Readigo: a paid reading app that listens, and says where the voice goes
Readigo listens as a child ages 6 to 12 reads aloud and scores each sentence. What it does, what it costs, where the voice goes, and who it suits best.
Readigo is an iPhone and iPad app that listens while a child ages 6 to 12 reads aloud, scores each sentence and marks the words to practice, and it stands out for how plainly it describes itself. It costs $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year in the US, with no free trial. Its maker told us up front that the voice goes to the cloud, that the app is iOS only and that it is paid, which are the three things many makers leave for you to find. On paper it is the first one we would try for an 8- to 12-year-old who can read but reads haltingly, especially one who likes comics.
What we know, and how we know it
Maksym Shevchuk, who makes Readigo, wrote to us on 2 November 2026. He corrected the ages we had listed for Microsoft Reading Coach, and he was right, so we fixed them. He also offered us a free month of Readigo with no conditions.
Everything below comes from Readigo's own pages, its privacy policy and its US App Store listing, read on 2 November 2026. We have not used the app yet, so this is a note about what the maker says, not a test of how well it hears a child. Nobody paid for this post or for Readigo's place on our reading-apps guide, and nothing here is an affiliate link. Readigo has since added a line about our library to its own comparison post; we asked, and this post would have stayed up whatever the answer.
What Readigo does
A child picks a story and reads it out loud. Igo, a friendly dragon, follows along. After each sentence the app shows one score in percent. (Its App Store text says it grades accuracy, fluency, pace and clarity, but the maker told us on 4 November 2026 that the text is out of date and will change with the next release.) Misread words turn red, skipped words are crossed out, and a Try again button sends the child back for another go.
Two things make it different from the usual reading app:
- It reaches older kids. Many apps that listen are built for the first years of reading. Ello stops at age 9. Readigo runs to 12, and that is the age when a child who still stumbles aloud is most likely to feel too old for little-kid books.
- Manga Mode. Some of its stories come as comic panels, scored the same way. For a 10-year-old who will read a comic and nothing else, that is a sensible way in.
Grown-ups can open a report inside the app whenever they like. It shows accuracy, books, minutes and sentences for the last four weeks side by side, and the words their child misread recently. There is no weekly report sent to you.
Why reading aloud with feedback is worth doing
The National Reading Panel's 2000 report found that guided oral reading, where a child reads aloud and someone responds, helps fluency. That someone in those studies was mostly a teacher, a parent or another student. An app is a newer stand-in, and we did not find a published study of Readigo itself. Its appeal is simple: it is there on the days nobody has ten spare minutes to sit and listen.
Where the voice goes
This is the first thing to ask about any app that listens to a child, and Readigo's answer is unusually specific. Most apps tell you less. Its policy names each company and each step:
- Short clips go over an encrypted connection to Google Firebase storage.
- ElevenLabs turns the clips into text.
- OpenAI scores the reading from that text, the book's text and the child's age. Readigo says no audio, name or account identifier goes to OpenAI.
- The audio is deleted right after the analysis, usually within 10 seconds, Readigo says.
Readigo also says it builds no voiceprint, runs no ads and sells no data, and that, when a grown-up is signed in, a copy of the child's reading progress is also kept in its cloud storage (Firebase), as section 3.4 of its privacy policy now says. Its maker told us on 4 November 2026 that an older version of that policy said progress stays on the device, which was wrong, and we had repeated it. A pseudonymous summary is also sent for analytics. A grown-up creates the one family account with Sign in with Apple or Google, and can delete everything from Settings.
Two details to weigh. OpenAI may keep those text requests for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring, so what your child read aloud, as text, can outlast the audio. And the App Store label, which Apple says it has not verified, lists contact info, identifiers, usage data and user content as linked to you. If keeping sound on the device matters most, Readigo is not your app, and it says so.
We have tested none of these statements. They are the maker's.
How it compares with the other apps that listen
| App | Cost (US) | Runs on | Ages, per the maker | Where the voice goes, per the maker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Readigo | $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year, no trial | iPhone, iPad | 6 to 12 | Cloud, deleted right after scoring |
| Ello | Free daily activities, paid upgrade | iOS, Android | 5 to 9 | Keeps raw audio for 30 days, as we read it in October |
| Read Along | Free | Android, web | Not stated by Google | On the device, except in limited cases |
| Microsoft Reading Coach | Free with a Microsoft account | Web, Windows | Most useful for 6 to 11, suitable for 5 to 18 | On the device |
The free ones are real alternatives, and we would try them first if a free app runs on your device and fits your child's age. Readigo earns its price in a narrower spot: a family with an iPhone or iPad and a child past Ello's range, or one who will read comics when nothing else works.
Who it suits, and who it doesn't
It looks like a good fit if your child is about 8 to 12, can get through the words but reads slowly or skips, likes comics, and you want a short daily habit you can check on without sitting beside them.
Look elsewhere if you use Android, want to try before paying, want sound to stay on the device, or have a child still learning letter sounds. Readigo is reading practice, not a first phonics course. Our guide to reading apps covers those.
Two cautions apply to every app like this. Speech recognition can miss young voices, accents and speech differences, so never trust a red word over your own ears, and watch how your child takes it, since a percent on every sentence spurs some kids on and rattles others. And the App Store shows only 5 ratings so far, a 4.2 average, too few to tell you much. We did not find an independent review yet, so keep the first month as your own test: the $9.99 month costs about what a paperback does.
Questions parents ask
Is Readigo free?
No. It is free to download, but using it takes a subscription: $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year in the US App Store as of 2 November 2026. There is no free trial.
Does Readigo keep my child's voice?
Readigo says no. Its policy says audio goes to the cloud to be transcribed and scored, then is deleted right after, usually within 10 seconds, with no voiceprint built. The text of what was read may be kept by OpenAI for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring. We have not tested these statements.
Does Readigo work on Android or a computer?
No. It is for iPhone and iPad only as of November 2026. On Android, look at Read Along or Ello. On a computer, look at Microsoft Reading Coach.
What ages is Readigo for?
Its maker says 6 to 12. We think it makes the most sense from about 8, once a child can decode most words and needs practice reading them smoothly, though a confident 6-year-old could use it too.
Does Peabody do this?
Not today. Peabody never listens to a child read. It writes stories at a child's level and asks them to read aloud to someone who loves them. Its story library has no ads and is free through 2026, and it pairs well with an app like this one: stories from us, practice aloud from them.
Checked against how Peabody works on 2 November 2026. Written with help from AI. Peabody is a reading app, not a reading assessment: if you're worried about your child's reading, talk to their teacher. Questions, or something wrong? Write to hello@peabody.kids.