Comparison

Custom Boards Elite vs SymbolSupport Lite

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

Head to head
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!

About

SymbolSupport Lite

This app allows users to read, listen to, and print documents created with a companion app. It automatically adds symbols to text as it's typed or pasted, aiding comprehension. Users can customize symbols and share documents in various formats.

Highlights
  • Read and print symbolized documents
  • Automatic symbol addition to text
  • Text-to-speech with word highlighting
  • Symbol customization and image import
  • Document sharing via AirDrop, email, cloud
Read full description

Note: SymbolSupport Lite is a free app. It can receive, read aloud, and print documents that have been created with the SymbolSupport app. SymbolSupport Lite cannot create or edit documents. It can be upgraded to the full version through the in-app Store. SymbolSupport is an iPad utility app that effortlessly adds symbols to text. As textis typed, symbols are automatically added above it. Text can also be copied from pre-existing written materials and pasted into SymbolSupport where symbols are instantly added. Documents are read with a high-quality text-to-speech voice and include word-by-word highlighting. This support helps students better understand class assignments.Symbols from Slater Literacy Support Pictures™ and Attainment’s Image Library are included. Plus, there is easy access to your camera roll and a built-in internet image search.Easy-to-use editing tools include changing auto-assigned symbols to other symbols or imported images and removing symbols from text to reduce the number of symbols on a page. SymbolSupport is designed to create symbolized text quickly and easily. Sharing these documents is equally important. Share documents via AirDrop, email, or send to any cloud storage setup on the iPad. Documents can be sent as a PDF for studentportfolios or shared with parents. Documents can also be sent as a SymbolSupport file which can be opened by SymbolSupport or SymbolSupport Lite apps.

Screenshots

SymbolSupport Lite3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SymbolSupport Lite at 3.3 against Custom Boards Elite's 2.2. SymbolSupport Lite also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 7 months). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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. Custom Boards Elite sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and SymbolSupport Lite sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SymbolSupport Lite holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 2.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 4 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 56% of Custom Boards Elite's written reviews are positive against 50% of SymbolSupport Lite's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Custom Boards Elite ships an update every 7 months, SymbolSupport Lite every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Custom Boards Elite versus SymbolSupport Lite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCustom Boards EliteSymbolSupport Lite
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.2 (6 ratings)3.3 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews55.6% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings6 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size880 MB304 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSmarty EarsAttainment Company

Customer experience

Custom Boards Elite

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

SymbolSupport Lite

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

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
1 purchases

SymbolSupport Lite

One-time1
  • Upgrade to Full Version$59.99

Questions

Is Custom Boards Elite free?
Custom Boards Elite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SymbolSupport Lite free?
SymbolSupport Lite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Custom Boards Elite or SymbolSupport Lite?
SymbolSupport Lite is rated higher. Custom Boards Elite averages 2.2 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while SymbolSupport Lite averages 3.3 from 4 ratings.
Do Custom Boards Elite or SymbolSupport Lite have ads?
Neither Custom Boards Elite nor SymbolSupport Lite shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Custom Boards Elite or SymbolSupport Lite?
Custom Boards Elite ships an update every 7 months, and SymbolSupport Lite every 6 weeks. Most recently, Custom Boards Elite was updated on October 24, 2026 and SymbolSupport Lite on October 23, 2026.

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