Side by side
Minecraft Education vs Starfall
Both stand on educational games. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Minecraft Education combines a broad lesson library with collaborative activities, coding tools, and learning evidence features. It offers a free trial, while ongoing direct-purchase pricing differs by organization type.
Visit Minecraft Education
Choose Starfall for a child-focused reading program with a free reading option and membership activities across Pre-K through fifth grade. Families can use Home Membership, while educators and schools have plans with Group Access. Look elsewhere if you need Group IDs to track each student’s use or progress.
Visit StarfallThe facts
| Minecraft Education | Starfall | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | A free trial | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Android, iPhone, Mac, Windows | Android, iPhone, Web |
| Lowest paid plan | Classrooms and schools — direct purchase: $5.04 per user a year | Home Membership: $35 a year |
| Plans published | 2 | 4 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | education.minecraft.net | starfall.com |
| On educational games | #24 of 31 | #20 of 31 |
Minecraft Education: what it does well
- Offers more than 600 standards-aligned lessons.
- Supports multiplayer activities for up to 30 students.
- Includes coding through blocks, JavaScript, and Python.
- Provides a teacher dashboard and progress tracking.
- Offline play is listed.
What to know first
- Each licensed user needs a Microsoft 365 account.
- Licenses are not compatible with servers.
- No free plan is listed.
Starfall: what it does well
- Reading activities cover phonics, fluency, and comprehension.
- Activities include ABC games, songs, and fiction and nonfiction reading.
- Membership opens access to over 700 activities.
- The program is available on web, Android, and iOS.
- Other Starfall apps can save content for offline use.
What to know first
- Group IDs do not track individual student use or progress.
- The Starfall App requires internet access to stream web content.
- Home Membership is not valid for schools, businesses, or organizations.
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