Comparison

GoTalk® NOW vs Speak for Yourself

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

Head to head
About

GoTalk® NOW

This powerful app provides flexible and easy-to-use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools for individuals with speech difficulties. It offers customizable page layouts, various communication styles, and rich media integration to support diverse communication needs.

Highlights
  • Adjustable page layouts
  • Customizable navigation
  • Recorded and text-to-speech capabilities
  • Standard, Express, and Scene communication pages
  • Visual Scene Displays
  • In-app image search and import
  • Video and music integration
Features
Read full description

Attainment has been making augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools for 25 years. Our experience is front and center in GoTalk NOW, a flexible, easy-to-use, yet powerful app for people who have difficulty speaking. NOW combines the simplicity of GoTalks (Attainment’s popular original AAC device) with the dynamic capabilities of an iPad. GoTalk NOW has all the essentials of an effective AAC app, like adjustable page layouts, customizable navigation, recorded and text-to-speech capabilities, and an included symbol set. But we sweated the details to create unique and compelling features that clearly separate NOW from other AAC apps. The new NOW offers three styles of communication pages: Standard, Express, and Scenes. In Standard pages, the action occurs when the location is pressed. In Express pages, recorded or text-to-speech messages build in a speech bar and play in sequence when the bar is pressed. Scene pages are built around a single photo or image. When you arrange invisible hotspots over people or objects in the photo, the hotspots play speech, music, or videos! Feel free to mix and match pages within a communication book. Create as many communication books as you need, each with unique settings and unlimited pages. Then share these books with other users via WiFi, and back them up for safekeeping via Dropbox or any Mac/PC. Envision the impact of blending video, music, and jump to actions among your pages. How cool is it to have your own private online galley to store and save your templates (up to five communication pages) for free, and to email these templates to parents and colleagues! Plus, GoTalk NOW is a full-feature scanning app! Features: • Choose 1, 2, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, or 49 locations per page. • Use Visual Scene Displays to communicate using familiar images & contexts. • Hybrid Scene Pages combine the best of both button & VSD pages. • Import images from your iPad camera, photo library, or the included Imagine Symbol set. • Search the Internet in-app for the perfect image or icon. • Purchase SymbolStix, PCS, or Widgit Symbols libraries in-app. • Crop, scale, or rotate an image using your fingers. • Combine multiple images in a single communication location. • Color pages, borders, and text with any hue. • Move and size text with your fingers so it feels just right. • Record your voice or use free, built-in text-to-speech voices. • Buy higher quality voices starting at 99 cents each, available in over 20 languages. • Add spoken labels (auditory cues) to any button. Great for scanning, guiding visually impaired users, and identifying any new or difficult vocabulary. • Trim videos in-app, and play them from any communication location. • Select our alternate video interface to pause or exit the video easily. • Link songs from your playlist to any communication location and control them with Pause/Play, Next, and Previous. • Include a core vocabulary button for extra quick access to important messages. • Create multimedia social stories and step-by-step instruction layouts by linking pages with an after action. • Share complete communication books via WiFi with any iPad user who has NOW. • Back up communication books via Dropbox or to any Mac or PC for safekeeping. • Store and share interactive templates (each including speech, video, text, and jump to links) on our online gallery for free. • Download and edit premade templates from Attainment’s collection on the public gallery, also free. • Email links to your templates to parents and colleagues, who can open the template on their iPad by tapping on the link. • Print and save communication book layouts via PDFs. • Access Now with single or two-switch scanning. GoTalk NOW participates in Apple's Volume Purchasing Program for Education in the United States. Attainment is well known for top-notch customer service. Email us with questions or comments and check our website for free webinars. And yes, we're happy to talk to you on the telephone!

About

Speak for Yourself

This communication app, developed by speech-language pathologists, uses evidence-based principles to help individuals develop language and automaticity. It offers a large vocabulary with quick access to words, aiming to provide lifelong communication support.

