PenPoints

PenPoints is a spelling and handwriting app for children aged 6–12, designed for adult-guided practice that starts with words dictated aloud and ends with a photo of the child’s writing. Its strongest fit is a household or classroom that wants spelling work to include pencil-and-paper handwriting. The free app’s main trade-offs are its internet requirement, one-child account limit, and caps on free teacher activities.

Overview

PenPoints connects spelling practice to handwriting: children write dictated words on paper, photograph their work, and receive OCR scoring and feedback. This is a useful distinction for families and teachers who want children to practise forming words, not just select or type answers on a screen. Adults can assign exercises and review results.

Lists are adapted to school year and curriculum, and parents and teachers can make custom lists. Teachers also get rule-specific lists. Results can include definitions, synonyms, and antonyms, extending an exercise beyond a simple right-or-wrong spelling check. The account constraint is significant for households: one account does not currently support multiple children.

Key features

Paper-based spelling practice

Children write dictated words by hand and submit a photo for OCR scoring and instant feedback. Phonics instruction and corrective practice are supported, making the app relevant both for learning sound-to-spelling patterns and revisiting mistakes. The photo workflow adds a step compared with screen-only exercises and depends on an internet connection; offline access is not supported.

Lists and teacher activities

Curriculum-aware lists provide a starting point, while custom lists let adults focus practice on chosen words. Rule-specific lists are reserved for teachers. Teachers can run SpellStation challenges and use the free allowance of 90 credits, up to five live assessments, and up to 30 individual exercises. They can send one homework exercise per week without a school plan. Automated homework and live class assessment are described as coming soon, so they are not current substitutes for those capped tools.

Privacy and account control

The maker says PenPoints complies with GDPR and COPPA, does not sell or share user data, and shows no in-app ads. The privacy policy limits collected child information to a first name, while opted-in third-party analytics may collect device, usage, crash, IP, location, and advertising-interaction data. Users can delete accounts in settings; the policy says associated data is then permanently removed from the database.

Pricing

Free — free. The app is free. For teachers without a school plan, the included activity allowances are one homework exercise weekly, 90 SpellStation credits, up to five live assessments, and up to 30 individual exercises. Those caps can suit a teacher exploring the practice format or assigning a modest amount of work, but may constrain regular use across a larger class. No paid PenPoints plan is presented.

Platforms

PenPoints runs on iOS and Android phones and tablets. An internet connection is required, so it is a poor fit for practice that needs to continue offline or where connectivity is unreliable.

Who it's for

PenPoints is best for a parent or teacher guiding one child aged 6–12 who benefits from combining spelling with handwriting and curriculum-aware word practice. It is less suitable for families needing one account for several children, or teachers whose regular assignments exceed the free activity limits.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Paper dictation and photo-based OCR feedback make handwriting part of spelling practice.
• Pros: School-year and curriculum-aware lists, custom lists, and teacher-only rule lists support focused practice.
• Pros: Definitions, synonyms, and antonyms can add vocabulary context to results.
• Pros: The maker says there are no in-app ads and offers account deletion through settings.
• Cons: One account does not support multiple children, limiting convenience for siblings.
• Cons: Internet is required and offline access is unavailable.
• Cons: Free teacher activity quotas may be restrictive for sustained classroom use.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, see Spelling Apps.

• SpellMe may suit readers who want broad platform coverage, including web and desktop systems, alongside curated phonics lists; its Basic plan includes five lists with ten words each, and Advanced is £12 per y.
• Spelling Shed is another free option for Android, iOS, or web, with tests, Hive games, challenges, and custom leagues whose histories run for seven days on its Free plan.
• Spelling.Live may fit users who prefer a credit-based practice option: its free sign-up provides 200 credits, which expire after 90 days without a practice session.
• Spelling Notebook is an iOS and macOS alternative; its free app download has a user-reported 10-word list limit, and a 1.99 USD once-only in-app purchase removes the free version’s word-list limit.
• SpellingJoy is a freemium alternative for Android, iOS, and web.
• Spelvo is worth considering for Android or web users who want a free trial, though its free plan allows three lifetime snaps and one child profile.
• Spelling Boost offers Android users free core audio dictation tests, custom spelling lists, handwriting input, and progress tracking.
• SpellSmart is a free iOS alternative.

Verdict

Choose PenPoints if a child should practise spelling with a pencil and benefit from photo-based feedback tied to school-year wordlists. Its free access, corrective practice, and vocabulary results make it a focused choice for one child with a connected iOS or Android device. Look elsewhere if you need offline use, one account for multiple children, or more generous teacher allowances.