If you've narrowed your search for a UK spelling app down to a shortlist, there's a good chance Spelling.Live and SpellCast are both on it. Both are modern, calm, UK-built apps aimed at the same job: helping a primary-age child practise the words their school actually sets, in British English, without timers or leaderboards turning it into a race.
The short version: Spelling.Live does everything SpellCast (and EdShed's Spelling Shed) do for typed, on-screen spelling practice - then adds the parts neither of them does at all. This post spells out exactly where the three line up, and exactly where they don't.
One honesty note before we start: prices and features below were checked in September 2026 and may have changed since - always confirm on each app's own site before subscribing.
Where they agree: the typing baseline
Strip away the differences and all three apps share the same foundation:
- Built around the DfE's National Curriculum. Spelling.Live, SpellCast and EdShed's Spelling Shed are all structured around the same statutory word lists in English Appendix 1 - Reception's common exception words through the Year 5/6 list - so a child practising on any of the three is practising curriculum-aligned words, not an app's own invented list.
- Typed spelling practice. On all three, a child can type the word they hear and get it marked. That's the core loop SpellCast is built around, and it's one of several ways to answer in Spelling.Live too.
- British English audio. Colour, not color - all three use UK voices and UK spellings, which matters more than it sounds when a US-made app is teaching a British six-year-old to write organize.
If typed practice against the curriculum lists is all you need, any of the three will do that job. So the real question isn't "which one can type-test my child" - it's what happens once you need more than that.
Quick comparison
| Spelling.Live | SpellCast | Spelling Shed (EdShed) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Curriculum lists | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Typed spelling practice | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Your own school list, typed in or photographed | Type or photograph | Curriculum lists only (school plan can add custom words) | Typed only |
| Handwriting checked by AI | Yes | No | No |
| Paper test marked from a photo | Yes (marked sheets and dictation) | No | No |
| Pattern-level mistake diagnosis | Yes - names the rule behind each miss | No | Limited (right/wrong, level up/down) |
| UK audio | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Parent/teacher reports | Yes, pattern-level | Yes, progress-based | Yes |
| Review & exclude a wrong attempt from reports | Yes (Practice History) | No | No |
| AI picture hints for early years (5-7) | Yes | No | No |
| Price (family) | Free to start, then £4 for 400 credits | £2.99/mo or £19.99/yr, up to 4 children | ~£29.99/yr, up to 5 children |
* Every "No" reflects what SpellCast and Spelling Shed offered as of September 2026 - not a permanent gap, so check each site for what's changed since. Home pricing also as of September 2026; SpellCast also offers schools a flat £399/year plan, and Spelling Shed is priced per pupil for schools.
Beyond typing: what neither app does
This is the half of the table that doesn't fit in a row. Everything below reflects what SpellCast and Spelling Shed offered as of September 2026 - check their own sites for what's changed since.
Point your camera at the list
Every school sends home its own list - the one from Friday's actual test, written on a slip of paper or printed in a spelling log book. SpellCast's own list is limited to its curriculum sets (a school plan lets a teacher add custom words centrally, but a parent at home can't); Spelling Shed's lists are typed in by hand, word by word.
Spelling.Live does something neither offers: photograph the sheet from the book bag and the words load automatically. No retyping ten words into a box before your child can start practising - point the camera, and the exact list the teacher set is ready to go.
Handwriting, not just typing
A Friday spelling test is handwritten. Typing b correctly on a keyboard doesn't catch a flipped b on paper - and neither SpellCast nor Spelling Shed checks handwriting at all; both are screen-and-keyboard (or on-screen letter tap) only.
Spelling.Live's handwriting pad is checked by AI as the child writes, on screen or from a photo, catching the spelling and flagging letter reversals or formation issues typing would never reveal.
Mark the real paper test
Beyond typed and handwritten practice, Spelling.Live reads paper tests that already happened: photograph a marked spelling test from the book bag - ticks, crosses and all - or run a full dictation test where the app reads words aloud, your child writes them on numbered paper, and a photo of the finished page gets marked automatically. Neither SpellCast nor Spelling Shed has a paper-marking feature at all - both are built for the screen from end to end.
