Expressive Builder vs Decoding Chart
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
Decoding Chart
This app is part of a reading and writing curriculum designed for beginning readers or those who have struggled with literacy. It helps children transition from recognizing sounds to understanding letter spellings, using color-coded charts to guide them.
- Sound-to-letter decoding
- Color-coded spelling guidance
- Frequency-based spelling order
- Part of a comprehensive reading program
- Supports beginning readers
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Center for Innovation in Education Decoding Chart - Flip Dekodiphukan Description The tenth of the fourteen apps that comprise the Baratta-Lorton Reading Program. The Reading Program is a reading and writing curriculum for beginning readers and any child who has already experienced difficulty in learning to read. 99% unique – 100% effective - 100% free Background for the fourteen apps The Baratta-Lorton Reading Program also known as Dekodiphukan (pronounced decode if you can) was developed by the Center for Innovation in Education whose many other offerings include Mathematics Their Way, the first non-traditional math curriculum adopted in by the State of California. Dekodiphukan has been in use in classrooms across the United States and Canada since 1985. The Program has been used to teach thousands of children to read and to write regardless of background or supposed lack of reading readiness. To date, no child using the program in a classroom setting has ever failed to learn to read or to write. This Dekodiphukan reading and writing curriculum is now a series of fourteen apps plus a parent-guide for the iPad that, within a period of six months to a year (or occasionally a bit longer for some special needs children), will enable every child using it to read and to write. Reading with enjoyment. Writing creatively. Decoding Chart - FLIP The tenth of the Fourteen Apps The Decoding Chart converts words written in sounds to words written in letters. It is the vehicle for transitioning the child from sounds to letters. Its use is introduced once the child can comfortably read and write phrases. The Chart contains the pictures of all forty-four sounds arranged in the same rows and in the same order within each row as they are in the Stamping app. Beneath each sound picture are various ways that sound may be spelled. The spellings listed beneath each sound appear in order of frequency of occurrence in the words which beginning readers are most likely to encounter. Each of the spellings that appear beneath the sound pictures are color coded. The first spelling of each sound is coded white. If a second spelling is listed, it is coded yellow. Third spellings are red, fourth spellings are blue, fifth are green, sixth are brown, and seventh are purple. The color codings indicate to the child which spelling is to be used to write the letters for a word. The Decoding Chart does not contain all possible spellings for each sound. It does, however, contain the spellings that appear in ninety-five to ninety-eight percent of the words the child will encounter while learning to read and write. A parent guide to how to use the Decoding Chart is included in The Guide instructions for the Writing Worksheets. Two Apps and the Decoding Chart Download Chart – Levels The Decoding Chart-Levels app displays the chart in five different levels, each level matching one of the five levels of the Reading Program. Chart - Flip The Decoding Chart-Flip app displays half the chart on one side and half on the other side of a flip view. Download While the Decoding Chart is available in two app formats and moving between apps is possible with a double-click of the Home button on the iPad, the double-clicking process may not be easily managed by the child. A more child-accessible version of the Decoding Chart can be downloaded from the Center’s website and printed out. Decoding Chart Converts words in sounds to words in letters Introduced once the child can comfortably read phrases Available in two different app forms Also downloadable from the Center’s website Instructions for its use are included in The Guide’s Writing Worksheet instructions
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Decoding Chart at Free against Expressive Builder's $9.99. Decoding Chart also leads on rating (3.5 vs 2.8) and in-app purchases (none vs 10). Expressive Builder's advantage is update cadence (every 4 months vs every 71 months) and iOS requirement (12.1 vs 15.6). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads 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
Decoding Chart is free to download; Expressive Builder costs $9.99 up front. Expressive Builder sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Decoding Chart asks for nothing beyond the download.
Decoding Chart holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 2.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 95% of Expressive Builder's written reviews are positive against 100% of Decoding Chart's.
Expressive Builder ships an update every 4 months, Decoding Chart every 71 months. The most recent releases landed on June 9, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Expressive Builder | Decoding Chart |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 2.8 (4 ratings) | 3.5 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 95.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 71 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.1 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 132 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mobile Education Store LLC | Bob Baratta-Lorton |
Customer experience
Expressive Builder
Decoding Chart
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
Decoding Chart
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Expressive Builder free?
Is Decoding Chart free?
Which has better reviews, Expressive Builder or Decoding Chart?
Do Expressive Builder or Decoding Chart have ads?
Which is updated more often, Expressive Builder or Decoding Chart?
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