Comparison

Articulation IV vs Keywords Understanding Lite

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

Head to head
About

Articulation IV

Features
Read full description

Speech Therapy for school and home practice! Articulation IV has four of the most common articulation targets—R, S, L, and Th–in the Initial, Medial, Final positions and in Consonant Clusters. Buttons on the screen let you listen to the word, the sounds in the word, a short phrase containing the word, and three sentences. Sentence 1 may add another of the same target. Sentence 2 includes at least 2 of the same target sound and usually is a longer sentence. Sentence 3 likely has multiple target sounds (R, S, L, and/or Th) and will be semantically complex. A clear speech model is presented for the child to imitate and they can record and play back their own speech. The clinician can choose from three scoring methods. 1. Score each response as correct, distorted or incorrect. 2. Score responses as correct, distorted, substituted, or omitted. 3. Score productions based on whether they are spontaneously correct/incorrect or imitatively correct/incorrect. New vocabulary includes words not commonly found in yesterday’s word lists but necessary for today's classroom success such as: compost, awesome, LOL, USB port, browser, search engine, etc. Sort the words by target sound and position. You'll find curriculum-based words including: computer-related words, math, time & measurement, emotions, food, music, sports and games etc… This app uses the content from LocuTour’s Articulation IV CD. There are 475 words and photographs. There are: 85 words in /r/, 189 words in vowel controlled /r/, 212 words in /s/, /z/, 117 words in /l/, 49 words in voiced/voiceless /th/. Words may be in multiple phoneme groups.

About

Keywords Understanding Lite

This app offers a sample of speech and language therapy exercises focused on sentence comprehension. It helps users practice following directions, understanding basic concepts, and improving auditory and reading comprehension skills through interactive activities.

Highlights
  • Listening comprehension exercises
  • Reading comprehension exercises
  • Following directions (one/two-step, temporal, sequential)
  • Basic concepts (size, color)
  • Vocabulary understanding
  • Sample of full app features
Features
Read full description

Keywords Understanding LITE is a free version of Keyword Understanding. It gives you a sample of the content you would get in the full version. It allows you to see how the full version works and try it out for free. Keyword Understanding (the full app version) is a professional speech and language therapy app that works on sentence-level reading and listening comprehension. It also targets the understanding of vocabulary, basic concepts and the ability to follow directions of increasing keyword length. WHO IS KEYWORD UNDERSTANDING FOR? - Children with reduced attention and auditory processing difficulties - Children with language delay or disorder - Children with autism and language comprehension difficulties - Adults with aphasia and reading or spoken language comprehension difficulties after a stroke or traumatic brain injury - Adults with cognitive-communication difficulties due to stroke or brain injury WHAT LANGUAGE AREAS DOES KEYWORD UNDERSTANDING TARGET? FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS: Following directions is important in our everyday lives. In order to understand and follow directions, one needs a strong knowledge of basic concepts, vocabulary and the ability to process and retain spoken or written information in memory. BASIC CONCEPTS, ONE AND TWO STEP DIRECTIONS: Keyword Understanding works on the basic concepts of size and color as well as one and two-step directions of increasing length and difficulty e.g  - “Touch the red balloon” - “Touch the small green umbrella” - “Touch the yellow chair and the blue candle” - “Touch the big pink cupcake and the small green glasses”. TEMPORAL DIRECTIONS (BEFORE/AFTER): Keyword Understanding includes Temporal Directions tasks that target the child or adult’s ability to follow directions that include the concepts 'Before/After' in a variety of positions in the sentence. e.g  - “Before you touch the t-shirt, touch the phone” - “After you touch the lamp, touch the vase” - “Touch the flower before you touch the box” - “Touch the sock after you touch the bucket” SEQUENTIAL DIRECTIONS (FIRST…THEN): The app also includes Sequential Directions that target the child or adult’s ability to follow directions that include the concepts 'First ... Then' in the sentence. e.g  - “First touch the ladder, then touch the bike”. FEATURES OF KEYWORDS UNDERSTANDING LITE This FREE version, Keywords Understanding LITE allows you to sample each activity in the full version but it only includes 6 objects. The FULL version includes many more allowing for much more variety in each activity and many more trials. The full version also allows you to select and deselect vocabulary items in the Word List. 3 modes: - Listening Comprehension (Audio Only): Match the spoken direction to the pictures - Reading Comprehension (Text Only): Match the written direction to the pictures - Listening and Reading Comprehension (Audio and Text): Match the spoken and written directions to the pictures - Bright, colorful, real-life photos of common objects - 6 objects in five different colors and sizes. The full version has a large variety allowing for thousands of possible following directions tasks - 3 trials in each activity. The full version allows for up to 50 trials per session. - A comprehension check activity to find out where comprehension breakdown occurs - Audio feedback for correct answers only, incorrect answers only or both - Graded tasks of increasing difficulty - User profiles and result history - Automatic tracking of scores - Optional results summary via email - iOS voices (automatically selected based on your region). Download an enhanced iOS voice for best quality. All Aptus Speech Therapy apps participate in the 50% off Volume Purchase Program, so you can buy in bulk at a discounted price. Are you looking for a different kind of speech therapy app? Check out our full range of speech and language therapy apps for adults and children on the AppStore or on our website.

Screenshots

Articulation IV4 screens
Keywords Understanding Lite4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Keywords Understanding Lite at Free against Articulation IV's $9.99. Articulation IV's advantage is update cadence (every 9 months vs every 68 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On ads, in-app purchases 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

Keywords Understanding Lite is free to download; Articulation IV costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Articulation IV ships an update every 9 months, Keywords Understanding Lite every 68 months. The most recent releases landed on September 11, 2026 and August 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Articulation IV versus Keywords Understanding Lite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArticulation IVKeywords Understanding Lite
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 months — betterEvery 68 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size275 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLearning Fundamentals, Inc.Aptus Speech and Language Therapy Limited

In-app purchases

None

Articulation IV

No in-app purchases

None

Keywords Understanding Lite

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Articulation IV free?
Articulation IV costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Keywords Understanding Lite free?
Keywords Understanding Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Articulation IV or Keywords Understanding Lite have ads?
Neither Articulation IV nor Keywords Understanding Lite shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Articulation IV or Keywords Understanding Lite?
Articulation IV ships an update every 9 months, and Keywords Understanding Lite every 68 months. Most recently, Articulation IV was updated on September 11, 2026 and Keywords Understanding Lite on August 12, 2026.

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