SpellingCity Alternatives in 2026: Where It Went and What to Use

For years, the routine in many homes went like this. The weekly list came home on Monday, a parent typed it into SpellingCity, and the child played games and took a practice quiz with the words read aloud. It was simple, it used the school's own list, and it saved a lot of arguments at the kitchen table.

Then families went to log in and found it gone. If you type spellingcity.com into a browser today, you are sent to a page from Learning A-Z about its product Vocabulary A-Z. Parents are left asking two reasonable questions: what happened, and what does the same job now?

This guide answers both. It explains where SpellingCity went, compares the tools that do what families and teachers used it for, with prices checked on each company's own site in late September and early October 2026, and ends with a short method that makes any of them work better. We make one of the tools mentioned, and we say plainly that it is not a like-for-like replacement.

What happened to SpellingCity

VocabularySpellingCity no longer runs under its own name. Its address now redirects to Vocabulary A-Z, a product of Learning A-Z, the company behind Reading A-Z and Raz-Kids. We checked the redirect on October 6, 2026. Learning A-Z says Vocabulary A-Z keeps the SpellingCity game-based activities and adds vocabulary materials, lesson plans and teacher reports, for kindergarten to fifth grade. Learning A-Z sells mainly to teachers and schools.

What that means in practice depends on who you are. If your child's school has a Vocabulary A-Z license, the teacher can give your child a login, and that is the simplest route. If you used SpellingCity on your own at home, check what Learning A-Z currently offers families before paying for anything, because its products are built around classroom licenses.

Some people search for "SpellingCity by Vocabulary.com". The two are different companies. Vocabulary.com is a separate vocabulary site with its own Spelling Bee activity, covered below.

What families actually used it for

Before choosing a replacement, it helps to be clear about the job. Most families used SpellingCity for three things: entering the school's weekly list, having the words read aloud so a child could practice without a parent reading them, and getting a quick check before Friday's quiz. The games kept children willing.

Most of the alternatives below do the first two. Fewer do something SpellingCity never did especially well either, which is bring words back weeks later so they stay learned. That matters more than it sounds, and we return to it at the end.

The short version

Closest replacements for home: Home Spelling Words and Squeebles

Home Spelling Words is the nearest thing to the old home experience. You enter your child's list, and the site reads the words aloud and turns them into more than 20 games, auto-graded practice quizzes and printable worksheets. The free area carries ads. Paid plans cost $14.99 to $24.99 a year and cover up to five students, which makes it one of the cheapest options for a family with several children. It is aimed at kindergarten through about ninth grade, so a teenager may find it childish.

Squeebles Spelling Connect, from the UK developer Key Stage Fun, does one thing especially well: you can record the words in your own voice. Your child hears you say "because", types it, and earns small rewards and mini-games. That is listen-and-type practice with a familiar voice, which younger children often like. A family plan covers up to four children for £2.99 a month or £29.99 a year after a seven-day trial. It also keeps a Tricky Words set of each child's misspellings to practice. Its weakness is the one most list-based tools share: there is no long-term schedule, so last month's words come back only if you bring them back.

SpellingTraining.com is the no-cost option. It reads a list aloud for a child to type, shows the results and has simple games, all free and supported by ads. It is aimed at grades one to four, and the full version runs on a computer rather than a phone.

For teachers: Spelling Stars and Spelling Shed

Spelling Stars, a sister site to Home Spelling Words, is built for teachers. You create or copy a list, assign practice, games and quizzes, and it grades the results automatically. It works with Google Classroom. There is a 7-day trial, and the basic plan for a small class was about $27 for a year when we checked, with larger plans adding more games.

Spelling Shed, from EdShed, is more than a list tool. It is a full spelling curriculum built on phonics, morphology (the study of word parts) and word history, with preloaded lists, unlimited custom lists, assignments, progress tracking and live multiplayer games. There is a free tier with basic games; school and home plans are priced by quote. For a teacher who wants structure as well as practice, it is the strongest option here. Its arcade-style speed game is popular, but it can reward fast guessing, so the lessons deserve as much time as the game.

Vocabulary.com and our own entry

Vocabulary.com is worth a look for older students. Its Spelling Bee activity shows a word's definition, plays the word and asks the student to type it, and teachers can assign Spelling Bees and watch progress. The site is built mainly around meaning, so spelling is a secondary feature. A free account allows 10 trainer questions a day.

Our app is not a SpellingCity replacement, and it is fairer to say so up front. It has no games, and a teacher types the week's list in by hand rather than importing it. Its family and classroom plans are new and simple. What it does instead is leveled dictation. A recorded American voice says a word, the learner types it, and the app shows exactly which letters went wrong and why, then schedules the word for review with spaced repetition. There are ten levels and topic lists, a short warm-up to find the right level, and extra practice on any pattern a learner keeps missing. It suits children who type comfortably, and anyone older, who would benefit from steady practice beyond the weekly list.

