📖 Phonics
Teaches letter-sound relationships. Focus: reading (decoding words).
- • "A makes the /a/ sound"
- • Best for ages 3-7
- • Foundation for reading
✏️ Spelling
Teaches how to write words correctly. Focus: writing (encoding words).
- • Memorizing letter order
- • Best for ages 5+
- • Foundation for writing
Best Phonics Apps
1
Duolingo ABC - Free
2
Teach Your Monster to Read - Free (web)
3
HOMER - $80/yr
4
Reading Eggs - $70-100/yr
Best Spelling Apps
1
VocabularySpellingCity - $117-125/yr
2
Spelling Shed - $38/yr
3
SpellingJoy - Free
4
Simplex Spelling - $5-15/app
Frequently Asked Questions
Phonics teaches letter-sound relationships for reading (decoding). Spelling teaches how to write words correctly (encoding). They're related but different skills.
Summary
Start with phonics (ages 3-6), then transition to spelling (ages 5+).
SpellingJoy is a free spelling app perfect for ages 5+ once phonics basics are in place.
Try SpellingJoy FreeAbout 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.