Reading Eggs Review

Reading Eggs

• Millions of Users
• 4,000+ Books
• 30-day Free Trial

• Millions of Users
• 4,000+ Books
• 30-day Free Trial

Our Score

9.4

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See our full review process

Pros

• The research-based phonics and reading structure gets results.
• Clear progress reports show your child’s exact reading level.
• Accurate placement tests personalize learning.
• Engaging maps and rewards keep kids motivated to learn.
• Bonus features provide a lot of bang for your buck.

Cons

• Gamified approach may not suit some families.
• Click-based games can promote guessing.
• Not ideal for advanced readers or older students.

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Table of Contents

• Who Is Reading Eggs For?
• Reading Eggs Summary
• Reading Eggs Pricing Plans
• Curriculum and Reading Levels
• How Lessons Work – Inside Reading Eggs
• Engagement and Motivation
• Activities – What Kids Actually Do
• Progress Tracking and Parent Dashboard
• Homeschool Use
• Pros and Cons
• Reading Eggs vs Other Learning Apps
• Device Support, Safety, and Privacy
• Final Verdict

As this is a lengthy review that covers a number of topics, you will find a helpful jump-to table of contents above for your convenience.

Who Is Reading Eggs For?

• With 91% of parents reporting improved reading skills after using Reading Eggs, I consider it worth it for families with pre-schoolers and early elementary children needing a step-by-step phonics curriculum, plus older elementary students who still need foundational reading support.
• Reading Eggs is also great for homeschool families wanting a guided phonics and literacy curriculum.
• Ideal for children who would enjoy the wide selection of interactive games and digital storybooks.

Bottom line: with 91% of parents reporting improved reading skills after using Reading Eggs, I consider it worth it for families with pre-schoolers and early elementary children needing a step-by-step phonics curriculum, plus older elementary students who still need foundational reading support.

Reading Eggs Summary

Reading Eggs is a structured online reading program used by millions of kids ages 2 to 13. It covers phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, and spelling. Targeted towards pre-schoolers to Grade 6, the course has students learn through activities, stories, and songs along a guided pathway.

I used both ABCmouse and Hooked on Phonics with my two kids a few years ago, so I’m pretty familiar with children’s literacy programs and which approaches actually work. I wanted to check out Reading Eggs, so I signed up for an account and spent two weeks testing it out. 

After completing my subscription, I created three learner profiles to get a feel for each of the Reading Eggs literacy programs: 

1. Reading Eggs Junior for pre-schoolers ages 2 to 4 who are learning their letters
2. Reading Eggs for young children ages 3 to 7 mastering phonics
3. Reading Eggspress for elementary students ages 7 to 13 who are building advanced reading and spelling skills

I could select a level for each child or have them take a placement test. From there, I entered the first child’s interface, where the Reading Eggs learning path led me into a phonics game.

Lessons combine cartoon-based instructional videos with a variety of fun learning exercises. When I was testing the program, I was solving puzzles, mixing ingredients in the play kitchen, or even stringing beads to make an original bracelet design. With plenty of songs, digital costumes, storybooks, and additional games, they’ve packed in tons of content for kids to explore. 

The entire course is accessible via desktop and the mobile app. For more comprehensive educational programming, you can pay a higher monthly cost for their reading and math bundle. I liked that the math videos and games go beyond teaching basic numbers, addition, and subtraction skills to also cover concepts like patterns, shapes and days of the week. To me, it’s this holistic approach to mathematics that really encourages critical thinking.

Reading Eggs Pricing Plans

Reading Eggs’ standard monthly reading plan costs about $10 a month. They offer a 30-day free trial so you can test out the program before making a commitment. Once your 30 days are up, you’ll be automatically charged the monthly fee. If you want to cut your monthly price nearly in half, you can pay about $70 upfront for the annual plan, which comes out to under $6 per month.

They also offer a Reading & Math combination package. That gives you access to all of the reading programs plus the sister program Mathseeds for about $14 per month or $8 per month on the annual plan. Finally, the Homeschool Max package, which costs about $42 per month or $25 per month on the annual plan, includes all reading programs, Mathseeds, a teacher toolkit, and options for assigning lessons and monitoring progress.

You can add up to four children per subscription; it only took me about five minutes to set up three learner profiles in my account. The Reading Eggs cancellation policy lets you cancel anytime to avoid future charges; you’ll still have full access until the end of your current plan.

One more note about pricing is that we see a lot of Reading Eggs promo codes circulating online. We try to keep our page updated with the best Reading Eggs coupon codes out there, so check for the best deals before purchasing.