Questions to ask the teacher first

Before you spend money, a two-minute conversation with your child's teacher can save you from buying the wrong thing.

Ask whether the school already licenses a spelling or vocabulary tool. Many do, including Vocabulary A-Z and Spelling Shed, and a home login is often included at no extra cost. Ask where the weekly list comes from, too. If it is drawn from a published program, there may be matching practice online already, and using it keeps home and school in step.

It is also worth asking what the teacher would most like you to practice. Some teachers care most about the pattern of the week, such as words ending in -tion, and would rather a child understood the pattern than memorized ten examples. Others want the high-frequency words that keep turning up misspelled in writing. Knowing which matters to your child's teacher tells you which kind of tool to choose.

Finally, if your child finds spelling hard, ask whether that has been noticed at school. A child who works hard on lists and still cannot retain them may need more than a new app, and the teacher is the right person to start that conversation with.

How to choose

Start with the list. If your child's practice must match a school list every week, you need a tool that accepts custom lists: Home Spelling Words, Squeebles or SpellingTraining.com at home, Spelling Stars or Spelling Shed in a classroom. If the school already licenses Vocabulary A-Z or Spelling Shed, ask for a home login before buying anything.

Then think about age. Young children respond to a parent's recorded voice and small rewards. Older children often find cartoon-heavy sites patronizing and do better with something plainer.

Finally, consider what happens after Friday. A weekly list tool measures whether a child can spell the words for one quiz. Research on memory suggests that is a weak signal. Nicholas Cepeda and colleagues, in a 2006 review of hundreds of experiments, found that practice spread over days beats the same practice crammed together, and much of what is crammed for Friday is gone by the next month.

A simple method that works with any of them

Whatever tool you choose, three habits make it far more useful. They take minutes, and they are backed by solid evidence.

First, practice by recall, not by copying. Hearing a word and spelling it from memory strengthens it much more than looking at it, as Henry Roediger and Jeffrey Karpicke showed in their 2006 study of the testing effect. Most list tools offer a listen-and-type mode; use it more than the games.

Second, keep old lists alive. On Monday, before the new list, check five words from two or three weeks ago. Any that have slipped go back into this week's practice. Our guide to doing spelling homework without a fight shows how to fit this into a busy week.

Third, look at the mistake, not just the score. If your child writes "becuase", the useful conversation is about the "au", not about getting it wrong. Our piece on why a child spells a word right on the quiz and wrong in writing explains why the weekly score often flatters.

What to do next

This week, pick the alternative that matches how you used SpellingCity: Home Spelling Words or Squeebles if you entered a weekly list at home, Spelling Stars or Spelling Shed if you are a teacher. Ask the school first whether a login is already available. Then add the Monday habit: five old words, from memory, before any new ones.

If your child is also ready for steady practice beyond the weekly list, you can try five words from Spelling.School on the home page with no sign-up. For a wider look at children's spelling apps, see our roundup of spelling apps for kids.

Questions people ask

Does SpellingCity still exist?

Not under its old name. The spellingcity.com address now redirects to Vocabulary A-Z from Learning A-Z, which carries forward SpellingCity-style word games alongside vocabulary lessons and teacher reports. Learning A-Z sells mainly to schools, so families usually get access through a school license. If your child's teacher uses it, ask for a home login.

What is the best free alternative to SpellingCity?

SpellingTraining.com is a free, ad-supported site that reads your own list aloud for a child to type, and it suits grades one to four. Home Spelling Words has a free area with ads and paid plans for more features. Spelling Shed also has a free tier with basic games, and many children already have a login through school.

Is SpellingCity the same as Vocabulary.com?

No. They are separate products from separate companies. SpellingCity now redirects to Vocabulary A-Z from Learning A-Z, while Vocabulary.com is an independent vocabulary site with its own word lists, adaptive trainer and a Spelling Bee activity where you hear a word and type it.

Which spelling app lets me enter my child's weekly list?

Several do. Home Spelling Words and SpellingTraining.com let you type in a list that is then read aloud, Squeebles Spelling Connect lets you record the words in your own voice, and Spelling Stars and Spelling Shed let teachers set custom lists for a class. Check whether the tool also lets you return to old lists, so earlier words get reviewed.

Do spelling games actually help children learn words?

Games help when they make a child produce the spelling from memory, and help much less when they only ask the child to recognize the right spelling or tap letters for points. A child who enjoys a game will also practice more often, which matters. The most useful mix is mostly listen-and-type practice, with games as a reward rather than the main activity.

Why does my child pass the Friday spelling quiz but forget the words later?

A weekly quiz measures short-term memory after several days of practice on the same few words. Without review spread over the following weeks, much of that learning fades, which is one of the most reliable findings in memory research. Checking a handful of old words each week, and practicing any that have slipped, keeps them from disappearing.

Fix the words you actually get wrong

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