SoundingBoard vs Avaz AAC
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.
Avaz AAC
This app empowers individuals with speech difficulties to communicate freely. It aids language development by presenting core words and allows users to form sentences and express themselves with over 40,000 pictures and high-quality voices. Customizable themes and effortless backup options enhance the user experience.
- Symbol-based communication
- Text-to-speech functionality
- Customizable themes
- Automatic vocabulary backup
- Research-based language development
- High-quality voices
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Avaz AAC is an assistive communication app that empowers children & adults with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Aphasia, Apraxia, and individuals with speech difficulties to communicate freely and build meaningful relationships. “My daughter has nearly mastered navigation, so much so that one day she brought it to me to show me she wanted Taco Bell for lunch. This made me cry. My child had a voice for the first time. Thank you for being the one to give my daughter that "voice". - Amy Kinderman Designed to aid language development, by presenting core words, which make up 80% of everyday speech, in a research-based order. This enables users to progress from using 1-2 word phrases to forming complete sentences. Avaz, a fully AAC text-to-speech app with over 40,000 pictures(Symbolstix) and a range of high-quality voices, enables users to form sentences and express themselves with ease quickly. Avaz is a customizable AAC app that empowers users to express themselves authentically and build meaningful connections! Effortless Backup and Themes Enjoy the convenience of auto backup for worry-free vocabulary progress. Simply choose how often you want your vocabulary progress backed up with our auto-backup interval selection option. Never lose your progress again! We understand our users have different preferences for cloud storage, so we made it easy to back up your vocabulary to your preferred platform, including popular ones like Google Drive. Explore our visual themes - Classic Light, Classic Dark (with high contrast), and Outer Space (a dark mode). Our default dark mode has been beneficial for adult users and those using Avaz with eye-tracking devices. Try Avaz AAC's free 14-day trial without adding credit card details! Make in-app purchases and choose from our affordable monthly, yearly, and lifetime subscription plans to keep benefiting from the amazing features. Now available in English US, English UK, Français, Dansk, Svenska, Magyar, Føroyskt is fully compatible with iPads and iPhones. If you’re new to AAC, don’t worry! Visit www.avazapp.com for beginner-friendly articles to help you get started. Connect with our passionate Avaz community on Facebook and other social media platforms. We are always happy to hear from you. For any assistance, please write to us at support@avazapp.com Note: Avaz AAC - Lifetime Edition is available for a one-time purchase and offers a 50% discount with VPP for 20+ licenses. Terms of Use - https://www.avazapp.com/terms-of-use/ Privacy Policy - https://www.avazapp.com/privacy-policy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Avaz AAC at 4.1 against SoundingBoard's 3.5. Avaz AAC also leads on ratings volume (316 vs 34) and review sentiment (60% vs 48%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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 Avaz AAC sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Avaz AAC holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Avaz AAC has 316 ratings behind it against 34, 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 60% of Avaz AAC's.
SoundingBoard ships an update every 3 months, Avaz AAC every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SoundingBoard | Avaz AAC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (34 ratings) | 4.1 (316 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 48.2% of reviews | 60.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 34 | 316 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 4 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, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 169 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | AbleNet | Avaz, Inc. |
Customer experience
SoundingBoard
Avaz AAC
User reviews
SoundingBoard
From 34 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Highly customizable boards
- 💡 Ability to use own photos
- 🗣️ Record own voice
- 🔗 Link boards together
- 🆓 Free to try/use
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashing on startup
- 🐛 Boards disappearing/not saving
- 🐛 Edit lock not working
- 🐛 Inconsistent icon activation
- 🐛 Poor UI/UX for creation
Avaz AAC
From 316 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 User-friendly interface and easy navigation
- 🎯 Highly customizable to individual needs
- 🗣️ Clear, natural-sounding voice options
- 💬 Effective communication tool for non-verbal users
- 🎨 Clear and intuitive icons
Room to improve
- 💸 High subscription cost ($300 lifetime, $10+ monthly)
- ⏰ Short free trial period (14 days only)
- 🚫 Misleading free trial marketing
- 🔇 Voice feature disabled after trial ends
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing
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 moreShow fewer
- 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
Avaz AAC
Reported bugs
11 issues- App crashes when typing or entering letters
- Screen freezes when searching for pictures
- Voice functionality stops working randomly
- Audio not playing despite correct volume settings
- App loses voice after several uses
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Backup import puts boards into single folder instead of original structure
- Screen rotation issues with keyboard
- App takes long time to load on tablets
- Sentence word order incorrect with screen reader (words with icons read last)
- Internet connection error during subscription
- Slow customer support response times
Requested features
10 requests- Free or significantly reduced pricing for disabled users
- Longer free trial period (20+ days suggested)
- Ability to save and reuse phrases
- Online two-way communication capability
- Video and user-created image support
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Vertical orientation option for small hands
- Extended gender identity options beyond binary
- Automatic phrase copying without premium
- Lifetime membership after extended subscription period
- Picture upload and backup/restore functionality
In-app purchases
SoundingBoard
- Mealtime_MaleFree
- Mealtime_FemaleFree
- Getting Dressed_MaleFree
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Getting Dressed_FemaleFree
- General Conversation_MaleFree
- General Conversation_FemaleFree
- Fast Food Restaurant_MaleFree
- Fast Food Restaurant_FemaleFree
- Movies_MaleFree
- Movies_FemaleFree
Avaz AAC
- Avaz Auto Renewing Subscription$9.991 Month
- Avaz Yearly Subscription$99.991 Year
- Lifetime Subscription2 variants$199.99
- Lifetime Subscription$299.99
