Comparison

Pictello Visual Stories vs First Then Visual Schedule HD

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

Head to head
About

Pictello Visual Stories

Create engaging visual stories and social schedules with photos, videos, and text. Supports literacy development through features like word-by-word highlighting and text-to-speech. Easily share your creations with others or export them for wider distribution.

Highlights
  • Create visual stories with photos and videos
  • Text-to-speech and voice recording
  • Word-by-word text highlighting
  • Built-in word prediction
  • Import books from Tar Heel Reader
  • Share stories via server or Dropbox
  • Export to PDF or print
Read full description

Everyone loves to tell fun, engaging, and imaginative stories. Go ahead and make a social story or visual schedule for a child with autism or a slide show of holiday pictures for your friends - Pictello makes it a breeze to create and share! Whether you use the included natural-sounding Text to Speech voices, or record your own voice, Pictello is the perfect tool for visual storytelling. Each page in a Pictello story consists of a photo or video and some text, which can be read aloud by a Text to Speech voice or your own recorded audio. Develop literacy skills - Support reading with word-by-word text highlighting - Develop writing and spelling with built-in word prediction and Speak as You Type - Create stories to teach academic and social skills - Import free early literacy and adapted academic books from Tar Heel Reader Create and playback with ease - Let students use the wizard to create stories - Play stories page by page or as a slideshow - Use Text to Speech voices to read the story - Turn on switch access for story playback Integrate multimedia - Add your own photos - Include short video clips - Record your own voice or sound Share your stories - Share with other Pictello users through our free sharing server - Use Dropbox to exchange stories - Export to PDF or print to share with non-Pictello users Speak your language - Pick English, Spanish, German, French, Italian or Dutch for the user interface - Select from over 110 free Text to Speech voices in 29 languages - Use genuine American, British, Australian, American-Spanish, Swedish, French, Italian, German, Norwegian and Swedish children's voices - Create interest with fun character and specialty voices Customize to fit your needs - Pick between Wizard or Expert creation modes - Swipe or automatically turn pages - Adjust speech rate and pronunciations Read more at www.assistiveware.com/products/pictello Additional Note: Educational institutions can get a 50% discount if they purchase 20 or more licenses through Apple’s Volume Licensing Program for Education.

About

First Then Visual Schedule HD

Create and use a variety of visual supports, including schedules, task analyses, and social stories, all within a single application. This tool offers multiple ways to add images and customize viewing options to suit individual needs.

Highlights
  • Create visual schedules
  • Task analyses
  • Social stories
  • Choice boards
  • Video models
  • Multiple image import options
  • Customizable viewing formats
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The visual supports you can create and use with First Then Visual Schedule (FTVS) HD have proven to be especially beneficial for the following populations: Typically developing children Those learning English as a second language People with developmental disabilities like Autism and Down Syndrome Individuals with learning disabilities like dyslexia People affected by anxiety or attention deficits Anyone with language, hearing or auditory processing deficits Individuals affected by aphasia after a stroke And many more... So, as a parent, teacher, therapist or adult who could benefit from visual supports you want to try them but may be frustrated by how many different apps you seem to need in order to do so? FTVS HD lets you easily and quickly create and use ALL these visual supports in just one app: First Then boards Visual schedules Task analyses Social stories Choice boards Video models FTVS HD is designed to be used anywhere and everywhere with everything you need easily accessible from within the app: It's universal so it will work on any iDevice FTVS HD gives you FIVE different options for adding images: take a picture using your device's camera or grab one from the camera roll, use the Internet search feature to look for an image, use one of the stock images in the app or access one of 10,000 Smarty Ears symbols. All the stock images and Smarty Ears symbols are searchable by name. Set a timer for either an entire schedule or for individual steps within it. Attach a choice board or video to any step. There are FIVE different viewing options: Look at one single image at a time (great for the visually impaired), view two images in a First Then board format, scroll through a checklist, drag and drop an image to another column once a step is complete or drag and drop an image from a strip and put it in an envelope. FTVS HD makes it easy to create, customize and share schedules. You can copy the templates that come with the app or create your own from scratch. Easily edit, move, delete or hide steps within schedules. You can print your schedules and share them with other users via email. Due to size constraints you can currently only email one choice board and cannot email videos. Good Karma Applications are dedicated to providing apps that are powerful, easy to use and affordable. If you have any feedback or questions in relation to any of our apps, please contact us at support@goodkarmaapplications.com

Screenshots

Pictello Visual Stories4 screens
First Then Visual Schedule HD4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Pictello Visual Stories at 4.1 against First Then Visual Schedule HD's 3.2. Pictello Visual Stories also leads on review sentiment (71% vs 53%). First Then Visual Schedule HD's advantage is price ($14.99 vs $19.99) and chart position (#136 vs unranked). On ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Pictello Visual Stories costs $19.99 and First Then Visual Schedule HD $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pictello Visual Stories holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 33 and 25 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Pictello Visual Stories's written reviews are positive against 53% of First Then Visual Schedule HD's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pictello Visual Stories ships an update every 6 months, First Then Visual Schedule HD every 3 months. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Pictello Visual Stories versus First Then Visual Schedule HD: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPictello Visual StoriesFirst Then Visual Schedule HD
Price$19.99$14.99 — better
Rating4.1 (33 ratings) — better3.2 (25 ratings)
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews — better52.8% of reviews
Number of ratings33 — better25
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#136 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.09.3 — better
Further details — not scored
Size662 MB84 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAssistiveWareGood Karma Applications, Inc

Customer experience

Pictello Visual Stories

All ratings33 ratings
Positive78.8%
Neutral3.0%
Negative18.2%
Written reviews63 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral6.3%
Negative22.2%

First Then Visual Schedule HD

All ratings25 ratings
Positive52.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative44.0%
Written reviews36 reviews
Positive52.8%
Neutral2.8%
Negative44.4%

In-app purchases

None

Pictello Visual Stories

No in-app purchases

None

First Then Visual Schedule HD

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pictello Visual Stories free?
Pictello Visual Stories costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is First Then Visual Schedule HD free?
First Then Visual Schedule HD costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pictello Visual Stories or First Then Visual Schedule HD?
Pictello Visual Stories is rated higher. Pictello Visual Stories averages 4.1 out of 5 from 33 ratings, while First Then Visual Schedule HD averages 3.2 from 25 ratings.
Do Pictello Visual Stories or First Then Visual Schedule HD have ads?
Neither Pictello Visual Stories nor First Then Visual Schedule HD shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pictello Visual Stories or First Then Visual Schedule HD?
Pictello Visual Stories ships an update every 6 months, and First Then Visual Schedule HD every 3 months. Most recently, Pictello Visual Stories was updated on September 23, 2026 and First Then Visual Schedule HD on September 23, 2026.

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