Speech Tutor vs First Phrases Lite
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Speech Tutor
This app uses advanced animation to visualize tongue and mouth movements for speech sound production. It offers detailed tutorials, sound-specific guidance, and recording features to help users improve their speech or accent.
- Animated transparent mouth views
- Side and front sound production views
- Adjustable playback speeds
- Pause and review animations
- Detailed sound production tutorials
- Palate diagrams
- Self-recording and playback
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Whether you’re a speech and language pathologist (SLP), an SLP college student, a parent of children with speech delays, or someone trying to improve their American English accent, you’re going to find this an invaluable application. A first of its kind in the field, Speech Tutor brings the latest in technology and animation to the world of speech. The animations inside Speech Tutor take the areas of the face that impede the view of tongue placement and positioning and make them transparent. Now one can literally see inside the mouth as the sounds are being made! Speech Tutor offers a “Side View” and a “Front View” of each sound production, both of which can be viewed at 3 different speeds (slow, medium, fast). The movies can also be paused any given point. With 132 animations in all, Speech Tutor is sure to offer a helpful view and speed for anyone in need. Speech Tutor does not stop there though. Non SLPs can begin the application by reading an easy to understand “Basics” tutorial which provides the reader with a solid foundation of the basic knowledge needed to know before attempting to improve any/all English consonants. Also provided is detailed text specific to each sound that further describes how each sound is technically made, tips provided by licensed speech and language pathologists, and milestones for when each sound should be acquired and mastered. Along with viewing the animations, one can also view a “Palate” diagram to further demonstrate where on the palate the tongue should be placed. Last but not least, users of the application can choose to record themselves as they practice their target sounds and then choose to play it before and after a correctly modeled production. Animations for the following sounds are provided: P, B, T, D, K, G, N, M, ING, F, V, S, Z, SH, CH, J, L, R (retroflex and bunched), TH (voiced and voiceless) and 4 new vowel animations - /i/, /u/, /a/ and /æ/ SUBSCRIPTION Full access is also available as Speech Tutor Weekly Access, an auto-renewable subscription for $9.99 per week in the U.S. (prices vary by country). If you've bought Speech Tutor, you keep full access without a subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. The subscription renews automatically each week unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within the 24 hours before the period ends. You can manage or cancel the subscription in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://s3.postcron.com/fileshare/speech-tutor/privacy-policy.html
First Phrases Lite
This app helps toddlers and children learning basic English phrases to develop language skills. It uses interactive animations and audio to teach verb-noun combinations, encouraging both listening and speaking practice.
- Interactive animations
- Audio and visual learning
- Record and playback speech
- Verb + noun phrase practice
- Speech therapy support
- Early literacy development
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This interactive, beautifully illustrated and animated app for the iPad, iPhone and Mac is perfect for the toddler or speech-delayed child who is learning how to put two-three words together or any child who is learning basic English phrases. Developed by an experienced speech-language pathologist, this app provides many opportunities to both hear (receptive), see, and say/record (expressive) 10 different verb + noun combinations, such as: eat the carrot, drive the train, close the door, drink the juice, sleep on the bed, turn on the light, and more. A delightful cat performs them, with 28 possible animation combinations. It is also a great way to teach the article “the” in a meaningful phrase context. **For more verb and character choices, we suggest upgrading to the full version of this app. First Phrases Lite includes user settings for 1 child and 1 guest player. Only one user can keep data. Hamaguchi Apps is dedicated to the mission of bringing high-quality apps to the general public and professionals for affordable prices. We do not have subscriptions for our apps--you download them and they are yours. How you play: Tell the cat what to do! By touching the illustrated parts of the phrases in order (verb+ object forms: “eat the carrot”) the child hears the pre-recorded spoken phrase modeled. The user has the option to repeat this action once, twice or three times in the settings for maximum auditory input. The child then watches an animation of the cat performing the command to help the child associate the words and their meaning. Now it’s the child’s turn to say it and tell