7-day free trial

Confident spellers in 10 minutes a day.

Most spelling apps drill this week's list. SpellStar builds long-term memory using proven science, so words stick for months and years. Ideal for independent practice at home or as a daily classroom routine. Aligned to the Australian Curriculum, Years 3 to 10.

SpellStar practice session showing a spelling prompt with definition, example sentence, and text input
< 5 min Placement test
Years 3–10 Adapts to your child
10 min Per day, by design
$5.99 Per month (AUD)
🚫 No ads
👤 No account required
✈️ Works offline
🔒 Data stays on device

Everything they need to become a confident speller.

No ads, no in-app purchases, no endless screen time. Just 10 focused minutes a day that genuinely make a difference. Less than a coffee a month.

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Adaptive placement

A quick diagnostic finds the right starting level, so your child isn't bored by easy words or overwhelmed by hard ones.

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Spaced repetition

Words come back at just the right time, based on how well your child knows each one. The algorithm learns as they learn.

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Australian Curriculum

1256 words aligned to the Australian Curriculum v9.0, with Australian English spellings throughout: colour, practise, organisation.

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Two practice modes

Independent: the app speaks the word, your child types. Parent: you read, they spell, you tap correct or incorrect.

Gentle feedback

Letter-by-letter comparison on mistakes, pattern hints for tricky features, and in-session retries. Encouraging, never punishing.

Built-in screen limits

Daily caps on new words and reviews mean sessions end naturally after 10–15 minutes. Your child gets genuine learning, not endless scrolling. Every minute on screen is productive.

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Achievements & streaks

23 achievements across six categories, plus daily streaks. Rewards effort and consistency, not perfection.

How a session works

Each session takes about 10 minutes. Short, focused, and done — screen time you can feel good about.

1

Listen

The app speaks the word aloud in an Australian English voice. Your child sees the definition and can hear it used in a sentence.

2

Spell

They type the spelling. No multiple choice, no letter tiles. Real spelling, the way they'll need to do it in class.

3

Learn

Instant feedback shows what went right and what went wrong. Missed words come back later in the session for another try.

4

Remember

The algorithm schedules each word for review at the optimal moment. Over weeks, spellings move from fragile to permanent.

Start free 7-day trial

No account needed. Takes under a minute.

Aligned to the Australian Curriculum

1256 words across Years 3 to 10, mapped to the English content descriptors in version 9.0.

Year 3
142 words

High-frequency words, common letter patterns and phoneme-grapheme relationships.

Year 4
263 words

Multisyllabic words, more complex letter patterns and grammatical morphemes.

Year 5
202 words

Prefixes, suffixes and spelling generalisations including technical vocabulary.

Year 6
172 words

Word origins, spelling rules and generalisations to spell new and technical words.

Year 7
117 words

Complex morphology, academic vocabulary and subject-specific terminology.

Year 8
120 words

Etymological complexity, multi-morpheme words and discipline-specific vocabulary.

Year 9
120 words

Advanced academic and analytical vocabulary across English, Humanities and Science.

Year 10
120 words

High-level academic and formal vocabulary in preparation for senior secondary.

The science behind it

SpellStar isn't just another flashcard app. It's built on decades of memory research.

Words stick for months, not days

Most spelling apps test once and move on. SpellStar reviews each word at the exact moment your child is about to forget it, making the memory dramatically stronger each time. The result: spellings that last.

Research-backed system

Powered by research-backed spaced repetition, used by serious learners worldwide and refined with data from hundreds of millions of reviews. It models how memory actually works.

Kind to mistakes

Spelling "acheive" instead of "achieve" is a near miss, not a failure. The algorithm responds proportionally, so one small error doesn't reset progress. A bad day doesn't define a word forever.

Technical details for the curious
Algorithm FSRS v5, 21 empirically validated parameters
Target retention 90% recall probability at review time
Maximum interval 180 days between reviews
Daily caps 5 new words, 30 reviews per day
Cold start ramp 3 new words/day until 15 studied
Learning phase 2 steps (correct twice to graduate)
Near-miss threshold 1-2 letter errors = Hard; 3+ = Again
Related words Missing a word boosts related words for earlier review
Data storage Local on-device with SwiftData
Offline Everything works without internet

What parents and teachers are saying

Beta tester

"My daughter went from crying over spelling homework to asking if she can do her SpellStar before breakfast. Three weeks in and her teacher has noticed the difference."

Sarah M. Parent of Year 4 student, Epping VIC
Beta tester

"I love that it just stops after 10 minutes. No arguing about screen time, no 'one more level'. He does his spelling and he's done."

James R. Parent of Year 5 student, Manly NSW
Beta tester

"I use it across my class of 26. The placement test means I don't have to differentiate word lists any more. Every student is working at their own level."

Ms K. Chen Year 3/4 teacher, public primary school, Inner West NSW

For educators

SpellStar works well as a daily independent literacy activity. Each session takes 10-15 minutes, making it ideal for morning routines, literacy rotations, or homework. The placement test automatically differentiates for each student. No weekly word lists to prepare, no tracking spreadsheets to maintain.

The algorithm ensures each student reviews words at individually optimised intervals based on their own performance, rather than a one-size-fits-all weekly cycle. Spaced repetition has been shown to improve long-term retention compared to massed practice.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my child only get a few words at first?

By design. SpellStar starts with three new words per day until 15 words are in the system, then increases to five. This gentle ramp prevents your child from being overwhelmed with reviews in the first week. Within a fortnight, sessions will be fuller as review words accumulate alongside new ones.

Can I add my own words?

Yes. Use the Words tab to add custom words with definitions and example sentences. Custom words follow the same spaced repetition schedule as curriculum words.

How long until a word is mastered?

With consistent daily practice, most words reach mastery in three to six weeks. Words that are particularly tricky may take longer, and that's perfectly normal. The algorithm keeps scheduling them at appropriate intervals.

What happens if my child misses a few days?

SpellStar will welcome them back and prioritise overdue words. The algorithm accounts for the time elapsed and adjusts accordingly. Their streak will reset, but word progress is never lost.

Does it need an internet connection?

No. All words, progress data, and text-to-speech work completely offline. Data is stored locally on the device.

How much does it cost?

Less than a coffee — $5.99 AUD per month after a 7-day free trial. No ads, no additional in-app purchases. You can cancel any time during the trial and you won't be charged.

Ready to start?

Download SpellStar and take the placement test. Your child could be practising in under a minute.

Start 7-day free trial

Less than a coffee a month. Cancel any time. No account required.