Monkey Review

Monkey is a brand of Early Start JSC, based in Hanoi, covering several children's learning apps: Monkey Junior (English, ages 0 to 11), Monkey Stories (interactive stories), Monkey Math (math in English), Monkey ABC, Monkey Speak, VMonkey (Vietnamese), Monkey Tutoring (online tutors), plus Monkey Class and Monkey Kindy for schools. The homepage says more than 15 million children across 108 countries use it, a figure Monkey publishes itself. This review centres on Monkey Junior, the flagship product.

According to the App Store description, Monkey Junior offers a 6-level path with more than 4,000 lessons and games across listening, speaking, reading and writing. Level 0 is for ages 0 to 3, teaching words through images and sound; Levels 1 to 5 cover ages 3 to 8. The listing also cites kidSAFE and Mom's Choice Awards credentials, as stated by the developer. Google Play says lessons work offline once downloaded. The privacy policy also describes an AI story feature built from photos, enabled only with parental consent.

On the pricing page, Monkey Junior sells a 6-month plan at 699,000 VND, a 1-year plan at 799,000 VND and a lifetime plan at 1,399,000 VND, the latter two labelled 41% and 50% promotions against struck-through prices. Buying directly on the website takes a further 5% off, and Monkey Stories is sold at the same prices. The terms allow refunds only for incompatible devices (before activation), unfixable software faults, wrong advice or misdirected transfers, by bank transfer within 15 working days; there is no satisfaction-based refund.

What sets Monkey apart is a path that starts from age 0 and a one-off lifetime plan; Duolingo and Lingokids are popular subscription alternatives. Edupia may fit better once a child is in primary school and wants class-based learning, while Khan Academy Kids and ABCmouse are other options for preschoolers. Parents should read the data-sharing section carefully before enabling the photo-story feature with their child's pictures.