the cat what to do! Touch the microphone and record, listen again, and watch the animal follow your direction. Use the optional visual support by tapping on the shapes above the microphone. An adult can score the parts of the phrases. All correct? The cat gives a thumbs up and we hear a praise phrase such as "Awesome!". Tap on End Session to see the data and replay any missed items. This format is especially powerful for children with speech delays and autism spectrum disorders who need strong visual support with as little background clutter as possible, and for use in speech therapy sessions. The format also is a terrific way to support early literacy for left to right orientation, reading (with text on feature) and word boundaries. Options include text on/text off, recording feature on/off, presentation of the phrase in 3 segments (verb + the + object) or 2 segments (verb + the object). Developed by noted speech-language pathologist Patti Hamaguchi, who is the author of several books in the speech-language pathology field including, "Childhood Speech, Language & Listening Problems: What Every Parent Should Know". Patti is also the author or co-author of several standardized tests including the RESCA-E, the TAPS4, the ELCI and upcoming tests the RESCA-ELD, RESCA-A and the Hamaguchi Speech-Language Screening Test. PRIVACY POLICY: We do NOT collect personal data from our users and have no ads! Personal data regarding user performance on the tasks on this app are self-contained and not transmitted in any way to any third parties including us. It is on your device only. *Please contact our tech support at info@hamaguchiapps.com if you are experiencing any technical issues with our apps. We will always help you troubleshoot it and get back to you generally within one business day. To find out more about this app and our other upcoming projects, visit our website: www.hamaguchiapps.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: First Phrases Lite at Free against Speech Tutor's $24.99. First Phrases Lite also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (86% vs 65%). Speech Tutor's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (57 vs 3). On rating, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
First Phrases Lite is free to download; Speech Tutor costs $24.99 up front. Speech Tutor sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. First Phrases Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.6 for Speech Tutor against 3.7 for First Phrases Lite. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Speech Tutor has 57 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 65% of Speech Tutor's written reviews are positive against 86% of First Phrases Lite's.
Speech Tutor ships an update every 3 weeks, First Phrases Lite every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Speech Tutor | First Phrases Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $24.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.6 (57 ratings) | 3.7 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 64.6% of reviews | 86.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 57 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.4 GB | 612 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Synapse Apps, LLC | Hamaguchi Learning & Development, LLC |
Customer experience
Speech Tutor
First Phrases Lite
Bugs and requests
Speech Tutor
Reported bugs
23 issues- App doesn't work anymore
- Requires internet connection when it shouldn't
- App can't connect to the internet
- Upgrade was more like a downgrade
- Sagital view hidden under videos
Show 18 moreShow fewer
- App doesn't support the latest iOS version for iPad
- In-app upgrade does not work properly
- Charged twice for basic instead of upgrade
- Upgrade did not change anything
- No site for help
- App downgraded significantly after upgrade
- App blinks off immediately
- Can't play sounds that once appeared
- Animations are glitchy
- Animations are poorly timed
- Animations are sometimes inaccurate
- Requested URL is not found
- App won't work unless I purchase the upgrade
- App is unusable unless I pay for an upgrade
- Downgraded version lists VL 'th' as voiced 'th'
- Video of visual representation of sounds is black/white screen
- App is stuck with an initializing icon
- App is not working
Requested features
8 requests- More flashcard pictures, especially for /Th/
- More specific phonetic chart sounds (vowel, diphthong, consonant)
- Lite version for trial
- More updates
- Ability to switch off to different students in a group
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Student progress tools
- More materials in Pro version
- Advanced analytics dashboard
First Phrases Lite
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Speech Tutor
- Speech Tutor Pro Upgrade$24.99
First Phrases Lite
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Speech Tutor free?
Is First Phrases Lite free?
Which has better reviews, Speech Tutor or First Phrases Lite?
Do Speech Tutor or First Phrases Lite have ads?
Which is updated more often, Speech Tutor or First Phrases Lite?
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