All About Spelling vs Logic of English vs Spelling You See (2026)

All About Spelling suits a parent who wants a short, scripted, rule-based spelling lesson. Logic of English suits a family that wants reading, spelling, handwriting and grammar taught as one system. Spelling You See suits a confident reader who prefers copying and dictation to rules. The Good and the Beautiful's Simply Spelling is free for grades 4 to 8, and Sequential Spelling suits an older child working alone.

• Best scripted, rule-based spelling: All About Spelling (Level 1 $64.95, plus tiles $25.95; print).
• Best whole language-arts system: Logic of English (Essentials 1 to 7 bundle $222.17; print, optional online lessons).
• Best for passages instead of word lists: Spelling You See (Level A $42.03, Levels B to G $65.43; print).
• Best free option: The Good and the Beautiful's Simply Spelling (free online, grades 4 to 8).
• Best for an older child working alone: Sequential Spelling Online ($19.95 per level per child; web).
• Best for a dyslexic child with a trained tutor: Barton Reading & Spelling ($350 for Level 1; kits or all digital).

We make Spelling.School, a practice tool that appears in the table below. Every price and feature here was checked on each publisher's own website on 1 November 2026.

How we compared

These programs differ less in quality than in what they believe spelling is, so we judged them on how each one teaches: explicit rules, patterns the child discovers, or passages and visual memory. We also compared who does the teaching and for how long each day, what the first level and the whole program really cost once the extras are counted, and how well each fits a child who struggles. On 1 November 2026 we read each publisher's product pages, price pages, FAQs, placement guidance and published lesson outlines, and we quote them where it settles a question. We did not teach these programs to our own children, run trials, or take payment from any publisher. Where a sentence is our judgment rather than the publisher's, we say so.

The programs side by side

Alphabetical. US dollars, publishers' own prices, as of November 2026.

Three different beliefs about spelling

Underneath the packaging, these programs make three different bets.

The first bet is that English spelling follows rules worth teaching directly. All About Spelling, Logic of English and Barton all teach the sounds each letter or letter group can spell, then the rules for choosing between them, in a planned order. The research behind this is solid. Steve Graham and Tanya Santangelo's 2014 meta-analysis pooled 53 studies from kindergarten to 12th grade. Formally teaching spelling made children better spellers; the gains lasted and carried over to spelling in their own writing, and phonological awareness and reading improved too. Linnea Ehri's work on orthographic mapping explains why: a spelling is stored by bonding a word's sounds to its letters, not by photographing its shape. And Louisa Moats, in an American Educator article whose title makes the point for her, argues that English spelling is "more regular and predictable than you may think".

The second bet is that children learn patterns best by meeting them in families and working out the rule themselves. Sequential Spelling's site says it plainly: "Inductive, not deductive," with "No abstract rules to memorise."

The third bet belongs to Spelling You See, and it deserves to be stated in the publisher's own words. "An Adept Speller is a Visual Speller," its home page says, adding that "sound is not always an effective way" to recognize patterns. Its FAQ explains the reasoning: "research has shown that focusing on phonics rules after the Phonetic Stage of spelling ultimately does not help children learn to spell." Note the qualifier. The program does not reject phonics; its first two levels work alongside the phonics a child is learning in reading, and its claim is about what helps after that stage.

The research named above reads differently. Graham and Santangelo did not sort children by spelling stage. Across kindergarten to 12th grade, though, they found the benefits of formal spelling teaching "generally consistent, regardless of students' grade level or literacy skills." Ehri's work on orthographic mapping points the same way. Parents should weigh both readings before choosing, especially for a child who struggles.

All About Spelling vs Logic of English

These two are often weighed against each other, because both teach rules explicitly. The real difference is scope.

All About Spelling teaches spelling and nothing else. The publisher calls it "a scripted, open-and-go program" and a "seven-level program" using "the Orton-Gillingham approach". "Each spelling lesson presents a single new rule or concept," children build words with letter tiles, and a review box of flashcards keeps old words in circulation. The levels climb from words like "bath", "dog" and "wing" in Level 1 to words ending in "ible" and "able" in Level 6, and Latin roots and Greek word parts in Level 7. The publisher recommends "20 minutes per day", and offers a one-year money-back guarantee.

Two details matter for planning. First, the levels are not grades: "Most students start in Level 1 since this is a mastery-based program, not a grade-level program." A ten-year-old may begin with the same book as a seven-year-old, which is right for filling gaps but surprises parents. Second, the extras add up. Level 1 is $64.95, the letter tiles are $25.95 once per household, and each child needs a $17.95 review box, so a first child's first level is $108.85. Levels 2 to 4 are $69.95 and Levels 5 to 7 are $49.95.

Logic of English replaces your whole language-arts shelf. Foundations, for early readers, has 40 lessons per level with assessments, readers, games and handwriting, and promises "No Sight Words": every word is explained by its sounds and rules. Essentials, for older students, has "30 units that are divided across four volumes", with spelling analysis, vocabulary, grammar and a placement test. Lessons are scripted, and the publisher says no prior preparation or training is required.

