Comparison

Speech Pacesetter vs AlphaTopics

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

Head to head
About

Speech Pacesetter

This app helps users improve their speech rate and clarity through adjustable visual cues. It offers a library of reading passages, custom text options, and adjustable settings for a personalized therapy experience.

Highlights
  • Adjustable visual pacing cue
  • Speed-adjustable visual cue
  • Syllable or word highlighting
  • Built-in reading passages
  • Customizable reading passages
  • Adjustable font size and pause duration
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Make measurable progress on articulation and speech rate goals using Speech Pacesetter. - Designed specifically for people who have unclear articulation and a fast rate of speech due to stroke, brain injury, acquired stuttering, Parkinson’s Disease or other neurological condition - Suitable for older children who have unclear articulation or who stutter - Allows the user to choose a text and pace their rate of speech with the help of a speed-adjustable visual cue - Highlights each syllable or each word. The user reads each syllable or word aloud as the visual cue appears. ADDITIONAL FEATURES The simple, effective and easy-to-use interface also allows the user avail of the following features: - Built-in library of phonemically-balanced reading passages (The Rainbow Passage, The Grandfather Passage etc) - Built-in short stories, poems and tongue twisters - The option to create and save a library of custom reading passages - Adjustable font size and pause duration on punctuation - Optional metronome sound cue - A choice of different colored backgrounds TESTIMONIALS "This affordable app brings a novel way of carrying out pacing therapy for adult speech and language therapists." – Mike Richards, SLT, UK "I've had wonderful success using this app with a lady who has dysarthria due to a stroke." - Carol Winters, SLP "Speech Pacesetter is one of my most used therapy apps! I use it with clients who have a fast speaking rate or slurred speech. I've had amazing results using this app." - Anna Wilson, SLP A UNIQUE WAY TO PACE SPEECH Speech Pacesetter provides a unique way to pace speech and improve speech clarity. See for yourself how effective visual cues can be!

About

AlphaTopics

This app aids communication for individuals with unclear speech by providing tools to convey messages faster. It offers letter boards, customizable topic boards, and a whiteboard for writing or drawing, helping to improve listener understanding and expressiveness.

Highlights
  • Letter board with alphabetical or frequency order
  • Customizable topic boards with voice output
  • Whiteboard for writing and drawing
  • Adjustable settings for various impairments
  • Export custom boards for printing or sharing
  • Built-in scanning and guided access support
Read full description

Sometimes just giving a hint or context is all your listener needs to understand you. The first letter or two. The general topic. AlphaTopics is the perfect AAC app for people whose natural speech is not always clear. Stop wasting time navigating to the right word or typing it out. Get your point across faster by touching just the first few letters of the words you say. Give your listener context by starting the conversation with the topic. Write it out with your finger or draw a picture. Don’t let overly complicated apps slow you down. Tactus Therapy, a trusted name in speech therapy apps, brings you a new take on a classic communication tool. AlphaTopics includes 3 AAC communication boards loaded with features: 1) Letter Board - 26 letters in alphabetical order or 2 variations of frequency order - 10 single digits allow you to express any number - Vowels highlighted and aligned for faster navigation - Natural or automated speech reads out the name of each letter or number - Yes, no, question, smiley, space, and backspace buttons for prosody and function 2) Topic Board - Fully customizable text you can re-order - Voice output with adjustable speech rate - Two sizes of grid to display 12 or 24 topics - Pre-filled with functional topics for adults 3) Whiteboard - Write or draw on the screen - 6 colors and 4 widths - Export to Photos or e-mail When used together, alphabet and topic boards have been scientifically shown to make the speech of people with motor speech disorders far more understandable. Combined with the whiteboard, these tools help people with aphasia express themselves more clearly with self-cueing and strategy use. Stroke, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, and motor neuron disease are all conditions that can impair speech production. Pointing to the first letter in each word not only gives the listener more information about the word, it also encourages the speaker to slow down and separate words, actually making the words clearer! Using alphabet supplementation, studies show intelligibility of sentences improves 25% on average. Pointing to the topic before speaking narrows the range of possibilities for the listener, giving context. Studies show using a topic cue improves word understanding by an average of 28%. Topics can also be used by people with aphasia, a language disorder, to help pinpoint the intended message. Additional Features: *Adjustable settings for visual, physical, language, and cognitive impairments *Works with built-in scanning and guided access *4 color schemes *Pick which board comes up when you start the app *Export any board you've customized to print or share "People whose speech is hard to understand often just want to provide extra clues to their listener and don’t require all the features of a comprehensive AAC app. It’s terrific that we now have an app that provides this level of support on a mobile platform.” - Lois Turner, SLP & AAC specialist Visit tactustherapy.com for more information on how to use this app, the evidence to support this form of AAC, and a day-by-day account of how this app was made.

Screenshots

Speech Pacesetter4 screens
AlphaTopics4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: AlphaTopics at $9.99 against Speech Pacesetter's $17.99. Speech Pacesetter's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 11 months) and chart position (#57 vs unranked). On rating, 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

Speech Pacesetter costs $17.99 and AlphaTopics $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Speech Pacesetter against 4.3 for AlphaTopics. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 31 and 46 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 46% of Speech Pacesetter's written reviews are positive against 40% of AlphaTopics's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Speech Pacesetter ships an update every 3 weeks, AlphaTopics every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Speech Pacesetter versus AlphaTopics: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpeech PacesetterAlphaTopics
Price$17.99$9.99 — better
Rating4.3 (31 ratings)4.3 (46 ratings)
Positive reviews46.2% of reviews — better40.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3146 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#57 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size83 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAptus Speech and Language Therapy LimitedTactus Therapy Solutions Ltd.

Customer experience

Speech Pacesetter

All ratings31 ratings
Positive83.9%
Neutral3.2%
Negative12.9%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive46.2%
Neutral30.8%
Negative23.1%

AlphaTopics

All ratings46 ratings
Positive82.6%
Neutral10.9%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%

In-app purchases

None

Speech Pacesetter

No in-app purchases

None

AlphaTopics

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Speech Pacesetter free?
Speech Pacesetter costs $17.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is AlphaTopics free?
AlphaTopics costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Speech Pacesetter or AlphaTopics?
Speech Pacesetter and AlphaTopics are both rated 4.3 out of 5 on the App Store, from 31 and 46 ratings respectively.
Do Speech Pacesetter or AlphaTopics have ads?
Neither Speech Pacesetter nor AlphaTopics shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Speech Pacesetter or AlphaTopics?
Speech Pacesetter ships an update every 3 weeks, and AlphaTopics every 11 months. Most recently, Speech Pacesetter was updated on September 10, 2026 and AlphaTopics on September 21, 2026.

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