Comparison

Language Empires vs Articulation Test Center Hive

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

Head to head
About

Language Empires

This app helps elementary students master essential communication skills through engaging ancient civilization-themed games. It targets key language targets like answering questions, inferencing, and vocabulary with interactive exercises and visual feedback.

Highlights
  • 8 essential language skills practice
  • 400 unique questions with images
  • Customizable multiplayer for up to 5 students
  • Unlimited student profiles
  • In-game rewards for correct answers
  • Detailed data tracking and visual feedback
  • Adjustable settings for unique needs
Features
Read full description

Chosen top pick app for educators by Fun Educational Apps! Unlock the Power of Language with Language Empires! Greetings from Language Empires! Developed by two experienced Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs), this award-winning app uses an exciting ancient civilizations theme to guide your elementary-age students toward mastering critical communication skills. Prepare your learners to conquer 8 key language targets essential for success in school and beyond! Conquer 8 Essential Language Skills Language Empires is a comprehensive, single-app solution targeting the most vital language skills for elementary students: Answering Questions: Master How, Why, and Which questions. Inferencing Vocabulary Predicting Figurative Language Sequencing With 400 unique questions—each featuring a colorful, contextual image—this application provides a truly comprehensive learning experience. Why Educators and Parents Love Language Empires This app is built to be flexible, engaging, and clinically effective: Engaging Theme & Graphics: An eye-catching interface, fun animations, and professional audio keep students motivated and focused on triumphing in their language development. Highly Customizable Multiplayer: Select up to 5 students to play simultaneously! Place each player on their target “Empire” (skill set). Some Empires even have levels for customizing the difficulty within each goal. Unlimited Profiles: Allow game play and data tracking for an unlimited number of students. Student Rewards: Correct answers earn in-game rewards that are saved to each student's profile, providing positive reinforcement. Adjustable Settings: Easily customize the app to meet your student's unique needs. Powerful Data Tracking for SLPs and Teachers As with all Smarty Ears apps, Language Empires offers best-in-class data collection and tracking: Immediate Visual Feedback: Get instant, detailed visual graphs on a student’s skill level and progress toward goal mastery. Easy Sharing: Data can be emailed, printed, or shared to compatible applications like iBooks or Pages. Authors: Rosie Simms, M.S. CCC-SLP & Barbara Fernandes M.S. CCC-SLP The right words can unlock many doors. Start your journey with Language Empires today!

About

Articulation Test Center Hive

This app provides a comprehensive tool for assessing speech sound disorders in children and adults. It offers flexible testing options, intelligent scoring, interactive scenes for speech sampling, and auto-generated reports to save time for speech-language pathologists.

Highlights
  • Flexible testing options (Screener, Full Test)
  • Intelligent scoring with auto-marked phonological processes
  • Interactive speech scenes for connected speech samples
  • Comprehensive test results and progress graphs
  • Auto-generated, editable reports
  • Speech sample audio recording and playback
Features
Read full description