The curriculum is split into four reading programs and focuses on skills like sight words, letter recognition and sentence building: 

• Reading Eggs Junior (Ages 2 to 4): Focuses on building alphabet knowledge, vocabulary, and early phonics skills through fun activities, songs, and videos for toddlers and preschoolers.
• Reading Eggs (Ages 3 to 7): Structured, blended phonics approach to teach children the five pillars of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension) through 120 lessons.
• Fast Phonics (Ages 5 to 10): Fast-paced, explicit instruction method to boost reading fluency, focusing heavily on letter-sound relationships and blending sounds to read words (also good for struggling readers).
• Reading Eggspress (Ages 7 to 13): Designed for more advanced readers to build comprehension skills, spelling, vocabulary, and grammar through lessons, an e-book library, and various activities.

The Reading Eggs program includes 130 lessons divided into three levels: “Starting Out,” “Beginning to Read,” and “Building Confidence.” As a teacher, I’ve always had an interactive classroom style, so I really liked that each level mixes songs and games in with quick lessons and constant e-books to keep kids reading, plus quizzes for accountability. To me, that’s the ideal learning experience: a balance of fun activities with serious growth!

Their approach helps kids master five core literacy skills: 

1. Phonemic awareness: Kids start by learning to hear and identify the sounds within words.
2. Phonics: Children master letter sounds and start decoding text.
3. Vocabulary: Targeted vocab instruction enables children to read and understand more storybooks. 
4. Fluency: Readers improve their accuracy as well as their understanding of punctuation and tone.
5. Comprehension: Older students learn to analyze a story’s meaning and make inferences from the text.

How Lessons Work: Inside Reading Eggs

Reading Eggs lessons are interactive from start to finish. Even video lessons required me to actively click through the content, which really kept me engaged. I liked the way each lesson unlocks a new set of books using only the words learners have already mastered, which goes a long way to boost kids’ confidence and interest in reading. After every 10 lessons, children take a quiz, which generates a progress report parents can review. 

The lesson structure for Reading Eggs Junior is similar, while lessons within Reading Eggspress for older students follow the format of pre-reading activities, a reading selection, and a comprehension quiz. A separate track called English Skills provides sequential spelling lessons. 

One of my favorite aspects of Reading Eggs is that it keeps kids reading constantly, rather than merely playing games. Even the Mathseeds lessons integrate digital books that reinforce mathematical concepts. In my classroom, I always tried to keep students learning through reading, so I was impressed to see best educational practices being used as the core of the program.

The map-based progression gamifies learning, and kids get an extra boost by occasionally unlocking a new map. Learners also earn certificates and golden eggs they can redeem for in-game prizes, like circus costumes for their avatar to wear. 

To build interest in reading, the program includes over 4,000 storybooks organized by genre and topic. I’ve seen first-hand how finding just the right book can ignite a reluctant reader’s interest, so I respect that Reading Eggs connects with all kinds of readers

Learning Activities

I found myself constantly doing something new: shooting down spaceships, matching pictures to sounds, or even layering percussion instruments to create a beat. Between letter games, phonics lessons, and pre-reading questions that boost critical thinking, students of all ages get extensive practice in new skills through a wide variety of activities that help them master the content before moving on.

Common activities include:

• Animated video lessons
• Sentence-building activities
• Spelling games
• Interactive stories
• Matching games
• Educational songs
• Text & picture analysis

I also really liked the Reading Eggs printable worksheets. They make it easy to give readers offline practice related to their current lesson, especially since I don’t have much time for scouring the internet.

Progress Tracking And Parental Controls

I found the parent dashboard easy to navigate, and I liked all the detail in the progress reports. I could review how many lessons each child completed, their Lexile level (or reading age), how many fiction vs nonfiction books they’d read, and their progress within individual categories like vocabulary and text analysis. 

I’d set some reading goals and mix your app time with actual physical books to build a reading habit that sticks.

Homeschool Use

Now, if you’re homeschooling, this is where Reading Eggs really shines. Their curriculum-aligned reading and math instruction lets parents easily assign lessons and track readers’ progress via instant reports, so you’ll always know exactly how your child is doing. You don’t need to worry about lessons being “busywork.” The reading library and 700+ printable worksheets go hand in hand with the structured curriculum, and the Read-Aloud feature records kids’ reading voices so you can hear how they’re doing.

You’ll also have access to the Teacher Toolkit including a wide selection of teacher resources, such as curriculum guides and maps. For me, using the right resources frees up my mental energy to brainstorm creative educational projects, rather than wasting all my prep time on basic lesson sequencing and data tracking.

Pros And Cons

There’s a lot to like about Reading Eggs. Here area few highlights I want to shout out:

• The research-based phonics and reading structure gets results. They teach phonics the right way, using methods that actually work. Parents report that even struggling readers and children with special needs (including autism) often make significant progress within weeks of using the program.

• Clear progress reports show your child’s exact reading level. The progress reports show your child’s exact reading level using terms you’ll recognize from school, so you know if they’re on track. And since I have enough tasks to juggle, I’m a huge fan of the regular parent emails that bring progress reports straight to me.

