Expressive Builder vs Articulation Station Hive
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Expressive Builder
This app helps children improve sentence ideation, formation, and language skills through interactive exercises. It utilizes audio clips and voice recording to enhance auditory processing and reinforce language development, making it ideal for special needs children.
- Sentence ideation and formation practice
- Auditory processing enhancement with audio clips
- Voice recording and playback
- Multiple hint levels
- 250+ images for sentence creation
- Import custom images
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Voted 3rd best educational app of 2011 by AppsForHomeschooling.com Voted 9th best education app of 2011 by SmartAppsForKids.com Own as an individual app or as part of our MES Speech Therapy Bundle. Expressive Builder is designed to help children accomplish the following educational goals: 1) Improve sentence ideation ; 2) Improve sentence formation; and 3) Improve receptive and expressive language. Extensive use of audio clips promotes improved auditory processing for special needs children with autism spectrum disorders or sensory processing disorders. Auditory playback of child's voice offers reinforcement for language development. Expressive Builder offers a rich and fun environment for improving the ability to create grammatically correct sentences. FEATURES -Record feature allows students to record sentences in their own voice -3 levels of hints -Simple and intuitive interface to record sentence -Save and email recorded sentences -250 distinct images to create sentences from -Import your own images -Optional hint button LANGUAGES - English REQUIREMENTS - Compatible with iPad - Requires Iphone 5.1 software update ExpressiveBuilder is part of "The Builder Series" of award winning education apps. Mobile Education Store has won over 40 app awards and has been named educational developer of the year in 2011 and 2012. Mobile Education Store is a member of Moms with Apps, a collaborative group of family-friendly developers seeking to promote quality apps for kids and families. Recommended Ages: 3-6, 6-10 Categories: Special Needs
Articulation Station Hive
This app provides a comprehensive suite of tools and activities designed to improve speech clarity for learners of all ages. It offers a wide range of exercises targeting consonants and vowels from isolation to conversation levels, with features for tracking progress and sharing results.
- 17 targeted speech activities
- Isolation, syllable, word, phrase, sentence, story, and conversation levels
- Visual and auditory cues
- Minimal pairs and phonological process practice
- Custom word and image support
- Progress tracking and recording
- Group session support (Pro tier)
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Articulation Station Hive is the most comprehensive speech therapy app on the App Store. It has all the tools and activities needed to teach learners of all ages how to speak more clearly. To start with, it has 17 different activities to target speech in both consonants and vowels from the isolation level through the conversation level. ARTICULATION STATION HIVE OFFERS: ISOLATION ACTIVITIES: - Hand cues provide a video model with a hand cue for each sound. - Picture cues offer fun animated illustrations for each sound. - Letter cues pair the letter with the sound in a playful way. SYLLABLE ACTIVITIES: - Syllable sliders allow learners to slide 2 sounds together to make a word. - Syllable spinners allow learners to spin 1, 2, and 3 syllable combinations. WORD ACTIVITIES: - Minimal Pairs illustrate the subtle differences sounds in words make. - Flashcards provide a quick and reliable tool for focused repetition. - Matching games (3 levels) keep kids (and adults) engaged in the activity. PHRASE ACTIVITIES: - Rotating phrases allow learners to spin a lead word and a target word for a limitless number of two word combinations. - Unique phrases are three-word descriptive phrases that are perfect for addressing both speech and language goals. SENTENCE ACTIVITIES: - Fixed rotating sentences are like long “carrier phrases” where the sentence stays the same and only one target word changes. - Mixed rotating sentences mix things up. With each spin a new pronoun, verb, adjective and target word spin into position. - Unique sentences are usually longer and at times more complex than the rotating sentences. STORY ACTIVITIES: - Level 1 stories are short, rhyming, and sometimes repetitive stories paired with picture prompts. - Level 2 stories are longer stories with larger vocabulary and even more opportunities to practice the target sound. CONVERSATION ACTIVITIES: - Conversation scenes allow the learner to scroll from right to left to explore the scene. Speech samples can be recorded, saved and scored. - Conversation questions offer four different types of questions. