Comparison

SoundingBoard vs HMH Brain Arcade

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Customizable communication boards
  • AbleNet symbol integration
  • User-added words
  • Switch access support
  • Compatible with AbleNet Blue2 Switch
Features
Read full description

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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Engaging math games
  • Arithmetic reasoning practice
  • Number fluency building
  • Progress tracking and rewards
  • Fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios
  • Companion to MATH 180 curriculum
Features
Read full description

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

SoundingBoard4 screens
HMH Brain Arcade4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. SoundingBoard sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. HMH Brain Arcade asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
SoundingBoard versus HMH Brain Arcade: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSoundingBoardHMH Brain Arcade
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (34 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews48.2% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings34 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB233 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAbleNetHoughton Mifflin Harcourt

Customer experience

SoundingBoard

All ratings32 ratings
Positive59.4%
Neutral6.3%
Negative34.4%
Written reviews56 reviews
Positive48.2%
Neutral16.1%
Negative35.7%

HMH Brain Arcade

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

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
Show 14 more
  • 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
Show 15 more
  • 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

10 purchases

SoundingBoard

One-time10
  • Mealtime_MaleFree
  • Mealtime_FemaleFree
  • Getting Dressed_MaleFree
Show 7 more
  • Getting Dressed_FemaleFree
  • General Conversation_MaleFree
  • General Conversation_FemaleFree
  • Fast Food Restaurant_MaleFree
  • Fast Food Restaurant_FemaleFree
  • Movies_MaleFree
  • Movies_FemaleFree
None

HMH Brain Arcade

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SoundingBoard free?
SoundingBoard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is HMH Brain Arcade free?
HMH Brain Arcade is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SoundingBoard or HMH Brain Arcade have ads?
Neither SoundingBoard nor HMH Brain Arcade shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SoundingBoard or HMH Brain Arcade?
SoundingBoard ships an update every 3 months, and HMH Brain Arcade every 5 months. Most recently, SoundingBoard was updated on November 6, 2026 and HMH Brain Arcade on November 3, 2026.

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