Spelly
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Spelling practice app · ages 6 to 12

The weekly spelling list, turned into a game kids actually want to play.

Snap or type the words from school. Spelly reads each one aloud, turns the list into short games and plans the practice up to test day.

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Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play Educational App Store · Certified 2026 · rated 5.0/5Certified byEducational App Store

What is Spelly?

Spelling practice that feels like a game

Spelly is a free, AI-powered spelling practice app for kids ages 6 to 12. Parents scan a worksheet, type the words or make a list with AI, and kids practice in 5 games, along a road of 24 worlds, in 14 languages. It's free to start, or $29 once for unlimited hearts and up to 50 scans and 50 AI lists a month.

Why we built it

It started with my son Tommy and his weekly 20-word spelling list. Every Sunday was the same - flashcards, groans, words forgotten by Monday. So we built it together: something that felt more like a game than a worksheet. Tommy tested every level and picked the rewards. Now he's the one reminding me when it's practice time.Tommy and his dad · Why we built Spelly
TEST
ON
FRIDAY

you've got this!

5 ways to play

One word list. Five games.

Every list works in every game, and all five are open from the start. Pick one, or choose Mixed and every word gets a different game: multiple choice, fill the gap, build it, type it, and around again.

🔓 Available from the start

Type It

The classic spelling test. Kids hear the word in a natural voice and type it letter by letter, with instant feedback and no waiting for Friday. On phones and tablets Spelly's own keyboard blocks autocomplete, suggestions and voice-to-text, so it's real spelling, not autocorrect.

ROCK

🚫 No autocomplete · no voice-to-text

🔓 Available from the start

Multiple Choice

Hear the word, then pick the correct spelling from a set of tempting look-alikes. Great for early readers building confidence.

recievereceive ✓receeve

🔓 Available from the start

Build It

Tap chunky letter tiles to build the word from scratch — perfect for kids who learn by doing, not typing.

DRA
NGO

🔓 Available from the start

Fill the Gap

Some letters are already in place — kids fill in the tricky missing ones. Targets the exact spots words go wrong.

PENUN

🔓 Available from the start

Matching

Match each word to its picture, and tap a word to hear it. A gentle first meeting with new words, before any spelling.

🐙
otteroctopus ✓ostrich

Read about the five game modes →

A road to follow

24 worlds of words, a few at a time.

No list from school this week? Spelly's road has 94 word lists in 24 worlds, from first colors and numbers to space and dinosaurs. Each list is played a few words at a time, in games that get harder step by step, and ends with a short typed test. Pass it to finish the list, earn coins and open the next one.

Chests along the way, opened with the coins insideA trophy for every list finishedA review stop brings back yesterday's missed wordsA world test opens the next worldPip walks the road beside your child, and some lists hatch a new creature

The Spelly magic

Snap a list. We teach every word.

No typing. No recording. No flashcards. Photograph your child's spelling list and Spelly turns each word into a game: read aloud in a real voice, shown as a picture, and explained in kid-friendly words.

📸 Mrs. Lee · Week 12 list

  • elephant
  • giraffe
  • rainbow
  • volcano
  • octopus
  • butterfly
➜

AI reads it ✨ · Imported to Spelly

🐘 elephant 🔊 ✓
🦒 giraffe 🔊 ✓
🌈 rainbow 🔊 ✓
🌋 volcano 🔊 ✓
🐙 octopus 🔊 ✓
🦋 butterfly 🔊 ✓
✨ AI picture🔊 Hear itnoun
🐘

Elephant

A huge grey animal with big floppy ears, a long trunk and curved tusks.

“The elephant flapped its enormous ears.”

🔤 el · e · phant   🧩 3 syllables

Try it with your child's real list

Drop a photo of the worksheet, or — JPG or PNG.

Sign in and Spelly turns every word into a game. The photo stays on this device until then.

Read aloud, pictured and explained in any of 14 languages, with part of speech too. Every meaning is checked twice before your child sees it. You never record a thing. How Scan works →

Test this Friday?

Ready by test day, a few minutes a day.

Tell Spelly when the test is and add the words. Spelly spreads the practice over the days before it and reminds you on those days, by email or on the phone.

📅 Pick the test day, or "not sure yet"📸 Scan the worksheet or type the words⭐ Mark challenge words, kept apart from the rest✉️ A practice plan with reminders, tap a day to change it🎯 "Test in 3 days" on the list, and "How did the test go?" after

More AI under the hood

Smart enough for any word list.

No list? Make one in seconds. Have a printed worksheet? Snap a photo. Spelly handles the rest.

✨ AI Word Generator

Pick any topic, a difficulty and a length, and get a ready list in seconds.

