Vocagraphy! vs First Sounds
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Vocagraphy!
This app helps users learn new words through a fun and creative process using images. It allows you to take pictures of everyday objects and assign words to them, creating personalized learning materials. It's designed to be an efficient and engaging tool for vocabulary acquisition for all ages.
- Create custom learning materials
- Use personal photos
- Assign words to images
- Supports multiple images per word
- Memo function for related stories
- Fun and creative learning approach
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【 Let’s learn “Words” using “Images” while having fun! 】 “Vocagraphy!” is a smartphone app that is a fun way to learn new words. It was created as a teaching tool by a dad whose daughter is hearing impaired. “Vocagraphy!” is a newly coined word that combines “vocabulary” and “photography.” It involves the use of images to learn words efficiently. It can be used and enjoyed in a variety of ways by all children and adults. The more creative you are, the more fun you will have! If you are a hearing-impaired child, it takes time to learn words because of difficulty hearing them. You need to study very hard to acquire new vocabulary. When I discovered that my daughter was hearing impaired, I was determined to help her learn new words even though she had difficulty hearing. I figured that if traditional study methods took a lot of time for my daughter, maybe I could come up with something more fun and efficient. That’s why I developed “Vocagraphy!” to facilitate the simple creation of learning materials on my smartphone. I hope it will work for you too and enable you to enjoy an abundance of words and images. There are many words you can learn in everyday life - the names of flowers blooming along the road you often walk on, the species of insects that land there, and the road signs as well. With "Vocagraphy!" you can turn things around you into original teaching materials. Just take a picture, import it into the app, and type in the words. Suppose the word "phone" and a picture of a telephone are in a textbook. When you hear the word "phone," what kind of picture do you imagine? Old learning materials may have pictures of landline phones or an old mobile phone. Nowadays, smartphones are also called “phones” so a child needs to learn all of these "phones." If a child can hear, you can easily say "old phones were connected by wires ... early phones were very big ..." and he or she will remember that quickly and efficiently. However, it takes time, patience, and ingenuity to teach the same thing to a hearing-impaired child. Using conventional flash cards, one picture is assigned to one word, but "Vocagraphy!" can display multiple images for one word. And you can assign your own images because things you always see are more accessible and easier to remember than pictures of machines you haven't seen before. In the case of "phone," in addition to a photo of a smartphone that you always carry and see, you can register photos of old mobile phones and landline phones. This way, you can teach a child that "all these are phone buddies" and "phones let us talk to distant people." Depending on your child's proficiency, you can extend your explanation to the concept of time - "old" and "now" - and to technical topics such as "radio waves" and "the Internet." Using the memo function of “Vocagraphy!” to add related stories will not only help you to learn new words, but will also lead to the development of intelligence. "Vocagraphy!" is simple to use. Just make a card, import a photo, and add text. You can use it anyway you like, so we hope you will enjoy making your own original teaching materials! Warm regards, HIDEKI YOSHIOKA Developer of Vocagraphy! *** How to use. *** It's very easy to use. 【Edit Mode】 ①Add New Card, ②Enter the card name, ③Select an Image. Only 3 steps to complete. 【Quiz Mode】 ①Tap the "Quiz Mode” button, ②Select the card you want to use in your quiz and confirm the answer, ③Select the relevant evaluation. Only 3 steps to complete. **** Price **** "Vocagraphy!" is free and can be used without functional restrictions. No ads are displayed. **** Contact **** First, please read "Manual," "Example" and "FAQ" on the Website. If your question is still not answered, tap the "Menu" button on the app and select "Contact" or use the "Contact" on this site to contact us using the form provided. Please allow 3-4 business days for our reply. **** Website *** http://www.blw.jp/en/
First Sounds
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Help your child practise first sounds, syllables, and everyday words at home. FirstSound combines playful voice activities, clear visual feedback, and parent-created practice in one calm, child-friendly app. FEATURES - Guided word and syllable activities with simple prompts - Everyday words for needs, choices, and feelings - A live loudness meter with clear green-zone feedback - Voice-reactive AR activities - Separate child profiles, history, and free PDF reports - Custom words and syllables with your own picture and parent voice recording - Interface in 16 supported languages and Parent Gate for purchases or external links - Works offline and requires no FirstSound account PRO SUBSCRIPTION - Full practice catalog and AR activities - Create words and syllables tailored to your child - Add an image from your photo library and record a familiar parent voice - Eligible users can receive a three-day free trial - Subscription renews automatically unless cancelled PRIVACY AND SAFETY FirstSound is for home practice and is not a medical device. The microphone measures live loudness during activities. A voice recording is stored only when a parent chooses to create one. When iCloud is available, progress, parent-created activities, pictures, and recordings are backed up only to the user's private iCloud account. FirstSound cannot access them. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Vocagraphy! at none against First Sounds's 1. Vocagraphy! also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). First Sounds's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. First Sounds sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Vocagraphy! asks for nothing beyond the download.
Vocagraphy! ships an update every 6 months, First Sounds every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Vocagraphy! | First Sounds |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 40 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Blue Light Works Co., Ltd. | Valeriia Shchelkanova |
In-app purchases
Vocagraphy!
No in-app purchases
First Sounds
- Pro Unlock$5.99
Questions
Is Vocagraphy! free?
Is First Sounds free?
Do Vocagraphy! or First Sounds have ads?
Which is updated more often, Vocagraphy! or First Sounds?
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