Comparison

Syntax City vs Conversation Planner SE

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

Head to head
About

Syntax City

This interactive app makes learning English grammar and syntax an adventure for elementary and middle school students. It features themed locations, animations, and play-based learning designed by a speech-language pathologist. The app offers detailed progress tracking and positive reinforcement to motivate practice.

Highlights
  • 8 grammar-focused locations
  • 415 questions across multiple difficulty levels
  • Evidence-based learning by a speech-language pathologist
  • Record and playback for self-correction
  • Collectible rewards and trophy case
  • Detailed progress tracking for individual players
  • Supports 1-5 players per session
Features
Read full description

Syntax City – Where Grammar Comes to Life Welcome to Syntax City! As the mayor of this great city, I must warn you — we take our syntax very seriously here. When Syntax City was founded, our mission was to create a place where verbs agree with their subjects, tenses are always correct, and pronouns live in perfect harmony. Now, you and your students are invited to explore the city — where learning grammar becomes an adventure! Syntax City is an interactive, evidence-based app designed by speech-language pathologist Barbara Fernandes, M.S., CCC-SLP. Created for children in elementary and middle school, the app teaches English grammar and syntax through themed locations, animations, and play-based learning — perfect for speech therapy or classroom use. Explore 8 Grammar-Focused Locations Each area of the city targets a specific grammatical goal, with 415 questions across multiple levels of difficulty: • Gym: Do / Does (3 levels, 50 questions) • Beach: Third Person Singular (1 level, 50 questions) • Bakery: Was / Were (3 levels, 52 questions) • Ski Resort: He / She (2 levels, 50 questions) • Farm: Irregular Past Tense (2 levels, 59 questions) • Grocery Store: Has / Have (1 level, 51 questions) • Park: Is / Are (1 level, 50 questions) • Zoo: Regular and Irregular Plurals (3 levels, 54 questions) Each phrase is professionally narrated and paired with high-quality visuals that support comprehension and engagement. Engaging, Evidence-Based Learning • Multiple levels of difficulty adapt to each student’s learning pace • Visual cues reinforce comprehension and grammar recognition • Record and playback feature helps children hear and self-correct syntax • Positive reinforcement with animations, coins, and treasures • 127 collectible rewards across all locations motivate consistent practice After 10 gold coins, students unlock a treasure — each themed to the location they’re practicing. All earned treasures are stored in the player’s personal trophy case, which can be shared via email or printed. Built for Therapy and Classrooms Syntax City supports 1–5 players per session, allowing flexibility for individual or group practice. Students can work on one or multiple grammar targets at a time — creating nearly endless session combinations. Use two-finger zoom gestures to navigate the city map and assign players to specific locations. Each player’s goals, scores, and rewards are tracked individually. Powerful Data Tracking Just like all Smarty Ears apps, Syntax City offers detailed progress tracking: • Tracks accuracy, goals, and performance for each student • Provides color-coded graphs for visual progress review • Displays session summaries and goal mastery trends

About

Conversation Planner SE

Features
Read full description

** Happy Frog Apps is a Mom’s Choice Award Winner! Also featured on FunEducationalApps.com, TeachersWithApps.com, and more! ** Conversation Planner teaches your child a step-by-step method to prepare for any conversation or social situation. Kids learn to think about who they are talking to, what that person will expect, when to know the person is ready for the conversation, etc. Conversation Planner gives your child the tools to complete successful conversations. What parents say about our awesome apps: *** 5 stars! Brilliant! An app that understands how kids actually learn. Thank you!
 *** 5 stars! My son with Autism now uses these steps to prepare himself for a new situation. Thank you! Conversation Planner provides: - A step-by-step introduction to all the key components of a conversation: how to start, how to finish, how to repair conversation problems, how to know your talking partner is ready, etc. - A focus on perspective-taking. Learners identify the conversation goals for themselves, their talking partners as well as the expectations of other people around them. - Students learn and practice their skills using more than 130 real-world scenarios. - Students progress only when mastery of the current skill is demonstrated. - 'At a glance' reporting shows you instantly how your learner is progressing. - The fun Reward Center motivates even hesitant learners. Most exciting, this app offers independent AND therapist mode. In independent mode, answers are displayed and the learner taps the correct answer. In therapist mode, no answers are displayed. For each question, the student answers orally and the therapist taps whether the learner's oral answer was correct or incorrect. Both modes earn coins for the Reward Center. Our apps are designed for and tested by typical and special needs children. Testers include children with Autism and other special needs. Our apps work for them! Our apps are also suitable for adults dealing with aphasia or learning English as a Second Language. 
To evaluate the app, download the free version, which has one free book. Additional levels and additional players can be accessed with in-app purchases. (All levels can be purchased for $2.99 -- price may change.)

If you prefer no in-app purchases, download the School Edition of this app, which includes all levels and up to 10 players. We take customer service very seriously! If you ever have a problem or find that we've missed something, contact us at our website and we will do our best to fix the problem.  We collect NO private information in our app. None! Our apps do not allow unrestricted web or social media access. We conform to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

Screenshots

Conversation Planner SE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Conversation Planner SE at $11.99 against Syntax City's $24.99. Conversation Planner SE also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.2 vs 15.6). On update cadence, 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

Syntax City costs $24.99 and Conversation Planner SE $11.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Syntax City ships an update every 11 months, Conversation Planner SE every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and May 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Syntax City versus Conversation Planner SE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSyntax CityConversation Planner SE
Price$24.99$11.99 — better
Rating3.5 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.7% of reviews
Number of ratings4 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 9 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.612.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size139 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSmarty EarsJanine Toole

In-app purchases

None

Syntax City

No in-app purchases

None

Conversation Planner SE

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Syntax City free?
Syntax City costs $24.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Conversation Planner SE free?
Conversation Planner SE costs $11.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Syntax City or Conversation Planner SE have ads?
Neither Syntax City nor Conversation Planner SE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Syntax City or Conversation Planner SE?
Syntax City ships an update every 11 months, and Conversation Planner SE every 9 months. Most recently, Syntax City was updated on September 9, 2026 and Conversation Planner SE on May 17, 2026.

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