SoundingBoard vs PlayButton
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.
PlayButton
This app offers a straightforward way to record and play back single sounds. It's designed for simplicity, with just one record and one play button. An optional lock feature prevents accidental changes, making it useful for users with physical challenges.
- One-touch recording
- Single sound playback
- Minimalist interface
- Optional lock functionality
- Therapy tool for special needs
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PlayButton is a simple app that provides the most minimal record and playback experience possible. One record button, one play button, and one sound at a time. If you need a quick way to record a sound and play it back, it doesn't get simpler than this. Used in therapy for special needs students who have physical problems with pressing small buttons, this app allows the user to participate with their sound. For additional control over the interface a "lock" functionality is available from the device's Settings that allows a recorded sound to be locked, removing the record buttons until the app is unlocked. If you choose to support PlayButton through a small in-app annual subscription, the Terms of Service are governed by Apple's standard terms, as specified here: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: PlayButton at 100% against SoundingBoard's 48%. PlayButton also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.5). SoundingBoard's advantage is ratings volume (34 vs 2) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 6 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 and PlayButton sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
PlayButton holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SoundingBoard has 34 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of SoundingBoard's written reviews are positive against 100% of PlayButton's.
SoundingBoard ships an update every 3 months, PlayButton every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SoundingBoard | PlayButton |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (34 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 48.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 34 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | AbleNet | Aardustry GmbH |
Customer experience
SoundingBoard
PlayButton
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
PlayButton
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
PlayButton
- Yearly Supporter$4.991 Year