🦁 Animals🚀 Space🍕 Food🐉 Dragons⚽ Sports+ any topic

🎚️ Four difficulty levels

Easy (K to 1st), Medium (2nd to 3rd), Hard (4th+) and Challenge (advanced), spelling practice for 1st through 5th grade that grows with your child. Spelling words by grade →

📷 Scan a worksheet

Snap your kid's printed, typed or even handwritten spelling list. AI reads it and pulls out just the words.

🔊 A real, friendly voice

Every word read aloud in a natural voice, saved on the device for instant replay. Practice in UK English and it speaks with a British voice.

📖 Every word explained

Its meaning, part of speech and an example sentence after each answer, checked twice before it's shown, plus a short fact, like why the k in knee is silent. Free for everyone.

🖼️ A picture for every word

Kid-safe illustrations for every word we have drawn. Free for everyone.

The reason they keep coming back

A whole game built around getting words right.

XP, coins, streaks, a daily goal, chests, trophies and creatures to hatch: the loop that turns practice into a daily habit.

Earn as you spell

34212Lv 7

Coins for every word, XP that levels you up, 50 coins for every new level, and a streak that fills a dot for every day of the week.

Daily goal

6/10

“Spell 10 words today.” One clear goal every day, filled just by playing. Finishing it pays 120 coins and 60 XP.

The Shop

🧊

Coins buy a streak freeze, so one missed day doesn't break the streak.

12 creatures to hatch

earned by finishing lists · never bought

Some lists hatch a creature when you finish them. Wear it and watch it walk the road.

Pip
Otto
Ripp
Nova
Kiko
Bizz
Hoot
Wisp
Glaze
Chug
Zap
Scorch

Tap a creature to say hi.

For grown-ups

See the learning, not just the game.

Spelly shows you the week in four numbers: days practiced, words mastered, words right first time and the words still to practice. In the app, and in a short email every week.

📊 The week in four numbers✉️ A weekly email, nothing to log into

14 languages

Practice in one language. Read meanings in another.

Practice spelling in one language while reading meanings in another, made for bilingual and ESL families. Full right-to-left support for Hebrew and Arabic, and US or UK English. Tap a language to see how it works.

Practice in 🇬🇧 English · read meanings in your native language 📚The whole interface is translated, too.

🇬🇧 UK English: British spelling and a British voice🔤 Easier-to-read letters: a dyslexia-friendly font, one switch in Settings🔇 Play without sound: a picture or meaning in place of the spoken word

Word lists & library

Three ways to build a list. Zero busywork.

However the words arrive, Spelly turns them into a game in seconds.

✨ AI list

Any topic, any difficulty, in seconds.

📷 Scan a worksheet

Snap your kid's worksheet and AI lifts the words. Apps that scan lists →

⌨️ Type

Type or paste your own list.

💾 Every list gets its own page: hear each word, pick its game, see the test countdown🔁 Missed words come back🧹 Filter out noise words📊 Words mastered⭐ Challenge words📅 Test plan with reminders🔗 Share any list with a link

Spelly for Chrome

Build the word list right where you find it.

A little Chrome extension that collects the words from a page, a ready-made topic or a photo, then you practise the list on Spelly like any other.

You decide what makes the list.

Nothing is saved until you say so. The extension shows you what it found, you drop anything you don't want, name the list yourself - and it's ready to practise.

1
Highlight and right-click.

Select words anywhere on a page and choose “Add to Spelly”.

2
Review before it saves.

Tap any word to drop it, and give the list its own name.

3
Practise on Spelly.

The finished list opens on spelly.net like any other.

🧩 Chrome Web Store

Spelly · Build a list 🧩

📄 7 words found on this page · Year 4 spellings

sunlight ✕harvest ✕machine ✕notice ✕glisten ✕escape ✕homework ✕

👆 Tap a word to drop it

List name Week 12 · Mrs. Lee
Save to Spelly 🚀

🔎 From the page you're on

Open the school's spelling page, a Google Classroom assignment or the class newsletter - the extension finds the list on it and pulls the words out. Nothing from the page is sent anywhere.

🔒 Runs on your own computer

🎨 From a ready-made topic

73 curated lists come bundled inside the extension - animals, space, dinosaurs, the human body. Pick one and it's built.

🙌 No account needed

📸 From a photo

Photograph the worksheet or drop in a screenshot, and it reads the words straight off the picture.

✨ Uses Spelly's AI

🧩 Free on the Chrome Web Store - speaks 14 languages, finds word lists on pages in 9.

Up and running in a minute

How Spelly works

1

Bring a list

Scan a worksheet, type the words, let AI make a list on any topic, or follow the road.

2

Hear and spell

Spelly reads each word aloud. Kids spell it in 5 games, with a hint when they're stuck.