A baseline from real paper, then the engine takes over
That marked-test photo isn't just a one-off mark: it sets a baseline. The words your child got wrong are logged and joined to a spaced-repetition engine that runs quietly behind every session from then on - a word they missed comes back tomorrow, a word they've nailed three times running drifts weeks into the future, and each practice session is automatically front-loaded with whatever's due, whether that session is typed, handwritten, spoken or a game. A parent doesn't have to build or maintain a "words to focus on" list by hand - photograph one real test, and the app takes it from there. How the spaced-repetition engine works.
Diagnose why, not just right or wrong
SpellCast tracks progress and repeats words a child struggles with; Spelling Shed levels a child up or down through its game tiers. Both tell you that a word was wrong. Spelling.Live goes one step further and tells you why: every mistake is matched against the spelling pattern behind it - silent letters, doubled consonants, homophones, unstressed vowels and more - so instead of "6/10," a parent sees "the silent letters are the pattern to work on," and the app's AI coaching is built from that exact diagnosis rather than a generic tip.
A week that adapts to your child, not a fixed drill
SpellCast repeats words a child struggles with; Spelling Shed levels difficulty up or down through its game tiers. Both adapt what gets practised. Spelling.Live's Learning plan also adapts the shape of the week: a parent picks a goal for their child - Stretch for a confident speller who wants pushing further, Balanced, or Confidence-building - and a ready-made weekly plan spreads short daily activities around it, so a child gets a genuine mix (handwriting one day, typing the next, a paper test, a game) rather than the same drill five times over. And when a game turns up in that mix, it's still played with the child's own spelling list, not a generic word pool - so even the "fun" day is rehearsing this week's actual words.
Answer however suits the child
A good spelling app should support recognition, typing, speaking and writing from memory - different activities strengthen different parts of the learning, and an app built around only one of them is practising a narrower skill than the one a real test measures. Spelling.Live covers all four: Pick it (recognition - choosing the right spelling from close options), Type it, Write it (handwriting, checked by AI) and Say it (speaking the word aloud, checked from speech). SpellCast and Spelling Shed both mean typing (Spelling Shed adds letter-tile games on top) - neither offers a spoken-answer mode, and neither app is built around deliberately rotating a child through recognition and recall. However a word is answered on Spelling.Live - typed, handwritten, spoken, or photographed from a marked paper test - it all feeds the same progress report, tricky-word ranking and revision schedule, not four separate pictures of the same child.
And the parts that adapt to the child, not just mark the word
Four more, each on by default and yours to tune - none of which we found on SpellCast or Spelling Shed as of September 2026:
- The Aid Ladder. Get a word wrong and help arrives one step at a time - a flash of the word, or a coaching tip from Tongo naming the actual mistake - then just the tricky letters, then more, with a retry after every step and an honest "correct with help" recorded in the report rather than a silently inflated score. Read how it works.
- Reading settings built for how your child actually reads. A choice of reading font (including OpenDyslexic), colour overlays, adjustable letter and line spacing, speech slow-down, and a low-pressure mode that strips timers and leaderboards from games - previewed live before a parent commits to anything. More on accessibility at Spelling.Live.
- Review an attempt, then decide if it should count. A misread word, a stray tap, a distracted moment - a parent, tutor or teacher can exclude any single attempt from the accuracy report and revision schedule, without ever changing or deleting the original record. How Practice History works.
- A picture clue for every early-years word. Ages 5-7 get an AI-generated illustration for each word, built from its meaning - never its letters, so it can't give the spelling away - shown as a hint during practice and as a falling reward in Balloon Pop. How the picture hints are made.
Where SpellCast and EdShed are a good fit
To be fair to both: SpellCast's calm, no-timer, wizard-and-creatures design is genuinely well thought through, and if your school already assigns it, using it for homework is the obvious, low-friction choice. Spelling Shed is the platform most UK schools actually use for spelling homework, its game-based "hive" challenges are engaging for children who like a bit of competition, and a £29.99/year family plan covering five children is good value if that's the whole feature set you need.
If typed, on-screen practice against the curriculum lists is genuinely all your child needs, either is a solid, well-built choice - and Spelling Shed in particular has the advantage of being what your child's teacher is probably already using.
