Symbol vs Shape Coding Lite
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Symbol
This app aids students with early language development by supporting simple sentence construction. It uses a color-coded system and Widgit symbols to introduce subject, verb, and object, with engaging illustrations and recorded speech for guidance.
- Subject, verb, object introduction
- Widgit symbol support
- Color-coded system
- Engaging illustrations
- Recorded speech with intonation
- Printable certificates
- Two activity levels
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Symbols2Write - Sentences is an app that supports simple sentence building for students with early language abilities. Through a variety of activities, it supports the introduction of subject, verb, object with a widely-used colour coding system. These activities are ideal for home, classroom and therapy use and have been developed in conjunction with education and speech and language professionals. Featuring Widgit symbols, engaging illustrations and clear recorded speech, Symbols2Write – Sentences gives the student the support they need to understand and use the basic elements of language. The recorded speech gives natural intonations and tone with positive reinforcements to guide the user through the activities. There are two levels of activities. Level 1 introduces the core elements of simple sentences: subject, verb and object. Level 2 then builds on their understanding to construct simple sentences within a structured environment. Students are rewarded with animations throughout the activities. There is a printable certificate for every student once they have completed an activity. SymWriter 2 activities and a teacher user guide to support language development are available to download from www.widgit.com.
Shape Coding Lite
This app uses a visual coding system to help children and young people with language disorders improve sentence structure and grammar. It employs colors, arrows, lines, and shapes to represent word classes, tense, and sentence structure, aiding in understanding and producing English sentences.
- Visual coding system for grammar
- Color-coded word classes
- Arrow indicators for tense
- Line indicators for plurality
- Shape indicators for syntax
- Text-to-speech functionality
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SHAPE CODING® Lite is a free demonstration version of the full SHAPE CODING® app. This is designed for teachers and speech and language therapists / pathologists to use with children and young people who are having difficulties producing and understanding English sentence structure and grammar. As with the full SHAPE CODING® app, it uses the SHAPE CODING® system which has been shown in several research projects to help children and young people with language disorders increase the length and complexity of sentences they can understand and use and improve the accuracy of their sentence production. The SHAPE CODING® Lite app has less functionality and flexibility than the full SHAPE CODING® app but can be used to form simple sentences. The SHAPE CODING® system uses a visual coding system to show the rules for how words are put together in sentences, to develop the child’s understanding of spoken and written grammar and to develop their ability to use grammar successfully to express themselves. The system includes use of colours (word classes), arrows (tense and aspect) , lines (singular and plural) and shapes (syntactic structure). These are all included in the app (although not all are enabled in the Lite version), but the professional controlling the app can choose which features display for the student, so that it is personalised to their current levels and targets. Settings are preserved for the student between uses. The Lite app allows only a single teacher and student, but the full version can have multiple teachers and students. The SHAPE CODING® Lite app is equipped with a basic set of words which can be inserted into those shapes which are enabled to make simple sentences. A much wider range of shape options are enabled in the full version than the Lite version, so more grammatical rules can be taught and more complex sentences created. The app uses text-to-speech, so that students who struggle to read can also use the app. This app assumes a certain degree of familiarity with the SHAPE CODING system. For more information see www.shapecoding.com. Training on how to use the SHAPE CODING(R) system is available from https://training.moorhouseinstitute.co.uk/. For a demonstration of the features of the full version of the app (some of which are also enabled in the Lite version), see: https://shapecoding.com/demo-videos/, and for Frequently Asked Questions see: https://shapecoding.com/app-info/faqs/ Follow us on Twitter @ShapeCoding, Facebook @ShapeCoding and Instagram @shape_coding or if you have any problems or feedback, please contact us at training@moorhouseschool.co.uk Please review our privacy policy https://shapecoding.com/privacy-policy-apple/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Shape Coding Lite at Free against Symbol's $5.99. Shape Coding Lite also leads on update cadence (every 7 months vs every 41 months) and device support (3 vs 1). Symbol's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 2.0) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 12.0). On ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
Shape Coding Lite is free to download; Symbol costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Symbol holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.
Symbol ships an update every 41 months, Shape Coding Lite every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Symbol | Shape Coding Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (2 ratings) — better | 2.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 41 months | Every 7 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 357 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Widgit Software Ltd | Moor House School & College |
Customer experience
Symbol
Shape Coding Lite
In-app purchases
Symbol
No in-app purchases
Shape Coding Lite
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Symbol free?
Is Shape Coding Lite free?
Which has better reviews, Symbol or Shape Coding Lite?
Do Symbol or Shape Coding Lite have ads?
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