The best app for spelling bee prep (2026)
Full disclosure: I make Spelling Test Buddy, and families and coaches use it for bee prep. But the right tool depends a lot on how far your speller is going. A classroom bee and the Scripps National Spelling Bee are very different jobs.
| Tool | Best for | Price | Bee level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scripps Word Club | official School Spelling Bee Study List and Words of the Champions | Free app; optional paid upgrade | School to regional |
| SpellPundit | deep word lists, roots, and coaching | $50 to $750/year by modules; coaching extra | Regional to national |
| Spelling Test Buddy (mine) | drilling any list, tracking misses, running a class bee | $49.99/year, up to 150 students | Classroom to regional |
| SpellingJoy | free practice for younger spellers | Free; optional $2.99/month extras | Classroom |
Match the tool to the bee
Classroom and school bees. Spellers need to know a few hundred words cold, usually from the school study list. They need to hear each word and use it in a sentence, the way a pronouncer would say it.
Regional and district bees. The word pool gets bigger, and spellers start needing roots, patterns, and language-of-origin rules to handle words they’ve never seen.
National level. It’s a years-long commitment, with tens of thousands of words, etymology, and usually a coach.
I wrote an overview of how the spelling bee works if you’re new to it. For Texas UIL, see preparing for the UIL spelling test.
1. Scripps Word Club
It’s the official app from the Scripps National Spelling Bee, with quizzes on the School Spelling Bee Study List and Words of the Champions. If your bee feeds into Scripps, start here. The lists come straight from the source.
2. SpellPundit
SpellPundit has the deepest word lists I know of, plus roots, vocabulary, and coaching. National-level spellers use it. For a 3rd grader in a classroom bee, it’s overkill. For a speller with a real shot at nationals, it’s the best tool here, and it’s better than mine for that.
3. Spelling Test Buddymine
Mine. Put in any list (the school study list, Words of the Champions, or your own), and each word is read aloud with a sentence, the way a pronouncer would. Adaptive Learning Programs are useful for bee prep: they keep bringing back the words your speller misses until they stick, so practice time goes where it’s needed.
Teachers and schools also use it to run classroom and school-wide bees. One parent told us they used it to prepare their 4th grader, who won their regional bee and advanced to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
What it doesn’t have: language of origin, etymology, or a built-in bank of bee words beyond our pre-made lists.
4. SpellingJoy
Free spelling practice for K-6 with custom lists. Fine for a younger child getting ready for a first classroom bee.
My pick
First school bee: Scripps Word Club for the official list, plus Spelling Test Buddy if you want spaced repetition and tracking.
Regional and up: SpellPundit.
Teacher running a class or school bee: Spelling Test Buddy.
What I’d do this week
- Ask the bee coordinator exactly which list the bee uses.
- Quiz your speller on the whole list once, out loud, and write down every miss.
- Practice the misses daily in short sessions. Don't re-drill words they already know.
- Practice the bee routine itself: hear the word, ask for the sentence, say it back, spell it.
Questions
- What word list should my child study for the school spelling bee?
- Most school bees that feed into Scripps use the School Spelling Bee Study List, available through Scripps and the Word Club app. Ask your school’s bee coordinator which list they’re using.
- Can I put the Words of the Champions list into Spelling Test Buddy?
- Yes. Paste or upload the words, and each one gets audio and a sentence. Split a long list into smaller lists and use an Adaptive Learning Program so the words your child misses come back more often.
- Can a teacher run a classroom or school spelling bee with it?
- Yes. Schools have used Spelling Test Buddy to run class-wide and school-wide spelling competitions. For larger events, contact us about size and pricing.
- Does Spelling Test Buddy give definitions and language of origin?
- It gives each word in a sentence, and you can mark lists as case-sensitive. It doesn’t provide language of origin or etymology. For that level of study, SpellPundit is better.
Try Spelling Test Buddy
$49.99 a year for up to 150 students, with every game, tool, and report included. Start with a 14-day free trial, and if 14 days isn’t enough, email me and I’ll extend it.
Start your free trialI checked prices and features for every product on this page in October 2026. Prices change, so confirm on each company’s site before you buy.