Spelling Test Buddy vs SpellingCity (2026): what changed when it became Vocabulary A-Z

For years VocabularySpellingCity was the default spelling website for US teachers. It’s now part of Learning A-Z’s Vocabulary A-Z, at a higher price and with a different focus. Here’s how it compares to Spelling Test Buddy, written by the person who makes Spelling Test Buddy.

They’re not really the same kind of product anymore

Old SpellingCity was a simple thing: enter your list, and kids got games and a test. A lot of teachers loved it for exactly that reason, and a lot of Spelling Test Buddy users are former SpellingCity users.

Vocabulary A-Z is a bigger and more ambitious product. It’s a vocabulary program first, with a word bank, lesson plans, and the SpellingCity games inside it. That’s good news if you wanted more instruction. It’s less good news if all you wanted was the weekly spelling test, because now you’re paying for a whole vocabulary program to get it.

What teachers say changed

The bigger problem for many former SpellingCity users isn’t the new focus. It’s that features they relied on went away. Teacher reviews on Common Sense Education report that:

• Practice tests were removed, and some teachers saw test scores drop.
• Printable reports no longer show missed words or test averages (review).
• Students can’t repeat an activity after finishing it once (review).
• Games freeze or break on some devices and operating systems (review).

These are individual teachers’ experiences, and Learning A-Z may have changed things since. I collected the reviews, plus screenshots, in my longer post: Spelling City vs Spelling Test Buddy.

What Vocabulary A-Z is better at

Vocabulary instruction. Meaning, context, and word relationships are the core of the product. Spelling Test Buddy generates a sentence for every word and has a Teach Me tool, but it isn’t a vocabulary curriculum.

Lesson plans. Five-day lesson plans are ready to go. If you’re a new teacher, or you were handed a vocabulary block with no materials, that’s worth a lot.

K through 2. It’s built for K-5, with the visuals and pacing younger students need.

The Learning A-Z ecosystem. If your school already pays for Raz-Kids or Reading A-Z, students use the same Kids A-Z portal, and your admin may already have the purchasing relationship. That can make Vocabulary A-Z the easiest thing to get approved.

What Spelling Test Buddy is better at

Price per student. $49.99/year covers up to 150 students. A middle school ELA teacher with five sections would need several Vocabulary A-Z classroom licenses to cover the same students.

The weekly spelling test. Take a photo of this week’s list, and the test is ready with every word and a sentence read aloud. Students take it on any device, it’s graded instantly, and you see each student’s result as soon as they submit.

Grades 3 through 8. Most Spelling Test Buddy teachers are in upper elementary and middle school, and that’s what the word lists, games, and look are built for.

Practice that adapts to each student. Adaptive Learning Programs use spaced repetition to build each student’s daily practice from the words they keep missing.

Worksheets from the same list. Worksheet Creator is included: sorts, cloze, word matrices, Look Say Cover Write Check, and more than 25 other templates.

If you’re leaving SpellingCity

Your lists won’t move over on their own, but you probably have them as a document, spreadsheet, or printed page. Upload or photograph them and Spelling Test Buddy builds the tests. The longer comparison on the blog has a feature table, the teacher reviews, and a sample test you can try. If you want to compare more than two options, see SpellingCity alternatives.

Questions

Is SpellingCity still free?

No. VocabularySpellingCity used to have a free version and a low-cost premium plan. It’s now sold as Vocabulary A-Z by Learning A-Z, with a classroom license that costs $125 a year for up to 36 students.

What happened to VocabularySpellingCity?

Learning A-Z, part of Cambium Learning Group, bought it in 2018 and folded it into a product called Vocabulary A-Z in 2020. The spellingcity.com domain now redirects there. The game-based activities live on inside Vocabulary A-Z, alongside a word bank, lesson plans, and the Kids A-Z student portal.

Why do teachers say SpellingCity got worse?

Teacher reviews on Common Sense Education describe practice tests being removed, printable reports dropping missed words and test averages, students being unable to repeat activities, and games freezing on some devices. I collected those reviews, with screenshots, in Spelling City vs Spelling Test Buddy.

Is Spelling Test Buddy a replacement for SpellingCity?

For spelling tests and spelling practice, yes, and it’s the most common reason teachers switch to it. It doesn’t replace Vocabulary A-Z’s vocabulary lessons or its connection to the rest of Learning A-Z.

Can I see each student's results in Spelling Test Buddy?

Yes. When a student submits a test, it shows up on your Reports page right away, and you can print or export everyone’s results as a PDF or CSV.

Which is better for kindergarten through 2nd grade?

Vocabulary A-Z. It’s designed for K-5 and has the visual support young students need. Spelling Test Buddy expects students to type the word they hear, which works best from about 3rd grade.

I 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.