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Reading Eggs vs Teach Your Monster vs Night Zookeeper vs Litsee

These four do different jobs, so the best one depends on what your child needs next. Teach Your Monster to Read is phonics games for early readers (its app says ages 3 to 6) and is free on computers. Reading Eggs is a paid learn-to-read programme from first sounds to comprehension, ages 2 to 13, at £6.99 a month for up to four children. Night Zookeeper focuses on reading and writing for ages 6 to 12, from £11.99 a month for one child. Litsee is interactive stories for ages 5 to 11 where your child chooses what happens, from £4.99 a month.

Last checked: Written by the Litsee team, who make Litsee. How we checked

At a glance

Reading Eggs, Teach Your Monster, Night Zookeeper and Litsee side by side: what each teaches, ages, UK price, trial, children per plan and devices. Checked on 30 October 2026; sources are listed below.
QuestionReading EggsTeach Your MonsterNight ZookeeperLitsee
What it isLearn-to-read programme: phonics to comprehensionPhonics and reading games (Teach Your Monster to Read, Reading for Fun)Reading and writing programme, set as an adventureInteractive stories: the child chooses what happens next
Ages2–13 (Reading Eggs 3–7, Fast Phonics 5–10, Reading Eggspress 7–13)Teach Your Monster to Read: 3–6 (its App Store listing)6–125–11 (stories written for reading ages 5–9)
UK price£6.99 a month or £54.99 a year for up to 4 children (£9.99 or £79.99 with maths)Free on computers. Teach Your Monster to Read app: £8.99 one-off on the UK App Store£11.99 a month, £27.99 a quarter or £99.99 a year for one child; more for each extra childStandard £4.99 a month (15 stories), Premium £6.99 (unlimited), Book Club £19.99 (plus a printed book monthly)
Free optionNo free planYes, every game is free on computersNo free planNo free plan
Free trial30 days free on monthly plans, plus a 30-day money-back guaranteeNot needed7 days7 days; a card is needed to start it
Children per planUp to 4 children on one planNot statedPriced per child, up to 3 in checkoutOne plan covers every child in the family
DevicesWeb on desktops and tablets; iOS and Android appsComputer browser; iOS, Android and Amazon appsBrowser on tablets, PCs and laptops; iOS app for iPad and iPhoneWeb app in the browser on phones, tablets and computers; no app-store app
PhonicsYes, including Fast Phonics (5–10)Yes, from first letter sounds to reading sentencesNo (reading and writing skills)No (not a phonics programme)
WritingNot the main focusNoYes, the main focusChildren can write their own ideas for the story
OfflineNot stated (printable worksheets)Not statedNot statedNo, it needs an internet connection

Head to head

Reading Eggs vs Teach Your Monster: both teach phonics, but Teach Your Monster to Read concentrates on the early stages (letter sounds, blending, tricky words, first sentences) and costs nothing on a computer. Reading Eggs starts in the same place but keeps going, with Fast Phonics for ages 5 to 10 and Reading Eggspress for comprehension from 7 to 13. If your child is just starting, try Teach Your Monster first; if you want one subscription that grows with them, Reading Eggs is the stronger fit.

Reading Eggs vs Night Zookeeper: Reading Eggs is mainly about learning to read; Night Zookeeper is mainly about writing, with grammar, vocabulary, spelling and comprehension around it. Night Zookeeper costs more for one child (£11.99 a month against £6.99 for up to four children on Reading Eggs), so it makes most sense when writing is the goal.

Where Litsee fits: Litsee is not a phonics course or a writing curriculum. It is reading for pleasure where the child is the author. Your child picks a hero and a world, and after each chapter chooses one of three paths or writes their own idea, and the story follows it, illustrated and read aloud at their reading level. It sits alongside a phonics app rather than replacing one.

Who each one suits

Start from what your child needs. More than one can be right, and Litsee is only the answer for one of these.

  • Your child is just starting phonics

    Teach Your Monster

    Teach Your Monster to Read. Free on computers, and it goes from the first letter sounds through to reading sentences.

  • One programme to grow with several children

    Reading Eggs

    Up to four children on one plan, ages 2 to 13, and a 30-day free trial on monthly plans.

  • Writing, grammar and spelling for ages 6 to 12

    Night Zookeeper

    Writing is its main focus, and the 7-day trial lets you see whether your child takes to it.

  • A confident reader who would rather make up stories

    Litsee

    Your child decides what happens next and can write their own ideas into the story. It is a web app that needs the internet, a card is needed to start the trial, and stories are made with AI.

Each app in more detail

Reading Eggs

A learn-to-read programme of games, lessons and e-books, from first sounds to comprehension. UK price: £6.99 a month or £54.99 a year for up to 4 children (£9.99 or £79.99 with maths).

