SoundingBoard vs HMH Brain Arcade
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SoundingBoard
Create custom communication boards quickly using pre-made symbols or your own words. This app provides a powerful tool for individuals needing alternative communication methods. It supports switch access for enhanced usability.
- Customizable communication boards
- AbleNet symbol integration
- User-added words
- Switch access support
- Compatible with AbleNet Blue2 Switch
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SoundingBoard transforms your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad into the latest in communication technology. In just minutes, you can create custom boards using AbleNet symbols or your own words. Perfect for children in special education, persons on the autism spectrum, and adults with disabilities. SoundingBoard includes switch access and is compatible with the AbleNet Blue2 Switch.
HMH Brain Arcade
Practice math skills through engaging games that reinforce arithmetic reasoning, number fluency, and problem-solving. Unlock new challenges and levels as you progress, building proficiency in fractions, decimals, and more.
- Engaging math games
- Arithmetic reasoning practice
- Number fluency building
- Progress tracking and rewards
- Fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios
- Companion to MATH 180 curriculum
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Come play in the Brain Arcade! A fun and engaging place to build upon and practice what you’ve learned in MATH 180, while playing appropriately challenging games. Brain Arcade games strengthen arithmetic reasoning, build fluency, support standards, and reward progress! Can you master them all? ENGAGING GAMES: • Sushi Monster World Tour: Feed monsters with sushi rolls by making sums and products. Use speed and accuracy to place sushi pieces near the monster to make the target number. Plan the equations to ensure the monster enjoys the meal. • You’re Toast: Butter pieces of toast by ordering many representations of numbers. Quickly compare numbers and build a chain of numbered toast – from smallest to largest – using butters and jams to make Toast happy. • Circles: Connect pairs of numbers that add or multiply to each target. Swap the circles around to connect the addends and multiplicands that make the target number. There are 5 number pairing to find in each round. Try to get them all! • Decked Out: Make your character dance by matching equivalent representation of numbers. Sort different representations of numbers – from equations to number lines – and match three-in-a-row to help your character get ready for the party. • Gnat Zapper: Zap bugs by estimating sums and differences. Bugs are only around briefly, so be quick about zapping the bug that satisfies the target number condition in this fast-paced game. • Fair Share: Cut the shape or whole into parts. Then use the parts to form the target fractions or decimals. Score points for matching the representation of the fraction or decimal. LEARN WHILE YOU PLAY: The Brain Arcade includes extended fact knowledge to support strategic reasoning and computational flexibility in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. It builds proficiency in ordering numbers, estimation, and identifying number representations. As players progress in the arcade, new challenges for math facts and arithmetic reasoning are introduced with fractions, decimals, percentages, and ratios. PROGRESS IS REWARDED: Earn stars and personal high scores to challenge yourself and unlock new levels. MATH 180 COMPATIBLE: This app serves as a companion app to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s MATH 180 Intensive Intervention curriculum for Grades 5+. It promotes math fluency in the classroom and in remote-learning environments. MATH 180 content cannot be purchased via this app. This is an application for educational institutions to access the MATH 180 Brain Arcade content that they have purchased and licensed from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. PARENTAL DISCLOSURE: This app does not collect any personally identifiable information. This app contains: • No Links to websites. • No social media sharing. • No location tracking functions
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: SoundingBoard at 48% against HMH Brain Arcade's 0%. HMH Brain Arcade's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence, 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. SoundingBoard sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. HMH Brain Arcade asks for nothing beyond the download.
SoundingBoard ships an update every 3 months, HMH Brain Arcade every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SoundingBoard | HMH Brain Arcade |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (34 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 48.2% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 34 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 233 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | AbleNet | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
Customer experience
SoundingBoard
HMH Brain Arcade
Bugs and requests
SoundingBoard
Reported bugs
19 issues- App crashing on startup after purchase
- Folders not saving changes
- Created boards disappearing
- Edit lock not working, student can edit pictures
- Cannot record voice over preloaded boards
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- App crashes after in-app purchase
- App crashes every time going into the app
- User created boards not showing up correctly
- Cannot record voice, does not save
- Cannot create new boards with new symbols, save button does nothing
- Sound quit working on iPad 2 with OS 6
- Two touches needed to activate icon/button
- Last time content was added, it didn't work
- Recordings play back very quietly
- Audio does not work at all
- Does not work on iPod touch
- Images are small, cells are small, does not utilize entire screen
- Difficult to get back to the home screen
- Losing new pages after saving
Requested features
20 requests- Large button icons for board selection
- Login system to save boards across platforms
- Ability to log in and save boards across devices
- User login system for shared boards
- Ability to erase pre-made boards
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- Choose a default board to open with
- iPad version to avoid magnification issues
- Sentence strip option
- Improve picture library search
- Facility to play music tracks directly
- More picture cards for school-related content
- More choices for layout on initial screen
- Option to change background color
- Improve navigation for board design
- Basic pre-formatted pages
- Editing options for pics and boards (size, placement)
- Basic communication symbols (yes/no, alphabet)
- More PX available on a page
- Better contrasting pictures with black background
- Universal or iPad version
HMH Brain Arcade
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
SoundingBoard
- Mealtime_MaleFree
- Mealtime_FemaleFree
- Getting Dressed_MaleFree
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- Getting Dressed_FemaleFree
- General Conversation_MaleFree
- General Conversation_FemaleFree
- Fast Food Restaurant_MaleFree
- Fast Food Restaurant_FemaleFree
- Movies_MaleFree
- Movies_FemaleFree
HMH Brain Arcade
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SoundingBoard free?
Is HMH Brain Arcade free?
Do SoundingBoard or HMH Brain Arcade have ads?
Which is updated more often, SoundingBoard or HMH Brain Arcade?
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