Comparison

SpeakColors vs Custom Boards Elite

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

Head to head
About

SpeakColors

This iPad app helps young children with speech and language delays practice using two-word phrases with colors and objects. It features colorful photos and allows voice recording to build vocabulary and language skills.

Highlights
  • Two-word phrase practice
  • Color and object vocabulary
  • Voice recording
  • Interactive photos
  • Progressive language skills
Features
Read full description

SpeakColors is an iPad app designed to encourage young children to imitate and use two word phrases with color words and common objects. The app is geared toward toddlers with speech and language delays, autism, Down syndrome and other developmental disorders. This motivating app increases vocabulary skills, phrase length, and receptive and expressive language. This lite version of SpeakColors contains 7 common colors and 100 colorful photographs of objects. Children can record their own voice to name colors, food, animals, toys, and common objects. "SpeakColors can do an excellent job of teaching words and sentence structure as a precursor to or in conjunction with other reinforcing hands-on multi-modality activities." ~ SpeechPathologyApps.com *** Free App of the Week in SpeechPathologyApps.com Newsletter (05/31/2012) *** Instructions: - From the main menu, press "Start". - Pick a color from the top of the screen. - Pick a sentence template from the upper-left of the screen. - Swipe left or swipe right (or use arrow buttons) to change objects. - Press a color or object in the middle of the screen to hear the name of the color or object. *** Includes In App Purchase to unlock features of the Full Version. *** *** Disclosure *** At RWH Technology we are committed to the privacy and safety of our customers and their children. This app: - Does not collect/share any user's personally identifiable information. - Does not contain Social Network Integration or Links to Social Media. - Does not contain ads. - Does not contain push notifications. - Does contain In-App-Purchase on a separate, parent oriented screen.

About

Custom Boards Elite

Create custom visual support materials using a vast library of symbols or your own photos. Design boards, schedules, and worksheets for communication and learning. Print, save, or email your creations directly from the app.

Highlights
  • Activity creation center
  • 21,000+ built-in symbols
  • Add custom photos
  • Template library (120+)
  • Print, save, and email
  • Organize with folders
Features
Read full description

The Ultimate Visual Support & Activity Creator Empower communication and learning with Custom Boards Elite! Designed specifically for speech therapists, special education teachers, and parents, Custom Boards Elite is an evidence-based app that revolutionizes how you create visual supports. Whether you need a daily schedule, a communication grid, or an engaging articulation game, Custom Boards gives you the tools to build professional, customized materials in minutes. UNMATCHED SYMBOL LIBRARY Say goodbye to stick figures and limited clip art. Custom Boards includes over 29,000 high-quality, diverse symbols from the renowned Smarty Symbols library. Need something specific? You can easily upload and integrate your own photos directly from your device! 120+ READY-TO-USE TEMPLATES Stop starting from scratch. Choose from over 120 expertly designed templates categorized into six core areas: Activities & Games: Bingo, Dominoes, Board Games, and more. Devices & Switches: Perfect for AAC device overlays. Signs & Labels: Create classroom rules, labels, and directional signs. Grids & Boards: Standard communication grids from 1x1 up to complex layouts. Schedules & Calendars: First-Then boards, weekly schedules, and daily routines. Worksheets: Ready-made educational printables. DEEP CUSTOMIZATION Make every board your own. Our intuitive editor allows you to: Customize background and text colors for every single cell. Tweak border styles (solid, dashed, circular) to highlight specific targets. Easily edit text labels to match your student's specific vocabulary. BUILT FOR SPEECH THERAPISTS Save hours of prep time with our advanced search filters. Target specific speech goals by filtering the entire 21,000+ symbol library by Initial, Medial, or Final letter positions! EXPORT & ORGANIZE When your masterpiece is complete, you are ready to PRINT, SAVE, or E-MAIL the final template. Print directly from your iPad to any AirPrint-ready printer. Creating boards for a whole caseload? Keep your finalized templates neatly organized into custom folders inside the app's Archive. Join the revolution in special education and start creating beautiful, effective visual supports today!

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: SpeakColors at free with in-app purchases against Custom Boards Elite's subscription. SpeakColors also leads on rating (2.5 vs 2.2) and review sentiment (67% vs 56%). Custom Boards Elite's advantage is update cadence (every 7 months vs every 16 months) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. SpeakColors sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Custom Boards Elite sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SpeakColors holds the better App Store score, 2.5 against 2.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 6 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of SpeakColors's written reviews are positive against 56% of Custom Boards Elite's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SpeakColors ships an update every 16 months, Custom Boards Elite every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
SpeakColors versus Custom Boards Elite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpeakColorsCustom Boards Elite
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (4 ratings) — better2.2 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews — better55.6% of reviews
Number of ratings46 — better
Update frequencyEvery 16 monthsEvery 7 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPadiPad
Requires iOS17.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB880 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRWH Technology, LLCSmarty Ears

Customer experience

SpeakColors

All ratings4 ratings
Positive25.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative16.7%

Custom Boards Elite

All ratings5 ratings
Positive20.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative80.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive55.6%
Neutral11.1%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

SpeakColors

One-time1
  • Full Version$3.99
10 purchases

Custom Boards Elite

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Six months Access7 Days trial$49.996 Months
  • Yearly Access7 Days trial$59.991 Year
One-time7
  • The ant$0.99
  • Placemat$0.99
  • Tech talk$0.99
Show 4 more
  • Weekly$0.99
  • Orderly$0.99
  • Story Board$0.99
  • Purchase 10,000 Smarty Symbols$19.99

Questions

Is SpeakColors free?
SpeakColors is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Custom Boards Elite free?
Custom Boards Elite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SpeakColors or Custom Boards Elite?
SpeakColors is rated higher. SpeakColors averages 2.5 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Custom Boards Elite averages 2.2 from 6 ratings.
Do SpeakColors or Custom Boards Elite have ads?
Neither SpeakColors nor Custom Boards Elite shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SpeakColors or Custom Boards Elite?
SpeakColors ships an update every 16 months, and Custom Boards Elite every 7 months. Most recently, SpeakColors was updated on November 1, 2026 and Custom Boards Elite on November 6, 2026.

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