He Taonga vs Speak Island
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
He Taonga
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“Rukuhia te mātauranga, ki tōna hōhonutanga, ki tōna whānuitanga, ki tōna tiketiketanga” Tēna koutou e te whānau Tēnei ka mihi ake ki a koutou ka pānui, ka karakia, ka himene, ka mōteatea, ka haka nei i wēnei waiata, haka, karakia hoki hai whakaoho i te wairua o ngā mātua tūpuna o tēnei rohe o te waka o Mataatua. Ka tangi te ngākau kia rātau mā kua wehe atu ki te pō, haere, haere atu rā. Mā roto mai i wēnei taonga tuku iho ka oho mai anō rātau ki waenganui i a tātau. Anei te karakia whakatau mō te tipuna nei a Wairaka. Nō reira, Piki mai kake mai rā Homai te waiora ki au E tū tēhu ana i te pō, pō Wairaka i ora ai e Papaki tū ana ngā tai ki Te Reinga Ka pō, ka ao, ka Awatea
Speak Island
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Speak Island helps you learn Pacific languages the fun way, one flashcard, quiz, and conversation at a time. Currently teaching Samoan and Fijian, with Fiji Hindi, Niuean, Tongan, Cook Islands Māori, and Tokelauan in development. Every recording is a real native speaker, never text-to-speech. LEARN YOUR WAY • Flashcards with spaced repetition: cards resurface right when you're about to forget them, each paired with a cultural note, not just a translation • Timed quizzes that track your mastery over time • Sentence Builder: drag tiles into place and learn grammar by doing, with hints when you're stuck • Listening exercises to train your ear • Pattern Practice for grammar structures • Conversation Practice: real two-speaker dialogues, plus a Respond mode where you choose what the speaker says next • Pronunciation Practice: record yourself and compare against a native speaker's clip, scored entirely on your device. Nothing you say is ever uploaded. STAY ON TRACK • Daily streaks, with a repair option if you slip • Set your own daily goal, or a shared goal with your group • Review sessions that surface everything due at once, a Weak Spot Drill for the words you keep missing, and a Review Forecast so you know what's ahead • Daily reminders that name your actual next phrase • Deep Stats: study time, streak history, and your review workload ahead •Home Screen widget to keep track of your streak and daily progress LEARN TOGETHER • Create or join a Family & Friends group to track streaks and progress with people you know, and set group challenges • Opt into the Weekly Leaderboard and climb the tiers • Achievement badges for milestones along the way GO DEEPER • Discover: culture, history, and geography for each island, with real photography • Library: grammar notes, proverbs, cultural protocols, and a pronunciation guide for your language Free to start, no ads. Speak Island Plus removes the daily caps on quizzes, sentence building, and conversations, unlocks bigger groups, and adds Deep Stats and Pronunciation Practice, plus it directly supports ongoing development of new languages and features. Works offline once installed: your practice is saved even without a connection and syncs when you're back online. Terms of Use: https://speakisland.app/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: He Taonga at none against Speak Island's 2. Speak Island's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 23 months). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Speak Island sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. He Taonga asks for nothing beyond the download.
He Taonga ships an update every 23 months, Speak Island every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | He Taonga | Speak Island |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 23 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.2 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 166 MB | 30 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi | Speak Island Studios Limited |
In-app purchases
He Taonga
No in-app purchases
Speak Island
- Speak Island$4.991 Month
- Speak Island$39.991 Year