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES & RESOURCES: - Phonological processes may be practiced in single words or with minimal pairs. - Multiple sounds allow learners to practice multiple sounds at a time at the word, phrase, or sentence level. - Custom words allow you to add images and words to help personalize the app. - Group sessions allow you to work with groups of students up to 6 at a time. *Pro tier only. - Themes include seasonal themes, holiday themes, just-for-fun themes, and multiple colored backgrounds. *illustrated themes are iPad only. SCORES: - View a summary of all your students’ sessions, and see graphs of your students’ performances on all targeted sounds. - View session details including all the correct, approximate, and incorrect responses. - Write and view notes, listen to recordings, and repeat sessions. - Share progress and notes with parents or adult users. We’re proud to offer Articulation Station Hive as part of the Little Bee Hive membership which includes access to both Articulation Station Hive and Articulation Test Center Hive in the Pro tier. If you are already subscribed to Articulation Test Center Hive you may download and login to Articulation Station Hive with your same login information at no additional cost. SUBSCRIPTION, PRICING & TERMS: Articulation Station Hive offers a 14-day free trial which includes unlimited access to both Articulation Station Hive and Articulation Test Center Hive. The subscription automatically renews unless the auto-renew feature is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Payment will be charged to your Apple account at the end of your 14-day trial period. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off at any time.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Articulation Station Hive at Free against Expressive Builder's $9.99. Articulation Station Hive also leads on rating (4.5 vs 2.8) and ratings volume (552 vs 4). Expressive Builder's advantage is review sentiment (95% vs 63%) and iOS requirement (12.1 vs 16.0). 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
Articulation Station Hive is free to download; Expressive Builder costs $9.99 up front. Expressive Builder sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Articulation Station Hive sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Articulation Station Hive holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Articulation Station Hive has 552 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 95% of Expressive Builder's written reviews are positive against 63% of Articulation Station Hive's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Expressive Builder ships an update every 4 months, Articulation Station Hive monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Expressive Builder | Articulation Station Hive |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 2.8 (4 ratings) | 4.5 (552 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 95.4% of reviews — better | 63.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 552 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.1 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 132 MB | 638 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mobile Education Store LLC | Little Bee Speech |
Customer experience
Expressive Builder
Articulation Station Hive
User reviews
Expressive Builder
From 4 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great for language skills
- 👍 Excellent for speech therapy
- 👍 Engaging for children
- 👍 Real photos are appealing
- 👍 Recording feature is motivating
Room to improve
- 🐛 Skip image button missing after update
- 🐛 Lack of diversity in ethnicities
- 🐛 Hints require reading for independent use
- 🐛 Audio instruction quality bothersome
- 🐛 Pictures can be Northern Hemisphere centered
Articulation Station Hive
From 552 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Comprehensive articulation app
- 🚀 Efficient and easy to use
- 💡 Great variety of activities
- 👍 Engaging for students
- 👍 Helpful for SLPs and parents
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🐛 Occasional app crashes or bugs
- 🔒 Difficulty transferring previous purchases
- 💰 Unaffordable for some SLPs and parents
Bugs and requests
Expressive Builder
Reported bugs
2 issues- Cannot choose picture set
- Skip image button not present after update
Requested features
14 requests- Bring back the skip image button
- Wider variety of ethnicities represented
- Ability to have words read aloud
- Ability to have hints read aloud
- Highlighting word as it is read
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- Add a 'gaming' picture pack
- Ability to upload personal photographs
- More sets without in-app purchases
- Ability to archive more students
- Add older children (teens) to original pack
- Ability to go to next/previous image at any time
- Text to speech for non-readers
- Play button on the first page
- Tap on words to have them read aloud
Articulation Station Hive
Reported bugs
3 issues- Login/sign-up issues
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
- Data loss or inability to access previous sessions
Requested features
5 requests- Add more words and vocabulary
- Include British accent options
- Allow one-time purchase option
- Improve navigation and flow
- Add more games and interactive activities
In-app purchases
Expressive Builder
- School Game Pack$1.99
- Sports Game Pack$1.99
- Hobbies Game Pack$1.99
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- Inside Playtime Game Pack$1.99
- Medical Game Pack$1.99
- Pets Game Pack$1.99
- Places Game Pack$1.99
- Playground Game Pack$1.99
- Winter Game Pack$1.99
- All Game Packs$19.99
Articulation Station Hive
- Hive Parent (Monthly)14 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Hive Pro (Monthly)14 Days trial$14.991 Month
- Hive Parent (Yearly)14 Days trial$83.991 Year
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Hive Pro (Yearly)14 Days trial$119.991 Year
Questions
Is Expressive Builder free?
Is Articulation Station Hive free?
Which has better reviews, Expressive Builder or Articulation Station Hive?
Do Expressive Builder or Articulation Station Hive have ads?
Which is updated more often, Expressive Builder or Articulation Station Hive?
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