Comparison

Voca vs CardTalk AAC

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

Head to head
About

Voca

Features
Read full description

Voca is a calm, beautiful communication companion for autistic and minimally verbal children — and the parents, carers and therapists who support them. Tap a card and Voca speaks. That's it. No clutter, no noise, no ads. MADE FOR EVERYDAY COMMUNICATION • Nearly 100 beautifully illustrated cards across Talk, Body, Feelings, Food, Activities, People and Places • Four communication stages — start with the essentials (yes, no, help) and unlock more vocabulary when your child is ready • Sentence builder — tap a few cards, then speak the whole message together • Professionally recorded card voices, with premium Apple voices as an alternative MAKE IT YOURS • Add your own cards with real family photos — camera, photo library, or online image search • Record your own voice for any card — a familiar voice can mean everything • Or generate a natural spoken voice, entirely on the device • Custom categories, favourites, and recent cards • Voice Centre: choose the voice and speech speed that suits your child BUILT FOR FAMILIES • Parent area protected by PIN • Communication history so you can see what your child has been saying • Optional touch-confirmation and haptics for children who need them • App Lock and Guided Access support for distraction-free use • Apple Watch app — send favourite cards to your child's wrist PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No accounts, no ads, no analytics, no tracking — no data collected, full stop • Works completely offline; speech is generated on the device • Optional sync keeps your cards in your own private iCloud Voca is free. If it helps your family, an optional tip jar supports continued development. Let's find your voice.

About

CardTalk AAC

Features
Read full description

CardTalk is an app for people who find it hard to say things in words. Press a card, and the card speaks for them. "Bathroom." "Hurts." "Help." The card you press becomes a voice. ā–  260 cards are already in the app Illustrations and audio are built in, so the app works the moment it finishes downloading. The cards sit in 15 categories such as feelings, greetings, food & drink and body & health. Hide the ones you do not need, and keep only the cards that matter on the screen. ā–  It speaks with no connection All of the audio is on the device. Outdoors, at the hospital, anywhere with no signal - press a card and a voice comes out. ā–  It speaks with the ringer off The app still talks when the device is silenced. No more "I pressed it in class and nothing happened." ā–  Cards you make yourself Take a photo, choose one of the illustrations in the app, or record your own voice. The words shown on the card and the words read aloud are set separately, so anything the voice reads the wrong way can be corrected. ā–  Fewer accidental presses Repeated taps within a short time can be ignored, and the card that was pressed can be shown large. Cards used often can sit in the bar along the bottom of the screen, in the same place whichever category is open. ā–  Put words together Line cards up - "I want", "juice" - and have them read out as one phrase. ā–  Settings are behind a parental gate A simple multiplication question opens the settings. The person using the app will not change a setting or delete a card by accident. ā–  Everything stays on the device Photos put on cards are never sent anywhere. No account is needed. Settings and cards can be written out as a file, so they can be brought back on a new device. ā–  About pricing Every feature is free to use. The 260 cards in the app, making categories, the bar along the bottom, backups and all of the settings cost nothing. Cards you make yourself are free up to 10. Only when you want an eleventh does a one-time purchase make the number unlimited. There is no monthly fee. Buy it once and it stays. Going past 10 never takes away cards that have already been made. ā–  Languages English, Japanese and Simplified Chinese. The language of the app is chosen in the settings. ā–  Contact https://mediaquery.info/?panel=contact

Screenshots

Voca3 screens
CardTalk AAC4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: CardTalk AAC at weekly against Voca's fortnightly. CardTalk AAC also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Voca sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and CardTalk AAC sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Voca ships an update fortnightly, CardTalk AAC weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
Voca versus CardTalk AAC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVocaCardTalk AAC
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB65 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSAUL JOHN SHINNERTomoaki Tsuchiya

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Voca

One-time3
  • Small Supporter$0.99
  • Big Supporter$4.99
  • Voca Champion$9.99
1 purchases

CardTalk AAC

One-time1
  • Unlimited custom cards$14.99

Questions

Is Voca free?
Voca is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CardTalk AAC free?
CardTalk AAC is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Voca or CardTalk AAC have ads?
Neither Voca nor CardTalk AAC shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Voca or CardTalk AAC?
Voca ships an update fortnightly, and CardTalk AAC weekly. Most recently, Voca was updated on October 25, 2026 and CardTalk AAC on October 29, 2026.

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