unlimited tests, 134+ word lists, custom list creation, and progress tracking - all completely free with no subscriptions and no hidden costs.
Best for:Getting SpellingCity-style practice back today without spending anythingPrice:100% FreeGrades:K-6Platforms:Web
Pros
100% free - unlimited games, tests, and lists
No subscription or hidden costs ever
K-6 curriculum with 134+ word lists
Cons
Web-only (no native mobile apps yet)
Classroom features coming soon
2
Vocabulary A-Z
Where SpellingCity went
Vocabulary A-Z (formerly VocabularySpellingCity) offers vocabulary and spelling games for K-5 students with classroom management features for teachers. $108/year covers up to 36 students.
Best for:Sticking with the original platform under its Vocabulary A-Z namePrice:$108/yr (classroom)Grades:K-5Platforms:Web, iOS, Android
Pros
35+ learning games
Strong classroom integration
Teacher dashboard
Cons
Rebranded from VocabularySpellingCity
Requires annual subscription
Classroom-focused pricing
3
Spelling Shed
The cheaper paid route
Spelling Shed is a UK-based spelling app with gamification features including competitive leagues and rewards. Home subscription $4.99/mo or $29.99/yr for up to 5 students.
Best for:A paid gamified option that costs far less than Vocabulary A-ZPrice:$29.99/yr (home)Grades:Ages 5-11Platforms:Web, iOS, Android
Pros
Strong gamification features
Competitive leagues
Cross-platform
Cons
UK curriculum focus
British accent audio
Original app phased out for subscription model
Frequently asked questions
Is SpellingCity gone?
No. SpellingCity still exists, but it now operates as Vocabulary A-Z after being acquired by Learning A-Z (Cambium Learning Group) and rebranded across 2023-2024. It looks gone because spellingcity.com redirects and years of old bookmarks and shared activity links no longer work.
Is spelling city still free?
No. SpellingCity was never fully free, but it used to cost families around $35/year. As Vocabulary A-Z, it is sold as a classroom license around $108/year (commonly cited at $108-125/year), aimed at school purchases. If you want free spelling practice with custom lists and text-to-speech, SpellingJoy offers that at no cost.
Why does spellingcity.com not work anymore?
The spellingcity.com domain now redirects as part of the Vocabulary A-Z rebrand. Deep links to specific games, word lists, and activities that teachers shared over the years generally break in the redirect, which is why so many people conclude the whole site was taken down.
Where did SpellingCity go?
It moved into the Learning A-Z product family. After the acquisition, VocabularySpellingCity was renamed Vocabulary A-Z and repositioned as a school product alongside titles like Raz-Kids and Reading A-Z. Same underlying platform, new name, new pricing model.
Can I still log into my old SpellingCity account?
It depends on how your subscription was handled during the transition. School accounts were generally migrated under Learning A-Z, so check with your school or district administrator. Old personal logins from the $35/year era typically no longer provide access, since the product now runs on classroom licensing.
What is the closest thing to SpellingCity today?
The literal closest thing is Vocabulary A-Z, because it is SpellingCity under a new name. The closest free experience is SpellingJoy, which covers the features people actually used daily: custom word lists, 170+ ready-made lists, text-to-speech, auto-graded practice, and progress tracking with no student limits.
Our Verdict
SpellingCity isn't gone - it's hiding behind a new name and a school-sized price tag. Vocabulary A-Z is the same platform, and if your district pays for it, there's nothing wrong with using it.
For everyone else, SpellingJoy is the fastest way to get your spelling routine back: paste in this week's words, let text-to-speech read them aloud, and let auto-grading handle the rest - free, with no student limits. If you insist on paying, Spelling Shed costs a fraction of the Vocabulary A-Z license.
Our advice: spend zero dollars first. You can always upgrade later; you can't get back money spent on features you never use.
ST
About the Author
SpellingJoy Team
The SpellingJoy team is dedicated to creating free, high-quality spelling resources for K-6 students and their families. We test every app we review and provide honest assessments to help parents make informed decisions.
