Cochleo vs SoundSteps
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cochleo
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Cochleo is designed to help cochlear implant patients improve their listening and comprehension skills through interactive speech recognition exercises. PERFECT FOR COCHLEAR IMPLANT USERS Whether you're newly implanted or looking to maintain your skills, Cochleo provides a safe, controlled environment to practice understanding spoken phrases at your own pace. FEATURES • Customizable Difficulty Choose from 2-6 answer options to match your current skill level. Start easy and increase difficulty as you improve. • Adjustable Speech Speed Practice at slow, normal, or fast speech rates. Build your confidence at a comfortable pace. • Multiple Categories Train with everyday phrases from various categories including Food, Animals, Disney characters, and more. • Listening Environments Practice in quiet settings or challenge yourself with background noise to simulate real-world conditions. • Track Your Progress View detailed quiz results and monitor your improvement over time. See your accuracy rates and identify areas for growth. • Flexible Quiz Lengths Choose between 10, 25, or 50 question quizzes to fit your schedule. HOW IT WORKS 1. Select your preferences (difficulty, speed, category, environment) 2. Listen to a spoken phrase 3. Choose the correct answer from the options provided 4. Get immediate feedback 5. Review your results and track improvement IDEAL FOR • Cochlear implant recipients in rehabilitation • Those working with audiologists or speech therapists • Anyone looking to improve speech comprehension skills • Practice between professional therapy sessions
SoundSteps
This app offers daily listening exercises designed to improve speech comprehension, especially in noisy environments. It provides structured practice with word pairs, sentences, and conversations, allowing users to gradually increase background noise levels and choose from various voices. Progress tracking and language options are available.
- Daily listening practice
- Speech comprehension in noise
- Word pair exercises
- Sentence and conversation practice
- Gradual background noise introduction
- Multiple voice options
- Progress tracking
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SoundSteps is daily listening practice for adults with cochlear implants and hearing aids. It also suits anyone who finds speech hard to follow when there is noise around, and the family members who help. Many people get a new hearing aid or cochlear implant and hear the same advice: "just listen more." SoundSteps turns that into a few guided minutes a day, one step at a time. START WITH A QUICK LISTENING CHECK A short, friendly check finds the right starting point for you. It takes about two minutes and needs no account. PRACTICE THAT BUILDS, STEP BY STEP Short exercises that get harder as you get better: • Word pairs. Hear the small difference between words like "sip" and "ship". • Sentences and everyday conversations. • Stories you follow word by word, with the text on screen. • Everyday scenes, like ordering coffee or answering the phone. BACKGROUND NOISE, AT YOUR OWN PACE Noisy rooms are the hard part, so noise is never forced on you. When you feel ready, add a little background sound and turn it up slowly. You decide how loud it gets. MANY VOICES, NOT JUST ONE Practice with women's and men's voices in American, British, Australian and Canadian accents. Pick one you like, or switch between them as you go. WORKS WITH WHAT YOU HAVE No clinic code, no hearing care account, nothing to pair. Listen through your iPhone or iPad speaker, with headphones, or stream to your hearing aids or cochlear implant processor. SEE YOUR PROGRESS Your accuracy over time, the sound pairs you find easiest and hardest, your practice streak, and a simple suggestion for what to do next. You can share a progress summary with your audiologist whenever you like. ON IPHONE AND IPAD The same practice and the same progress on both. On iPad, the buttons and text are bigger. MORE THAN ENGLISH Practice in Spanish, German, French, Japanese and more. Each language has its own voices, not English audio with subtitles. Switch any time in Settings. FREE TO START The listening check needs no account. Your first week includes full access, and you don't need a card to start. After that, keep practicing for free, or choose Premium for the whole library: every voice and story, plus conversations, everyday scenes and guided paths. SoundSteps Premium is an auto-renewing subscription (monthly or yearly). Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Your subscription renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel any time in your App Store account settings. Privacy: https://soundsteps.app/privacy Terms: https://soundsteps.app/terms SoundSteps is designed for hearing training and practice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition. Consult a healthcare professional for medical advice. Questions? support@soundsteps.app
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: SoundSteps at every 3 days against Cochleo's every 6 months. SoundSteps also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.5). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Cochleo sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and SoundSteps sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Cochleo ships an update every 6 months, SoundSteps every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cochleo | SoundSteps |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.5 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Yang Song | Roady Roads LLC |
In-app purchases
Cochleo
- Tip Small$0.99
- Tip Medium$2.99
- Tip Large$4.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Tip Generous$9.99
SoundSteps
- SoundSteps Premium$9.991 Month
- SoundSteps Premium$89.991 Year