The time is different too. Logic of English's own scheduling guide suggests 45 to 60 minutes a day to finish an Essentials level in a year, or 30 to 40 minutes a day spread over two years. That figure covers grammar and vocabulary as well as spelling, so it is not a fair comparison with All About Spelling's 20 minutes. The Essentials 1 to 7 and core bundle is $222.17 and the Foundations A bundle is $226.67, both shown as sale prices.

Our judgment: choose All About Spelling if spelling is the gap and you already like your reading and grammar materials. Choose Logic of English if you want one system that explains English from the ground up, and you have the time to learn it alongside your child.

All About Spelling vs Spelling You See

This is the comparison of opposites. Spelling You See, from Demme Learning, promises no spelling tests and no memorizing of word lists. Each lesson centers on a short passage, worked through in five parts. In the Wild Tales level, for example, the child reads the passage with you, marks letter patterns (the program calls them chunks), copies the passage for ten minutes, and ends the lesson with a ten-minute dictation. Placement is "skills-based, not grade-based", and there are seven levels, from beginning readers to older students. Level A costs $42.03 and Levels B to G cost $65.43 each, with a year of online access included.

The FAQ is honest that the program "requires regular parental engagement", especially in the first two levels. It also says the first two levels "reinforce the basic phonics" a child is learning in reading, and that rule-like patterns come back in the top levels.

Spelling You See is probably the gentlest program on this list, and its dictation is real practice from memory. It suits a child who already reads well and spells most common words, and a parent who dislikes drills. The trade-off, in our judgment, is the child who needs patterns explained rather than noticed. All About Spelling tells that child why "cake" has a silent e; Spelling You See expects the child to notice it by marking and copying the pattern.

Sequential Spelling vs All About Spelling

Sequential Spelling is sold on its own site as an online program. "Each word is spoken aloud, then used in a sentence," the student types it, and feedback is immediate. Words come in families; its home page shows one running from "ran" and "can" to "stand" and "brand". There are five levels of 180 lessons each, with up to 25 words a day. Missed words "are automatically queued for review at the start of future lessons," and a parent gradebook shows every word attempted. It costs $19.95 per level per child, levels do not expire, and there is a free placement check. One warning: because there is a free trial, it offers no refunds. Its own pages describe the trial both as "5-day" and as five free lessons.

The publisher describes it as built on the Orton-Gillingham approach. The teaching, though, is inductive: the child is meant to discover the rule from the family of words.

So the choice is about independence. Sequential Spelling gives a self-motivated older child something to do alone every day, and gives you a record. All About Spelling gives you twenty minutes at the table, explaining why. One sensible order, in our view, is a rules program first, then Sequential Spelling once the child can explain the patterns.

The Good and the Beautiful: is Simply Spelling enough?

Simply Spelling is the publisher's "Online and Completely FREE" spelling program for grades 4 to 8. It has 26 levels, each teaching 32 common words along with homophones, spelling rules and principles. Each session takes 5 to 10 minutes and teaches four words. A placement check can set the start, known words are skipped, and missed words are mastered before moving on and reviewed "at various points throughout upcoming levels". Because the child types, the publisher recommends a laptop or desktop, or an external keyboard on a tablet. Optional practice books are $6.99.

Below grade 4, spelling lives inside the publisher's Language Arts courses, which include "phonics, reading, grammar, writing, and spelling instruction". Course sets for Levels K to 2 are $69.97, Level 3 is $72.97, and PDFs of Levels K to 8 are free to download. The courses are parent-led through Level 3 and student-directed from Level 4.

Is it enough? For a child in grades 4 to 8 who reads well and makes ordinary mistakes, a free, adaptive program with built-in review is a strong choice, and hard to argue with on price. For a child who still struggles to match sounds to letters, its pages do not describe the explicit, step-by-step phonics teaching that such a child needs, so pair it with, or replace it by, an explicit program.

If your child may be dyslexic

The International Dyslexia Association's current definition, adopted in October 2025, describes "difficulties in word reading and/or spelling that involve accuracy, speed, or both". A program cannot diagnose that. If you suspect it, our guide to signs of dyslexia in a child's spelling explains what to look for and whom to ask.

On teaching, the strongest evidence is clear and a little surprising. A 2014 meta-analysis of randomized trials by Katharina Galuschka and colleagues found phonics instruction was "the only approach whose efficacy on reading and spelling performance" in children with reading disabilities was statistically confirmed. But a 2021 meta-analysis by Elizabeth Stevens and colleagues, looking only at programs labelled Orton-Gillingham, did not find statistically significant effects on foundational reading skills, and judged the overall quality of the studies to be low. The lesson: the label on the box matters less than whether the teaching is explicit, systematic and frequent.

By that standard, All About Spelling, Logic of English and Barton all qualify. Barton Reading & Spelling is the one built for this child. Its tutors need not be professionals, but must pass a screening, and each level includes three to five hours of streaming tutor training. Barton asks for at least two hours of one-on-one tutoring a week, year-round, in sessions no longer than an hour. Levels 1 and 2 are $350 each and Levels 3 to 10 are $400 each, with an all digital version at the same prices. It is a serious commitment of money and time, and it is designed to be.