What it does well

  • One programme that runs from early phonics (Reading Eggs, Fast Phonics) to comprehension for older readers (Reading Eggspress, 7–13).
  • One plan covers up to four children.
  • A long trial: 30 days free on the monthly plans, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
  • Printable worksheets, and a maths add-on (Mathseeds) if you want it.

Worth knowing

  • There is no free plan once the trial ends.
  • It is a structured course, so children follow its lessons rather than choosing what to read.

Visit Reading Eggs

Teach Your Monster

Phonics and reading games from a charity set up by Peter Usborne of Usborne Publishing. UK price: Free on computers. Teach Your Monster to Read app: £8.99 one-off on the UK App Store.

What it does well

  • Free to play on computers, from a charity set up by Peter Usborne of Usborne Publishing.
  • Teach Your Monster to Read goes in three stages from the first letter sounds and tricky words to reading sentences for meaning, and was developed with academics at Roehampton University.
  • The app has no in-app purchases or adverts.
  • Reading for Fun turns reading into quests, with more than 70 books to collect.

Worth knowing

  • Teach Your Monster to Read is aimed at early readers; its app says ages 3 to 6.
  • The phone and tablet apps cost money; only the computer versions are free.

Visit Teach Your Monster

Night Zookeeper

A reading and writing programme for ages 6 to 12, set as an adventure. UK price: £11.99 a month, £27.99 a quarter or £99.99 a year for one child; more for each extra child.

What it does well

  • Writing is the focus: grammar, vocabulary, spelling, reading comprehension and creative writing.
  • A wide age range, from 6 to 12.
  • A 7-day free trial, and you can cancel within it without being charged.

Worth knowing

  • The dearest of these for one child, and each extra child adds to the price.
  • No Android app is mentioned; on other devices it runs in Safari or Chrome.

Visit Night Zookeeper

Litsee

Interactive illustrated stories where the child chooses what happens next. UK price: Standard £4.99 a month (15 stories), Premium £6.99 (unlimited), Book Club £19.99 (plus a printed book monthly).

What it does well

  • The child is the author: they pick the hero and the world, and after each chapter choose one of three paths or write their own idea.
  • Stories are illustrated and read aloud, with each word highlighted as it is read, at your child's reading level.
  • One plan covers every child in the family, each with their own profile, and there are no adverts.

Worth knowing

  • It is a web app: it runs in the browser and needs an internet connection, and there is no app-store app.
  • A card is needed to start the 7-day free trial (nothing is charged if you cancel before it ends), and there is no free plan.
  • Litsee uses AI to write and illustrate each story from your child's choices, so it is not a library of published books. It is not a phonics programme either.

Litsee plans and prices

Questions parents ask

Is Reading Eggs or Teach Your Monster better?

They suit different jobs. Teach Your Monster to Read is phonics games for early readers (its app says ages 3 to 6) and is free on computers. Reading Eggs is a paid programme from early phonics to comprehension for ages 2 to 13. For phonics practice with a young child, start with Teach Your Monster; for one programme that grows with your child, try Reading Eggs.

What is Night Zookeeper best for?

Writing. Night Zookeeper describes itself as a reading and writing curriculum for ages 6 to 12, covering grammar, vocabulary, spelling, reading comprehension and creative writing.

Which of these is cheapest?

Teach Your Monster is free on computers (its Teach Your Monster to Read app is £8.99 one-off on the UK App Store). Of the subscriptions, Litsee Standard is £4.99 a month for 15 stories, Reading Eggs is £6.99 a month for up to four children, and Night Zookeeper is £11.99 a month for one child. Paying yearly costs less per month on all three.

Do any of them teach phonics?

Teach Your Monster to Read and Reading Eggs (including Fast Phonics, for ages 5 to 10) are built around phonics. Night Zookeeper and Litsee are not phonics programmes: Night Zookeeper focuses on reading and writing skills, and Litsee on reading stories for pleasure.

Can we use more than one?

Yes. They do different jobs, so a free phonics game alongside a reading or writing app can work well. Check each trial's end date so you only keep the ones your child uses.

How we checked

Written by the Litsee team. We make Litsee, so we are not neutral: we have tried to be fair, we say where another app is the better choice, and every fact links to the company's own website or app store listing. If something here is wrong or out of date, email info@litsee.com and we will fix it.

Prices, ages, free options and devices were read on each company's own website or its UK App Store listing on . Where a site did not say something (whether it works offline, say), we write "not stated" rather than guess. Prices and offers change, so check before you subscribe.

Let your child write the next page

In Litsee, your child picks the hero and the world and chooses what happens next, in an illustrated story read aloud at their level. Every family starts with a 7-day free trial; a card is needed to start it, and nothing is charged if you cancel before it ends.

Start your free trial

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