3

Earn and level up

Coins, XP, streaks and trophies roll in, with creatures to hatch along the road.

Getting started guide →

Beyond the weekly list

More than weekly homework

Spelly works for any list of words worth learning, in any of 14 languages.

🏝️ Heading abroad?

Generate a Travel list and learn the most useful words before you land — greetings, numbers, directions, food.

🌍 Learning a new language?

Practice core vocabulary in Spanish, French, Hebrew, Thai and more — and read meanings in your native language.

👩‍💻 Grown-ups too.

Adults use the same word lists and game modes to sharpen their own spelling and vocabulary.

🏠 Bilingual households.

Each family member practices in the language they're working on, all in one app.

📚 Test & spelling-bee prep.

Build a custom list of the exact words your child needs to master before the big day. 4-week spelling bee plan →

✈️ ESL learners.

Practice English spelling while reading every definition in a first language.

For teachers

Your whole class, practicing in one minute

Share a spelling list with one link. Students practice instantly - no student accounts, no student emails, ever.

Used by 112 teachers in 39 countries.

1
Make the list

Type this week's words, snap a photo of the worksheet, or generate a list by topic.

2
Share one link

Add your name and a note like “Spelling test this Friday” - then send it in any class channel, or show the QR code and let the room point their cameras at it.

3
Students practice instantly

The link opens straight into practice on any device — free for every student.

🔒 Spelly collects nothing from your students.📊 Track my class - on a list you mark as a school test, see who practiced and their scores, from the same single link (Premium)

👀 See a live example → · How to share a list with your class →

Simple, kid-fair pricing

Start free. Unlock once for unlimited hearts.

The full game is free forever. One $29 payment makes hearts unlimited and adds up to 50 worksheet scans and 50 AI lists a month. No subscription.

Free

$0free forever

  • All 5 games
  • The road: 94 lists in 24 worlds
  • Every word explained
  • Test plans with reminders
  • Full game and a daily goal
  • Hearts to start, more every day
  • 1 worksheet scan and 1 AI list a day
Start free →
💎 One payment

Premium

$29one-time. No subscription, ever.

  • Unlimited hearts: practice never stops
  • Up to 50 worksheet scans and 50 AI lists a month
  • Track my class: who practiced, and their scores
Get Premium
Every plan includes the full game
All 5 games24 worldsXP, coins, streaks and trophies12 creatures to hatch14 languagesSave and share word lists

Free play runs on hearts. A round of practice uses one, and wrong answers are free. Hearts come back over time and again each new day. Premium makes hearts unlimited. What are hearts? →

Spelling app comparison

Switching from another spelling app? Here's how Spelly compares.

Whatever app you're using now, here's a factual, side-by-side comparison. (When VocabularySpellingCity raised prices from $35/year to $125/year in 2024, a lot of parents started shopping around.) See the full comparison →

SpellyVocabularySpellingCitySpelling ShedSqueebles
Price$29 once (or free)$108–125/yr$29–38/yr$3.99/mo
AI-generated word listsYesNoNoNo
Scan worksheet from photoYesNoNoNo
Browser extensionYes · ChromeNoNoNo
Custom topic generationYesNoNoNo
Game modes5 modesSomeSomeCharacter games
Languages14EnglishEnglishEnglish (UK/US)
Designed forAges 6–12K–12 genericAges 5–11Ages 5–9
Free tier with full gameYesNoTrial onlyTrial only

