Comparison

First Phrases vs Visual Schedules

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

Head to head
About

First Phrases

This interactive app helps young children learn to combine words into meaningful phrases. It features animated characters performing actions and allows for recording and playback to aid language development. Ideal for speech therapy and early literacy support.

Highlights
  • 72 verb + noun phrase combinations
  • Animated characters performing actions
  • Record and playback speech
  • Group setting for multiple users
  • Data collection and reporting
  • Visual support for learning
Features
Read full description

From SmartAppsforKids.com: "In my opinion, First Phrases is a must-have for parents of children working on increasing expressive vocabulary, as well as the therapists and teachers who support their learning. First Phrases is creative, utilizes the iPad’s features in effective ways, and is engaging for young children. Highly recommended." This interactive, illustrated and animated app is perfect for a toddler, preschooler, or any child who is learning to put two or three word English phrases together. It provides many opportunities to hear (receptive), see, and say/record (expressive--if the child is talking) 72 different verb + noun combinations, such as: eat the carrot, blow the bubble, ride the bike, throw the ball, sleep on the bed, put away the toys, and more. With 6 different characters performing the actions, there are 456 possible animations so your child will never be bored! Each verb form is paired with several associated nouns to make a logical phrase such as "eat the apple" or "eat the banana" or "eat the carrot". It is also a great way to teach the article “the” in a meaningful phrase context. Use with 20 children, making it an excellent choice for professional use by a speech-language pathologist. There is also a group setting that allows several children to be engaged at once yet still have their own personal settings. Replay missed items, email results or print them out on the Session Results page! How to play: Tell the characters what to do! Touch the illustrated parts of the phrases in order one at a time (e.g. “eat... the... carrot”). The child hears the pre-recorded spoken phrase modeled. You can have this repeated once, twice or three times in the settings for maximum auditory input. Children who are not yet talking can skip the recording option and simply tap/see the associated animation on the Easy Level to learn the meanings of the phrases and to build language comprehension. The child then watches the character (bear, mouse, cat, dog, boy or girl) perform the command to help associate the words with their meaning. Now it’s the child’s turn to say it and tell them what to do! Tap the microphone and record, listen again, and watch the character follow the direction. Use the optional visual support to help remember what to say! On the scoring page, an adult can indicate what parts of the verb phrase were produced correctly for data collection if desired, then tap "Done". When all parts of the phrase are correct the character gives a thumbs-up. 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, girl or boy narration voice models, presentation of the phrase in 3 segments (verb + the + object) or 2 segments (verb + the object). A perfect speech therapy app for children with special needs! 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. This is a one-time download fee. We do not have subscriptions. Developed by noted speech-language pathologist Patti Hamaguchi, M.A., CCC-SLP who is also the author of books such as "Childhood Speech, Language & Listening Problems: What Every Parent Should Know", "A Metacognitive Treatment Approach to Treating Auditory Processing Disorders", several tests (RESCA-E, ELCI, TAPS4) To find out more about this app and our other upcoming projects, go to: www.hamaguchiapps.com Questions or need Tech Support? Email us at info@hamaguchiapps.com

About

Visual Schedules

This app provides a visual way to outline daily activities, helping children understand their schedule and reduce anxiety. It breaks down tasks into manageable steps and offers insights into progress and engagement.

Highlights
  • Enhance daily predictability
  • Boost motivation for tasks
  • Simplify task management
  • Break down complex schedules
  • Gain insights into behavior
  • Export raw data for analysis
Features
Read full description

Ease anxiety and provide clear insights into daily activities with Visual Schedules. This intuitive scheduler is designed to offer predictability and understanding, helping children anticipate what comes next. Enhance learning and engagement by increasing the number of activities a child can view at once, making transitions smoother and more manageable. Key Features: * Enhance Daily Predictability: Smoothly outlines the child’s day, providing a sense of security and structure. * Motivation Boost: Helps complete less appealing tasks by showing progress and end goals. * Clarity Without Overload: Offers essential upcoming tasks and activities without overwhelming details. * Simplified Task Management: Breaks down complex schedules into easy-to-follow steps. Advanced Insights: With more frequent use, gain deeper insights into a child’s behavior and task effectiveness. Discover which tasks capture attention and which need more focus. Visual Schedules provides easy-to-understand charts for quick overviews of schedule adherence and task completion. Need detailed analysis? Export raw data for comprehensive review and research. Transform your child’s day with clarity and confidence — download Visual Schedules now and see the difference it makes in your planning and their progress!

Screenshots

First Phrases4 screens
Visual Schedules4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: First Phrases at 94% against Visual Schedules's 0%. First Phrases also leads on rating (4.2 vs 3.0) and ratings volume (13 vs 1). Visual Schedules's advantage is price ($3.99 vs $15.99) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

First Phrases costs $15.99 and Visual Schedules $3.99 up front. First Phrases sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Visual Schedules asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

First Phrases holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: First Phrases has 13 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 94% of First Phrases's written reviews are positive against 0% of Visual Schedules's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

First Phrases ships an update every 4 months, Visual Schedules every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
First Phrases versus Visual Schedules: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFirst PhrasesVisual Schedules
Price$15.99$3.99 — better
Rating4.2 (13 ratings) — better3.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews93.8% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings13 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 8 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.613.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size612 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHamaguchi Learning & Development, LLCAME Mobile Inc.

Customer experience

First Phrases

All ratings13 ratings
Positive76.9%
Neutral15.4%
Negative7.7%
Written reviews65 reviews
Positive93.8%
Neutral1.5%
Negative4.6%

Visual Schedules

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

First Phrases

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Screen share disconnects during animations
  • App crashes frequently
  • Settings do not save
  • Words do not flip to show phrases after update
  • App not working after new iPad purchase (resolved)

Requested features

8 requests
  • Store recordings for progress tracking
  • Add more phrases
  • Allow more student profiles
  • Save multiple recordings
  • Repeat targeted phrase with icons on all pages
Show 3 more
  • Data collection feature
  • Add more verb-noun combinations
  • Data tracker for student progress

Visual Schedules

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

First Phrases

One-time1
  • In-app purchase$0.99
None

Visual Schedules

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is First Phrases free?
First Phrases costs $15.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Visual Schedules free?
Visual Schedules costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, First Phrases or Visual Schedules?
First Phrases is rated higher. First Phrases averages 4.2 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while Visual Schedules averages 3.0 from 1 ratings.
Do First Phrases or Visual Schedules have ads?
Neither First Phrases nor Visual Schedules shows ads.
Which is updated more often, First Phrases or Visual Schedules?
First Phrases ships an update every 4 months, and Visual Schedules every 8 months. Most recently, First Phrases was updated on November 1, 2026 and Visual Schedules on November 2, 2026.

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