Overview

SpellMe is an online spelling-practice app for learners at home and in classrooms. It suits families and teachers who want custom or curated word lists alongside progress tracking. Its free tier makes it easy to start, while paid plans add adaptive practice and more capable tools; the internet requirement rules it out for offline use.

Key features

Practice and word lists

Regular, Mastery and Story modes give learners different ways to practise, though access to the latter two depends on the plan. Mastery adjusts difficulty based on performance, and hints can focus attention on missed letters. Phonics instruction, dictation and corrective practice broaden the practice beyond straightforward word drills.

Registered users can choose from curated phonics and festive lists or make their own. Capacity is a meaningful distinction between tiers: Basic permits five lists of up to 10 words each, while Advanced offers unlimited lists with up to 20 words per list. Premium raises that limit to 100 or more words per list. Guests are limited to one custom list of five words, so the guest option is best for a brief tryout rather than ongoing practice.

Progress and classroom use

A dashboard tracks learner accuracy and word mastery. Teacher plans add classroom management and student-progress monitoring through a dedicated dashboard, with Easy Classroom Login on Teacher Advanced. Teacher Premium adds Story Mode and Smart Hints; its full classroom progress reports are marked as coming soon, so that particular addition is not yet a current capability.

Premium also bundles image-based word-list import, automatically generated lists and AI progress summaries. These tools can reduce the work of preparing and reviewing practice, but they are reserved for the top individual tier.

SpellMe requires an internet connection. Guest settings and game data are stored locally on the device and, according to the privacy policy, are not sent to SpellMe's servers. Google Analytics cookies activate only with user consent.

Pricing

SpellMe uses a freemium model, with the Basic plan free and paid individual plans billed annually. Basic includes Regular Mode, five lists of up to 10 words each and access to 300+ curated phonics word lists. It is a reasonable starting point for learners who can work within those list limits and do not need adaptive or story-based practice.

Advanced costs £12/year and includes unlimited lists of up to 20 words each, Mastery Mode and advanced progress tracking. Its 14-day free trial makes it the more suitable upgrade for learners who benefit from difficulty that adapts to performance, but it does not include Story Mode or Premium's AI and image-based tools.

Premium costs £20/year and includes lists of 100+ words, Story Mode, Smart Spelling Hints, image-to-list generation, Smart Progress Summary and Auto Word List Creation. It is the fullest individual plan for people who need those preparation and feedback tools; for simpler practice, the extra cost over Advanced buys features that may go unused. Premium also includes a 14-day free trial.

Teacher Advanced and Teacher Premium use custom pricing. Teacher Advanced includes Regular and Mastery Modes, unlimited lists, student progress tracking, a teacher dashboard and Easy Classroom Login. Teacher Premium adds Story Mode, Smart Hints and full classroom progress reports, with those reports marked as coming soon. Schools should compare the tier's classroom features against their needs before choosing; no per-seat terms are provided here.

Platforms

SpellMe is a web app that requires an internet connection, with stated support for web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, and for most browser-based devices. Despite that broad device range, the lack of offline access makes it a poor fit for learners who need to practise without connectivity.

Who it's for

Families and homeschoolers can start with Basic, then move to Advanced if they need adaptive practice or more lists. Premium is better suited to learners whose lists exceed 20 words or who will use Story Mode and the automated tools. Teachers can consider the classroom-specific plans for management and progress monitoring, while guest access is best kept to a short trial because it allows only five words in one list.

Pros and cons

Pros: Basic combines a free plan with Regular Mode and 300+ curated phonics lists, giving learners a useful starting library without an annual commitment.
Pros: The paid tiers scale list capacity and practice features, from adaptive Mastery Mode in Advanced to Story Mode and AI-assisted tools in Premium.
Pros: Teacher plans include classroom management and student progress monitoring, addressing needs that a family-focused practice plan does not.
Cons: SpellMe cannot be used offline, which limits practice when an internet connection is unavailable.
Cons: Guest use is sharply capped at one five-word list, so evaluating sustained practice requires registration or a paid-plan trial.
Cons: Classroom pricing is custom, and Teacher Premium's full progress reports are not yet available.

Alternatives

For a wider choice, browse Spelling Apps. Pick Wordshark if its paid model and free trial better suit your choice; it has no free plan and supports Android, iOS, macOS, web and Windows. Spelling Shed is another freemium option, with a free plan and Android, iOS and web support; its free tier's tests, games, challenges and leagues have seven-day histories.

Choose Spello if a family subscription with a stated first-year price and a daily practice cap is a better fit: Families costs £10 for the first year only, then £20/year, for up to four children. Better Speller is worth considering for Apple-device users who want a free trial with all features and a 35-word allowance; it supports Android, iOS and macOS.

DoodleSpell may suit schools considering a per-pupil subscription: its DoodleEnglish with DoodleSpell school plan is £6 per pupil per year and offers a quote or demo. Spelling.Live offers a free sign-up credit allowance of 200 credits, which expires after 90 days without a practice session. Spellzone is a paid alternative with a one-student annual plan at €35, including results and progress in the student login but no administrator login. PenPoints is free on Android and iOS, with a limited teacher allowance for homework, SpellStation credits and live class assessments.

Verdict

SpellMe is a good fit for families, homeschoolers and teachers who want spelling practice with a free entry point, curated phonics lists and progress tracking. Advanced is the most persuasive upgrade for adaptive practice; Premium earns its higher annual price only when its larger lists, Story Mode or automated tools matter. Look elsewhere if offline access is essential, and weigh the small guest allowance before relying on it for an extended evaluation.

	SpellingJoy	SpellMe
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	No	Yes
Paid from	$2.99/mo	£1/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, iOS, Web	Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Web, Windows
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Phonics instruction	Yes	Yes
Dictation practice	Yes	Yes
Teacher dashboard	Yes	Yes
Corrective practice	—	Yes
Offline access	—	No
Word-list import	—	Yes

SpellingJoy vs SpellMe

SpellingJoy

SpellMe