Spelling You See says it has "successfully been used by many children with language-based learning differences". Given its stated view that an adept speller is a visual speller, we would not make it the first choice for a dyslexic child. Our evidence-based guide to dyslexia programs covers more options.

What the whole program costs

Per-level prices hide the real number, so here is the full run for one child, at today's prices, including the one-time extras.

Logic of English is left out of the chart because its bundles cover reading, grammar and handwriting as well, so a spelling-only total would mislead. A second child changes the sums: All About Spelling needs another student packet and review box, Spelling You See sells separate student workbooks, Sequential Spelling charges per child, and Simply Spelling stays free.

When to switch, and how to do it mid-year

Families switch spelling programs all the time, and mid-year is fine if the reason is real. Three signs are worth acting on, in our judgment. A child who still guesses at the letters for a sound after months of passage work probably needs explicit teaching. A child who aces the weekly words but misspells them in a story a month later needs more practice from memory and more review. And a parent who dreads the lesson will not keep it up, which is a reason to move to something more independent.

To switch well, use the new program's own placement guidance rather than your child's grade. Expect to start lower than you hoped, especially with All About Spelling. Before you shelve the old books, write down the words your child still misspells in their own writing, and make those the first words you practice. Then give the new program six to eight weeks before you judge it.

Our homeschool spelling curriculum overview covers further options, and our guide to homeschool spelling without a curriculum you hate shows how to build your own.

Where daily practice fits

Whatever you choose, words taught in a lesson fade unless they come back. Ours is a practice tool, not a curriculum: an American voice says a word, the child types it, the app shows which letters went wrong and why, and spaced repetition brings the word back. It does not teach phonics or rules in sequence the way the programs above do, the voice is American only, and it runs in a browser with no native app yet. The Family plan is $149 a year for up to six learners, each child added by first name and PIN, with a parent page showing how each is doing.

What to do next

Download the sample lessons and placement checks for your top two programs, and try one lesson of each with your child this week. Notice which one your child leans into, and which one you can picture teaching on a tired Thursday.

If you want a few minutes of daily review beside it, your child can try five words on our home page with no sign-up, or start free with the warm-up: 14 days of everything, then a free plan that stays free.

Questions people ask

Which is better, All About Spelling or Logic of English?

All About Spelling is better if you want a short, scripted spelling lesson; Logic of English is better if you want reading, spelling, handwriting and grammar taught as one rule-based system. Both teach phonograms and spelling rules explicitly. All About Spelling recommends about 20 minutes a day, while Logic of English Essentials suggests 30 to 60 minutes a day because it covers more subjects. Logic of English costs more up front, but it replaces more books.

Is Spelling You See good for dyslexia?

In our judgment, Spelling You See is not the strongest first choice for a dyslexic child, because it leans on visual memory, copywork and dictation rather than explicit phonics rules. The publisher says many children with learning differences have used it successfully. But the best evidence for children with reading disabilities, such as a 2014 meta-analysis by Galuschka and colleagues, supports explicit phonics instruction, which All About Spelling and Barton provide.

Is The Good and the Beautiful spelling enough on its own?

For a child in grades 4 to 8 who reads well, Simply Spelling from The Good and the Beautiful can be enough on its own. It is free, adaptive, teaches rules and principles, and reviews missed words in later levels, in 5 to 10 minute sessions. A child who still struggles to match sounds to letters needs more explicit phonics teaching than its pages describe. Below grade 4, spelling is part of the publisher's Language Arts courses.

How much does All About Spelling cost?

As of November 2026, All About Spelling Level 1 costs $64.95, Levels 2 to 4 cost $69.95 each, and Levels 5 to 7 cost $49.95 each. The publisher's list of what you need also includes the Letter Tiles ($25.95, once per household) and a Review Box ($17.95 per student). That makes a first child's first level $108.85, and all seven levels about $469.

Is Sequential Spelling or All About Spelling better?

Sequential Spelling is better for an older child who will work alone; All About Spelling is better when a parent can teach for about 20 minutes a day and the child needs rules explained. Sequential Spelling Online reads each word aloud, has the child type it, and keeps a parent gradebook, at $19.95 per level per child. All About Spelling is scripted, rule-based and hands-on with letter tiles.

Which homeschool spelling program is best for dyslexia?

For a dyslexic child, choose an explicit, systematic phonics program such as Barton Reading & Spelling with a trained tutor, or All About Spelling at home. Research on children with reading disabilities supports explicit phonics instruction more than any other approach. Barton asks for at least two hours of one-on-one tutoring a week and costs $350 to $400 per level. A professional assessment should guide the choice where possible.

Can you switch spelling programs mid-year?

Yes, you can switch spelling programs mid-year, as long as you place your child with the new program's own placement guidance rather than by grade. Expect to start a level or two lower than you hoped, especially in mastery-based programs like All About Spelling. Carry over the words your child still misspells in their own writing, and give the new program six to eight weeks before judging it.

Fix the words you actually get wrong

A few minutes a day, spaced repetition, built only for spelling. Try five words without signing up.