A word on EdShed / Spelling Shed
"EdShed" is the company; Spelling Shed is its spelling product, and it's the one most UK primary schools actually assign for homework - which is exactly why so many parents search for it by name. Everything above about typing parity and the paper/handwriting/diagnosis gap applies to Spelling Shed as much as it does to SpellCast. For the fuller picture - including how Spelling.Live compares with six other UK spelling apps, not just these two - see our longer Spelling.Live vs Spelling Shed, Squeebles, Sir Linkalot and more comparison.
The honest summary
- Want pure typed practice against the curriculum lists, and your school already uses SpellCast or Spelling Shed? Either is a good, calm choice for that job.
- Want to practise the actual list from the book bag - loaded by photo instead of typed in by hand, checked by handwriting or spoken aloud as well as typed, with real paper tests marked from a photo and turned into a baseline the app schedules for you, a weekly plan built around your own choice of goal, every mistake diagnosed down to the pattern behind it, help that arrives one step at a time when they're stuck, and settings that adapt to how your child reads and learns? That's what Spelling.Live adds on top of the same typing foundation.
Both SpellCast and Spelling Shed are decent apps doing one job well. Spelling.Live is built to do that same job, plus the parts of spelling practice - the photo, the handwriting, the paper test - that only exist off-screen.
Frequently asked questions
Does Spelling.Live do everything SpellCast does? Yes - Spelling.Live matches SpellCast's core feature: typed spelling practice against the DfE's National Curriculum word lists, with British English audio. On top of that, Spelling.Live adds photo word-list import, AI handwriting checking, paper test marking from a photo, and pattern-level mistake diagnosis - features SpellCast did not offer as of September 2026.
Why does a spelling app need more than one way to answer? Because recognition, typing, speaking and writing from memory each strengthen a different part of learning to spell a word - practising only one of them is practising a narrower skill than the one a real, handwritten test actually measures. Spelling.Live is built around all four (Pick it for recognition, Type it, Say it, and Write it for true writing-from-memory); SpellCast and Spelling Shed are both built around typing, as of September 2026.
Is Spelling.Live the same as EdShed's Spelling Shed, but with more features? Both are built around the same DfE National Curriculum word lists and both let a child type their answers. Spelling.Live adds photo word-list import (Spelling Shed's lists are typed in by hand), AI handwriting checking, paper test and dictation marking from a photo, and pattern-level diagnosis of each mistake - features Spelling Shed did not offer as of September 2026.
What can Spelling.Live do that SpellCast and EdShed can't? As of September 2026, four structural things: turn a photographed school spelling list into a ready-to-practise list automatically, check handwriting with AI rather than just typing, mark a real paper spelling test or dictation from a photo, and diagnose the spelling pattern behind each mistake rather than just marking it right or wrong. On top of those, Spelling.Live also lets a child answer by saying the word aloud - with every mode feeding the same progress report - turns a photographed marked test into a baseline its spaced-repetition engine schedules automatically, offers step-by-step help when they get stuck (the Aid Ladder), per-child reading and accessibility settings, a way to exclude a single wrong attempt from progress reports, and AI picture hints for children aged 5-7. We found none of these on SpellCast or Spelling Shed.
Does Spelling.Live offer a weekly learning plan? Yes - a parent picks a goal for their child (Stretch, Balanced, or Confidence-building) and Spelling.Live builds a weekly plan that mixes activities - handwriting, typing, a paper test, a game - around that goal, all still drawn from the child's own spelling list rather than a generic word pool. As of September 2026, we found no equivalent goal-driven weekly plan on SpellCast or Spelling Shed - both adapt which words come back, not the shape of the week itself.
Is Spelling.Live free like SpellCast's school plan? Spelling.Live is free to start, with 200 free credits and no card required, then pay-as-you-go credits from £4. SpellCast's family plan is a paid subscription (£2.99/month or £19.99/year as of September 2026); its free tier is for schools only. EdShed's Spelling Shed is a paid subscription too, around £29.99/year for a family.
Is there anything you'd like to see?
If you've used SpellCast or Spelling Shed and there's something they do that you wish Spelling.Live did too, we genuinely want to hear it: tell us and there's a fair chance it ends up in the app.