• Accurate placement tests personalize learning. Each child can jump straight into the exact next step they need to work on, reducing frustration and boredom.
• Engaging maps and rewards keep kids motivated to learn. According to some parents, their children actually prefer Reading Eggs over TV time!
• Bonus features provide a lot of bang for your buck. Beyond the core lessons, the program includes hundreds of printable worksheets, certificates, and over 4,000 digital storybooks and comprehension quizzes, plus the option to add a Mathseeds subscription.

Of course, Reading Eggs isn’t perfect. I’d like to see a few improvements:

• The gamified approach doesn’t work for every family. This may come down to personal preference. I see both sides. There’s nothing wrong with making learning fun, but in an age of heavy screen time, I understand concerns about sparking future video game habits.

• Click-based games may promote guessing. I’ll be honest – I sometimes found myself simply clicking through games. Some users suggest that dyslexic learners in particular may advance levels without truly learning. While including more fill-in-the-blank activities would definitely require players to think through their answers, the regular quizzes and progress trackers provide at least a baseline amount of accountability.

• The activities may feel repetitive for advanced readers. I consider Reading Eggs a safe bet for younger children and a possible fit for older students, depending on personality. The animations are also on the simpler side, although I only expect older learners would notice or care.

The program requires parent guidance for consistency. While Reading Eggs is significantly cheaper than a private tutor, it does require hands-on involvement to make sure your child is progressing.

👉Read our review on Hooked on Phonics, another leading phonics program

Reading Eggs vs Other Learning Apps

Where Reading Eggs excels is offering one of the most in-depth, comprehensive reading programs out there. The ABCmouse curriculum is more general, as it spans subjects ranging from reading and math to science, music, and history.

Based on my experience using ABCmouse, I’d say their program is great for parents of young children wanting a more holistic curriculum. ABCmouse shines for having a wider variety of learning activities and a lower annual cost, while Reading Eggs spans a wider age range and includes more accountability to ensure learning. To me, Reading Eggs vs ABCmouse comes down to whether your child needs really targeted reading support; if so, Reading Eggs offers a more focused phonics and literacy program.

Hooked on Phonics is more like Reading Eggs: it’s focused on reading. Despite being a little pricier, the Hooked on Phonics program is more limited, with about 100 digital storybooks compared to Reading Eggs’ 4,000+ books and an exclusive focus on phonics. Reading Eggs also covers vocabulary, spelling, and comprehension strategies. Overall, Reading Eggs has a superior digital interface with more interactive games than Hooked on Phonics.

If you prefer physical resources, however, Hooked on Phonics comes out ahead. Their subscriptions include a monthly physical kit with a workbook and storybooks. I used Hooked on Phonics with my kids a few years ago, and they absolutely loved those physical books; they read them nonstop for weeks, unlike digital lessons that kids typically complete just once. Bottom line, Hooked on Phonics is best for parents wanting a blended approach combining digital and physical resources, while Reading Eggs’ multi-sensory lessons accommodate a wider range of learning styles.

Free reading apps for kids, like Starfall, feel hit-and-miss in terms of their lesson content. Starfall offers some phonics and reading activities, but the content is limited. In my experience, both my students and my children needed almost nonstop repetition to master phonics – and Starfall doesn’t come close to matching Reading Eggs’ number of activities.

As a supplementary tool, Starfall offers a few benefits, like customizable worksheets and an affordable plan. Still, they don’t offer any parent tracking options, and the graphics are so outdated that most children won’t find them relevant. For a comprehensive reading program with more extensive practice and better game variety, you’re better off investing in a more structured program like Reading Eggs.

Device Support, Safety And Privacy

Reading Eggs is available on iOS, Android, and online, making it easy to access from any device. My one complaint is that it took me a bit of time to figure out how to jump between the various programs on the kids’ interface. Soon, however, I found the Reading Eggs app sleek and easy to use.

With over 20 million users worldwide, Reading Eggs is considered safe for children. As a COPPA-compliant, kidSAFE certified program, Reading Eggs is 100% ad free, with no outside influences working their way in. They also have a great data protection policy. That’s big for me, since I take kids’ privacy seriously.

Final verdict

At the end of the day, is Reading Eggs worth it? For me, it’s a pretty clear yes. The research-based phonics instruction actually works. With an extensive digital library, interactive lessons that keep kids engaged, and detailed progress reports that show exactly where your child stands, Reading Eggs is one of the best phonics apps for kids I’ve tested.

Reading Eggs needs improvement – I’d add more fill-in-the-blank activities to prevent guessing. The heavy gamification won’t appeal to every family, and older readers may find it too simple. You’ll need to stay involved to keep your child on track.

Reading Eggs is best for preschoolers through age 7 learning to read, plus older elementary students needing foundational phonics support. The structured curriculum and parent dashboard also make it a solid choice for homeschool families. Bottom line: Reading Eggs offers a well-rounded literacy program at a reasonable price for children ages 2-13 who need reading support.

👉 Click here to learn more about another leading kids education app, ABCmouse