Comparison

Pictello Visual Stories vs PECSTalk™

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

PECSTalk™

This communication app helps individuals with complex communication needs express themselves using a digital system that mimics a traditional picture exchange book. It offers extensive customization, multiple voice options, and access to a large image library to support users in various settings.

Highlights
  • Digital PECS book with Sentence Strip
  • Access to full Pics for PECS library
  • Customizable user-defined images
  • Multi-language support
  • Backup and restore functionality
  • Universal 'No' capability
  • Bilingual book creation
Read full description

PECSTalk™ is an AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) app used by individuals with complex communication needs, including those on the autism spectrum. Designed by the developers of the evidence-based Picture Exchange Communication System® (PECS®), this high-tech option is customizable and easy to use! With access to the full Pics for PECS library, multiple voice output options, and multiple languages, the PECSTalk™ app can be individualized for your learner’s needs. With PECSTalk™, users can construct a multi-picture Sentence Strip™ via a dedicated Sentence Starter™ page and create up to 30 digital PECS book pages for the in-app voice to speak. The digital display is similar in layout to a traditional PECS Communication Book while accommodating the more robust vocabulary of a Speech Generating Device (SGD). The PECSTalk™ app can be used to make requests, respond to questions, comment and ask questions. By converting pictures and text into spoken language, the PECSTalk™ app empowers non-speaking learners to fully participate in their school, home, vocational, and community settings. Languages Available: English, Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish Features of PECSTalk™: Looks like a traditional PECS book with colored, tabbed pages with VELCRO® strips and a Sentence Strip so you can create a digital PECS book that looks identical to your learner’s book, accommodates vocabulary growth and grammatical expansion Access to the full Pics for PECS image library Create customized user defined images Backup & Restore- backup your books locally or to the cloud AND share across multiple platforms and devices Scrollable pages Universal No capabilities- rather than hiding or eliminating an image, a universal No symbol can be overlaid on an image indicating the item is not currently available. Capability to build bilingual books Drag and drop pictures from the tabbed pages to the Sentence Strip just like with a traditional PECS book Switch between pages by scrolling between and tapping on different tabs Rearrange pictures on the Sentence Strip without having to delete pictures Clear Sentence Strips with a single button push or clear individual pictures by swiping them back to the book Integrated features from the PECS protocol such as constant time delay for the in-app voice Customize each book: Open or close the dedicated Sentence Starter page with a single touch Create 1-30 tabbed pages (with up to 28 pictures per page), each with 3 scrollable pages Each book can hold up to 2,500 images Customize each tab by number of VELCRO® strips, color, category icon, and/or number of pictures on each page Customize pictures: Use Pics for PECS images (full picture set included) or add images from your photo library and the web Change text on pictures as well as size Put text on top or bottom of pictures, or remove text Search function for the Pics for PECS library included Speech: Use included synthesized speech or record your own speech Incorporate the research-based constant time delay for ‘reading’ the Sentence Strip to create opportunities for the student to speak Select from included profiles or create new profiles to customize: How pictures are moved: tap, drag or both How to clear (reset) the Sentence Strip Visibility of Sentence Starter page Reading Sentence Strip left to right or right to left When to read the Sentence Strip: as each picture is selected or with a single tap of the “Speak” button after the Sentence Strip is completed Track Learner Usage: Day by day list of Sentence Strips constructed by the student Weekly and monthly analysis of most frequently used pictures

Screenshots

Pictello Visual Stories4 screens
PECSTalk™4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Pictello Visual Stories at $19.99 against PECSTalk™'s $139.99. Pictello Visual Stories also leads on review sentiment (71% vs 50%). PECSTalk™'s advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 months) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Pictello Visual Stories costs $19.99 and PECSTalk™ $139.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pictello Visual Stories ships an update every 6 months, PECSTalk™ fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pictello Visual Stories versus PECSTalk™: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPictello Visual StoriesPECSTalk™
Price$19.99 — better$139.99
Rating4.1 (33 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings33 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size662 MB121 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAssistiveWarePyramid Global Communication Technology LLC

Customer experience

Pictello Visual Stories

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

PECSTalk™

Written reviews6 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral33.3%
Negative16.7%

In-app purchases

None

Pictello Visual Stories

No in-app purchases

None

PECSTalk™

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pictello Visual Stories free?
Pictello Visual Stories costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is PECSTalk™ free?
PECSTalk™ costs $139.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Pictello Visual Stories or PECSTalk™ have ads?
Neither Pictello Visual Stories nor PECSTalk™ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pictello Visual Stories or PECSTalk™?
Pictello Visual Stories ships an update every 6 months, and PECSTalk™ fortnightly. Most recently, Pictello Visual Stories was updated on September 23, 2026 and PECSTalk™ on September 9, 2026.

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