Spelling Shed alternatives · Best free spelling apps · Best app by age

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Questions parents ask

Spelly FAQ

Last updated: October 2026

Is Spelly free?
Yes - Spelly is free to start. The free plan includes all 5 games, the road of 94 word lists in 24 worlds, test plans, a daily goal and the full game, plus hearts to start. Every word comes with its meaning and an example sentence, free. A round of practice uses one heart and wrong answers are free. Hearts come back over time and again each new day. For unlimited practice, Spelly is a one-time payment of $29. No subscription, ever.
Are there any limits?
Premium includes up to 50 worksheet scans and 50 AI lists a month (and up to 10 a day). Each child can add up to 500 new words a month; words already in Spelly's word library don't count. If you reach a limit, a friendly message tells you the date it resets.
What ages is Spelly for?
Spelly is designed for kids ages 6 to 12 (grades 1–5), and that's who it's built around - four difficulty levels, from Easy (K–1st) through Challenge, let the same word lists grow with your child. But anyone can use Spelly to strengthen spelling and vocabulary, including older kids and adults. And it isn't English-only: with 14 languages, the whole family can practice - whether a parent is brushing up on a new language or learning travel words before a trip abroad. Best spelling app by age →
How many spelling words a week should my child learn?
There is no official number: schools set their own weekly lists, and they vary a lot. Our free grade lists have 10 words each, which is plenty for a week. Short daily practice and spelling from memory matter more than the count. If a list feels too long, five words practised well beat fifteen rushed. Spelling words by grade →
What spelling words should my child know in each grade?
Schools vary, so your child's own list comes first, but the order is similar: short vowels, blends and first sight words in 1st grade; -ing and -ed endings and compound words in 2nd; two-syllable words, contractions and homophones in 3rd; prefixes, -tion and -sion, and rules like dropping the e in 4th; Greek and Latin roots, -able and -ible in 5th. Free lists for each grade: 1st · 2nd · 3rd · 4th · 5th
How is Spelly different from SpellingCity?
Spelly costs $29 once, or is free to start, while VocabularySpellingCity runs about $108–125 per year. Spelly is the only one of the two that scans your child's worksheet from a photo and generates word lists by topic with AI. It's purpose-built for ages 6–12 across 5 game modes and 14 languages, while SpellingCity is a broader K–12 classroom tool. SpellingCity alternatives →
Is Spelly a free alternative to Spelling Shed?
Yes. Spelling Shed has no free plan on its pricing page: parents pay £34.16 a year for up to five children, unless the school provides it. Spelly is free to start, with all 5 games, 94 ready-made lists and one worksheet scan a day, and Premium is $29 once, never a subscription. Spelling Shed has a full scheme by year group and multiplayer games; Spelly turns your child's own list into a game. Free Spelling Shed alternatives →
Is Spelly a good free alternative to SpellingJoy?
Both have free options. SpellingJoy is completely free with no limits but no AI lists or worksheet scanning. Spelly's core game is free too, with 5 games, 94 ready-made lists and the full game, with a daily amount of free practice set by hearts, plus one free worksheet scan and one free AI list every day. Choose SpellingJoy for unlimited no-frills practice, or Spelly for a richer, game-like experience with AI lists and worksheet scanning. Best free spelling apps →
Does Spelly work on iPad, iPhone, and Android?
Yes, three ways. There is a free app on the App Store for iPhone and iPad and a free app on Google Play for Android, and Spelly also runs in any web browser on phones, tablets, desktops and laptops with nothing to install. The same account works everywhere, and the interface uses big, kid-friendly tap targets sized for small hands. Download on the App Store → Get it on Google Play →
How does the worksheet scan feature work?
Snap a photo of your child's spelling worksheet - printed, typed or handwritten. Spelly's AI reads the image, pulls out just the spelling words, and turns each one into a playable list in seconds. You can filter out any noise words before practice, so there's no typing the list in by hand. On a computer, scan the QR code with your phone to photograph the sheet there - no app, no signing in on the phone - and the words land in your account. How Scan works →
How does Spelly help before a spelling test?
Tell Spelly the test day and add the words, by scanning the worksheet or typing them. Spelly spreads the practice over the days before the test and reminds you on those days, by email or on the phone. The list counts down to the test, keeps challenge words apart, and asks how the test went afterwards.
What do parents see?
The week in four numbers: days practiced, words mastered, words right first time and the words still to practice, in the app and in a short weekly email.
How does Spelly compare to Duolingo for spelling?
Duolingo teaches foreign-language vocabulary; Spelly is built specifically for spelling practice in your child's own school words. Spelly lets you scan or generate the exact weekly list, hear each word in a natural voice, and spell it across 5 game modes - something general language apps like Duolingo don't do.
What languages does Spelly support?
Spelly supports 14 languages: English, Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Thai, Korean, Burmese and Japanese, with full right-to-left support for Hebrew and Arabic. Kids can practice spelling in one language while reading word meanings in another - ideal for bilingual and ESL families.
Do I need to create an account or download anything?
You don't have to download anything - Spelly works right in your web browser on any device, so kids can begin spelling practice in under a minute. Prefer an app? There are free apps on the App Store and Google Play too. Either way, sign in with Apple, Google or your email to save progress across devices. Getting started →
Is there a Spelly Chrome extension?
Yes - Spelly for Chrome is free on the Chrome Web Store. It builds a word list from the page you're on, from 73 ready-made topics bundled inside it, or from a photo of a worksheet - then opens the finished list on spelly.net to practise. Finding lists on a page happens entirely on your own computer: the pages you visit are never sent to us or anyone else. The extension speaks 14 languages and can find word lists on pages in 9 of them. Get Spelly for Chrome →

More answers in the Help Center → · How to help your child with spelling · Why kids struggle with spelling

Ready to make spelling the best part of homework?

Join the kids who've spelled 84,813 words with Spelly.

Start spelling free ✨