Spelling.live is free to sign up for, and a lot of it stays free forever - progress reports, the weekly plan, every game, adding children and lists, printing worksheets. But the practice itself, and the AI features around it, draw from a credit balance. This post explains exactly how that works and what to do if you need more.
Why Credits Exist at All
Every practice attempt on Spelling.live runs on real infrastructure behind the scenes - and features like the AI spelling coach, handwriting analysis, voice practice and visual hints run on genuinely expensive AI services. A credit balance is the fairest way to keep the app sustainable for everyone: every family gets a meaningful amount to use, and the app stays healthy rather than a small number of very heavy users quietly running up the bill for everyone else.
This isn't about rationing a scarce resource - it's about keeping the service healthy and sustainable so we can keep improving it.
What Uses Credits
Standard spelling practice - Pick it, Type it, Write it, Say it - costs 2 credits a word. Lighter activities like Look, hear & remember, Word Parts and Word Meanings cost 1 credit a word. A Skills Check is 10 credits a test, and a Dictation test or Paper practice photo (up to 15 words, marked for you) is 10 credits a sheet - plus 2 more if handwriting formation scoring runs on it too.
A picture hint for a tricky word costs 5 credits the first time it's generated - but once a word has a picture, it's stored and shared with every family that reaches that word afterwards, so most requests cost nothing at all. AI coach tips on the progress report, reading a word list from a photo, and generating a new list from a topic each cost 2 credits.
Looking at your child's progress - the reports, the Patterns and Curriculum views, the weekly progress email - is always free. So is every game: they're unlocked with the coins your child earns by practising, not with credits.
Your Credits: 200 Free, Then a £4 Top-Up
Every family starts with 200 free credits when they join - about 100 practice words, so a couple of weeks of typical practice or a term for a family who dips in now and then. They stay live as long as your child keeps practising, and lapse after 90 days without a session.
Need more? A 400-credit pack costs £4 - roughly 200 practice activities - bought once on the website, with no subscription and nothing that renews automatically. It's usable anywhere you sign in - phone, tablet or laptop - and stays valid for 12 months from the day you buy it. Got a code from your school, a tutor, or a Spelling.Live partner? Vouchers work the same way and are valid for 90 days. Signed-in families can also earn a one-off bonus by sharing quick feedback about how Spelling.live has helped, from Account Settings.
If a session would take you over your balance, it still runs in full - your child is never stopped mid-word over a payments detail. You'll just see a gentle reminder to top up next time you check your account.
The Simple Version
- A lot of Spelling.live is free forever - reports, the weekly plan, games, printing, adding children and lists
- Practice and the AI extras draw from a credit balance: 200 free to start, then a £4 pack for 400 credits
- Vouchers from a school, tutor or partner are valid for 90 days; a bought pack lasts 12 months
- Running low never stops a session mid-word - you'll just see a reminder to top up
See the full breakdown, including every activity's exact cost, on the credits page.
Thank you for using Spelling.live and for helping your child practise.