Highlights
  • Evidence-based AAC design
  • Motor learning principles
  • Word-based vocabulary
  • Fast, consistent language access
  • Customizable voice options
  • Large symbol library
Features
Read full description

Speak for Yourself is an application designed by two speech language pathologists specializing in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) with an evidence-based foundation. This application is consistent with motor learning principles, uses a word-based vocabulary of the most frequently used words in communication, and contains features important in developing automaticity and language. Individuals learn to use their communication device with the same principles they use to play an instrument or type on a keyboard. Speak for Yourself has the capability to begin with one word, but contains almost 11,000 Smarty Symbols® and allows the user the potential to access almost 14,000 words, with no more than two touches to say a word. Complex page navigation and scanning are eliminated to allow fast, consistent access to language! Powered by CereProc's speech system to give our voices character, emotion, and personality. With the release of version 2.3, users can choose to include voice options from Acapela Text-To-Speech from Acapela Group through in-app purchasing. Regardless of their current language level, this application can meet people where they are and provide language for a lifetime, because it’s a basic human right to Speak for Yourself.

Screenshots

Speak for Yourself4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: GoTalk® NOW at $59.99 against Speak for Yourself's $299.99. GoTalk® NOW also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months). Speak for Yourself's advantage is ratings volume (408 vs 2) and review sentiment (81% vs 61%). On ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

GoTalk® NOW costs $59.99 and Speak for Yourself $299.99 up front. GoTalk® NOW sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Speak for Yourself sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

GoTalk® NOW holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Speak for Yourself has 408 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 61% of GoTalk® NOW's written reviews are positive against 81% of Speak for Yourself's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

GoTalk® NOW ships an update every 5 weeks, Speak for Yourself every 4 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
GoTalk® NOW versus Speak for Yourself: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGoTalk® NOWSpeak for Yourself
Price$59.99 — better$299.99
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.6 (408 ratings)
Positive reviews60.9% of reviews81.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2408 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.615.6
Further details — not scored
Size235 MB1.4 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAttainment CompanySpeak for Yourself LLC

Customer experience

GoTalk® NOW

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive60.9%
Neutral4.3%
Negative34.8%

Speak for Yourself

All ratings401 ratings
Positive89.8%
Neutral3.7%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews27 reviews
Positive81.5%
Neutral3.7%
Negative14.8%

Bugs and requests

GoTalk® NOW

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Speak for Yourself

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Accidental download without password
  • Buttons don't make sense (e.g., 'little' leading to flowers)

Requested features

12 requests
  • Allow uploading personal pictures for words
  • Increase size of picture/buttons
  • Improve voice options
  • More flexibility in sub-page customization
  • Add word prediction in keyboard mode
Show 7 more
  • Implement color-coding for navigation
  • Add alphabetical order for core words
  • Option for word-only buttons
  • Choice of different backgrounds for buttons and message window
  • Advanced word prediction feature
  • Minimum hold duration for buttons
  • Repeat delay option

In-app purchases

10 purchases

GoTalk® NOW

One-time10
  • Kenny$0.99
  • Nelly$0.99
  • Ryan$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Tracy$0.99
  • Will$0.99
  • Ella$11.99
  • Josh$11.99
  • Ready-Set-Communicate$19.99
  • SymbolStix$49.99
  • English (US) Keywords$59.99
10 purchases

Speak for Yourself

One-time10
  • Ella English (U.S.) child voice$24.99
  • Liam English (Australia) child voice$24.99
  • Emilio-English English (U.S.) child voice$24.99
Show 7 more
  • Josh English (U.S.) child voice$24.99
  • Valeria-English English (U.S.) child voice$24.99
  • Karen English (U.S.) adult voice$24.99
  • Rod English (U.S.) adult voice$24.99
  • Tracy English (U.S.) adult voice$24.99
  • Rachel English (U.K.) adult voice$24.99
  • Scott English (U.S.) child voice$24.99

Questions

Is GoTalk® NOW free?
GoTalk® NOW costs $59.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Speak for Yourself free?
Speak for Yourself costs $299.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, GoTalk® NOW or Speak for Yourself?
GoTalk® NOW is rated higher. GoTalk® NOW averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Speak for Yourself averages 4.6 from 408 ratings.
Do GoTalk® NOW or Speak for Yourself have ads?
Neither GoTalk® NOW nor Speak for Yourself shows ads.
Which is updated more often, GoTalk® NOW or Speak for Yourself?
GoTalk® NOW ships an update every 5 weeks, and Speak for Yourself every 4 months. Most recently, GoTalk® NOW was updated on November 1, 2026 and Speak for Yourself on November 1, 2026.

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