Verbal Me Sampler vs Expressive Go
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Verbal Me Sampler
This communication aid app allows non-verbal children to express themselves by tapping buttons that speak text aloud. It features pre-set screens with text and pictures for easy participation, and offers voice options. This sampler version provides a limited selection of common communication boards.
- Text-to-speech functionality
- Buttons with text and/or pictures
- Pre-set communication screens
- Choice of boy or girl voice
- Screen navigation options
- Spanish language version available
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This is a sample version of Verbal Me, a basic AAC and choice board app designed by special needs teachers for their students. Non-verbal kids can tap a button and the iPad will speak the button text aloud in either a boy's or girl's voice. This limited version includes 14 screen choices: yes-no, A-B-C, 1-2-3-4-5, Happy-Mad-Sad-Calm, Day-Night, bullying, weather, colors, fruits, letter sounds. Buttons contain text and/or picture so non-reading students can participate. By default, left- and right-arrow buttons allow students to switch screens. Optionally, the screen-switching buttons can be hidden and the adult switches screens by sliding one finger from the upper right to the lower left of the screen. Choose one of 18 screens and girl or boy voice. On the Settings screen, there is a link to the full version Verbal Me app with over 100 screen choices. A Spanish-language version is also available.
Expressive Go
This app provides an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) solution with advanced grammar and conjugation features. It empowers users to communicate fluently and clearly through an intuitive, visually rich platform with extensive customization options.
- Spontaneous Novel Utterance Generation (SNUG)
- Intelligent Conjugation (Time Shift)
- Automatic Pluralization
- Perfect Articles (A vs. An)
- Fitzgerald Key Color Coding
- Touchless "Show Big" display
- Integrated Sharing
- Customizable Grid Size and Fonts
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Expressive Go gives a voice to children and adults who don't use speech. Tap pictures to build a message and the app says it out loud, with grammar that helps the sentence come out right. Every board, every tool and every setting is free. No ads, no subscriptions, no account. GRAMMAR THAT HELPS • Verbs follow the subject: "he eats", "she drinks", "they want" • Time words set the tense: "yesterday" + "go" says "went", "tomorrow" + "go" says "will go" • The Time button switches the next verb to past, future or perfect: "they went", "we will play", "she has eaten" • "is" and "has" forms: "he is running", "we have finished" • Plurals after numbers and quantifiers: "2 cookies", "many friends" • "a" or "an" chosen by sound: "an hour", "a uniform" • Adverbs after action words: "run slowly", "talk quietly" • 150+ irregular verbs and nearly 2,000 action words and phrases THE SAME BOARD AS AT THE PLAYGROUND Smarty Symbols communication boards are installed in more than 650 communities: school playgrounds, city parks, libraries, zoos, water parks and pediatric offices. Expressive Go includes a digital replica of each one, with the same words in the same places, plus a voice. Scan the QR code on the board, practice at home and keep talking after you leave. BOARDS FOR EVERY STAGE • Starter (30 buttons), Growing (48), Advanced (84) and Core (119) • School playground, simplified school playground, city playground, library, water park, zoo and pediatrician room • Fitzgerald Key colors: yellow for people, green for actions, orange for things, blue for describing words MAKE IT YOURS • Add your own photos, words and folders • Choose from more than 26,000 Smarty Symbols, an inclusive library that shows children of every background and ability • Hide words, change colors, choose the font and where the words sit on each tile • Type anything with the keyboard and hear it spoken, with letter, word or silent feedback SHOW BIG Press and hold the message to show it large to a communication partner, and share it as text and pictures. VOICES AND SETTINGS • Voices in English, Spanish and Portuguese, with a slow-to-fast speed slider • Speak words as you tap them, or build quietly and speak the whole message • Ignore accidental double taps • Lock the app so boards don't change by accident • Back up every board and setting to Files or iCloud Drive, and restore on another iPad FIND A BOARD NEAR YOU See communication boards at schools, parks and libraries on a map, share them with your school or parks department, and ask for a free quote to bring one to your community. FOUR LANGUAGES Menus and settings in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. Designed by speech-language pathologist Barbara Fernandes and the team at Smarty Ears. Symbols by Smarty Symbols.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Verbal Me Sampler at 70% against Expressive Go's 0%. Verbal Me Sampler also leads on rating (4.2 vs 3.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 5). Expressive Go's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Expressive Go sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Verbal Me Sampler asks for nothing beyond the download.
Verbal Me Sampler holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 7 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Verbal Me Sampler's written reviews are positive against 0% of Expressive Go's.
Verbal Me Sampler ships an update every 5 months, Expressive Go fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Verbal Me Sampler | Expressive Go |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (14 ratings) — better | 3.0 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 70.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 14 — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 692 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | fishdog.net | Smarty Ears |
Customer experience
Verbal Me Sampler
Expressive Go
In-app purchases
Verbal Me Sampler
No in-app purchases
Expressive Go
- Monthly Subscription$8.991 Month
- Yearly Subscription2 variants$49.991 Year
- One-Time Unlock OLDFree
- Full Access (One-Time Fee)$49.99
Questions
Is Verbal Me Sampler free?
Is Expressive Go free?
Which has better reviews, Verbal Me Sampler or Expressive Go?
Do Verbal Me Sampler or Expressive Go have ads?
Which is updated more often, Verbal Me Sampler or Expressive Go?
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