Articulation Test Center Hive (ATC Hive) is a criterion-referenced, articulation and phonology test, created by SLPs for SLPs to assess speech sound disorders in children and adults. It is a smart testing solution that offers flexible testing options, interactive speech scenes, comprehensive test results, and auto-generated, data-driven reports that will save you time! ARTICULATION TEST CENTER HIVE OFFERS: FLEXIBLE TESTING OPTIONS: Screener: Assesses the sounds and words that are developmentally appropriate based on age. Full Test: Assesses all the speech sounds in the English language including initial sounds, medial sounds, final sounds, blends, vowels, and R sounds or any combination of these sound sets. INTELLIGENT SCORING: - Quickly mark sounds incorrect or approximate - Easily mark substitutions and omissions - Enjoy 19 auto-marked phonological processes & distortions - Rate intelligibility INTERACTIVE SPEECH SCENES: Speech Sample: Offers two beautifully illustrated and interactive speech scenes for children to explore with question prompts to keep them talking. It is a fun and easy way to record and save a connected speech sample for assessing a student’s speech and language skills, and it provides a more accurate way to measure intelligibility. COMPREHENSIVE TEST RESULTS: Scores Overview: Displays progress graphs for Percent Phonemes Correct and Intelligibility, and a list of tests given. Words Tested: Displays all the words tested, how they were scored, and phonological processes & distortions marked. You can listen to recordings made and view notes. If edits are needed you can return to the test to make changes. Sound Errors: Displays the sound errors by sound position and age of acquisition. You can also mark sound errors for stimulability. Place/Manner: Displays sound errors based on the place of articulation and on the manner of articulation. It also displays vowel errors by position and quadrant. Substitutions: Displays all the substitutions made and omissions marked. Processes/Distortions: Displays all the phonological processes and distortions marked in the test. It does this with a visual graph as well as a list of processes marked. Speech Sample: The audio recording taken from the speech sample is saved and available for playback. The intelligibility can be updated and a transcription can be entered or viewed. Recommendation: Shows a quick summary of sounds and phonological processes recommended for practice and sounds processes that should be monitored for appropriate development. AUTO-GENERATED REPORTS: The Report tab presents a full written report summarizing the test results. The report can be edited and/or shared with parents, teachers, and others involved in the intervention process. Once you immerse yourself in ATC Hive’s many testing and reporting features you will come to know we invested an enormous amount of our resources and our best thinking in both the testing experience, and in the test administrator–YOU! We’re proud to offer ATC Hive as part of the Little Bee Hive membership which includes access to both Articulation Test Center Hive and Articulation Station Hive. If you are already subscribed to Articulation Station Hive (Pro tier) you may download and login to Articulation Test Center Hive with your same login information at no additional cost. SUBSCRIPTION, PRICING & TERMS: Articulation Test Center Hive offers a 14-day free trial which includes unlimited access to both Articulation Test Center Hive and Articulation Station Hive. The subscription automatically renews unless the auto-renew feature is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Payment will be charged to your Apple account at the end of your 14-day trial period. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off at any time.

Screenshots

Articulation Test Center Hive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Articulation Test Center Hive at Free against Language Empires's $24.99. Articulation Test Center Hive also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.0) and update cadence (monthly vs every 6 months). Language Empires's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (89% vs 64%). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Articulation Test Center Hive is free to download; Language Empires costs $24.99 up front. Articulation Test Center Hive sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Language Empires asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Articulation Test Center Hive holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Articulation Test Center Hive has 160 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 89% of Language Empires's written reviews are positive against 64% of Articulation Test Center Hive's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Language Empires ships an update every 6 months, Articulation Test Center Hive monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Language Empires versus Articulation Test Center Hive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLanguage EmpiresArticulation Test Center Hive
Price$24.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (10 ratings)4.8 (160 ratings) — better
Positive reviews88.9% of reviews — better64.3% of reviews
Number of ratings10160 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size150 MB162 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSmarty EarsLittle Bee Speech

Customer experience

Language Empires

All ratings10 ratings
Positive70.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive88.9%
Neutral5.6%
Negative5.6%

Articulation Test Center Hive

All ratings136 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral1.5%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive64.3%
Neutral14.3%
Negative21.4%

In-app purchases

None

Language Empires

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Articulation Test Center Hive

Subscriptions2
  • Hive Pro (Monthly)14 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Hive Pro (Yearly)14 Days trial$119.991 Year

Questions

Is Language Empires free?
Language Empires costs $24.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Articulation Test Center Hive free?
Articulation Test Center Hive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Language Empires or Articulation Test Center Hive?
Articulation Test Center Hive is rated higher. Language Empires averages 4.0 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Articulation Test Center Hive averages 4.8 from 160 ratings.
Do Language Empires or Articulation Test Center Hive have ads?
Neither Language Empires nor Articulation Test Center Hive shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Language Empires or Articulation Test Center Hive?
Language Empires ships an update every 6 months, and Articulation Test Center Hive monthly. Most recently, Language Empires was updated on November 1, 2026 and Articulation Test Center Hive on October 30, 2026.

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