iHear PECS vs Instant Words
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iHear PECS
This app uses animal sounds to help children develop communication skills. It allows personalization with custom sentence starters and animal images, making learning interactive and fun for early communicators.
- Animal sound association
- Personalized sentence starters
- Customizable image selection
- Drag-and-drop interface
- Supports spontaneous communication
- Interactive learning experience
Read full descriptionHide full description
Children love animals—and the sounds they make! iHear PECS™: Animals is an engaging app designed to support learners as they develop communication skills. Animal sounds are used to encourage natural communication opportunities. Families and educators can personalize the experience by choosing 1–3 sentence starters and up to12 animal images, allowing for flexible use across settings. With simple drag-and-drop features, iHear PECS™: Animals helps learners with responsive and spontaneous communication in a motivating, and interactive way. Designed for early communicators and emerging language learners, this app turns listening and commenting into a fun experience that supports curiosity, connection, and lots of smiles along the way.
Instant Words
This flashcard app helps children learn to read by practicing instant words. It uses Fry's instant word list, covering words 1-500, to build essential reading fluency and vocabulary for early learners.
- Words 1-500 from Fry's list
- Develops reading, spelling, and language skills
- Enriches vocabulary
- Audio pronunciation of words
- Progress tracking
- Aligned with Common Core Standards
Read full descriptionHide full description
Help your child learn to read by using Instant Words by Teach Speech Apps. This simple flashcard app makes it easy to practice instant words anywhere. Based on Fry’s instant word list, which is broken down into groups. Instant Words by Teach Speech Apps includes words 1 - 500. It is important for early readers to instantly recognize these sight words / instant words / high-frequency words to become proficient and fluent readers. Fry's Instant Words are the most common words used in reading and writing in the English language and are ranked in order of frequency. Dr. Fry's research resulted in the following findings: - 25 words make up approximately one-third of all published text. - 100 words comprise approximately 50% of all the words found in publications. - 300 words make up approximately 65% of all written material. It is recommended that: - The first 100 words should be mastered by Grade 1. - The second 100 words should be mastered by Grade 2. - The third 100 words should be mastered by Grade 3. - The remaining lists (words 301 - 1000) should be mastered in Grades 4 - 5. Features: - Includes words 1 - 500 - Simple and colorful - Develops reading, spelling, and language skills - Enriches vocabulary - Easy swipe feature to advance cards or auto-advance after a correct answer - Hear the word read aloud by tapping the word - Keep track of the number of correct and incorrect words - Aligned with the Common Core Standards - No in-app purchases - No ads Teach Speech Apps encourages learning side-by-side with an engaged adult. Privacy Policy: Teach Speech Apps does not collect personal information. To learn more, visit: http://redfive.llc/teach-speech-apps-privacy-policy/ Email Teach Speech Apps with questions or feedback: teachspeech@redfive.llc Find / Like / Follow us: Facebook: Teach Speech Apps, LLC Twitter: @teachspeechapps
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Instant Words at 4.0 against iHear PECS's 3.0. Instant Words also leads on review sentiment (67% vs 25%) and ratings volume (7 vs 2). iHear PECS's advantage is update cadence (every 4 months vs every 122 months). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
iHear PECS costs $1.99 and Instant Words $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Instant Words holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 7 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of iHear PECS's written reviews are positive against 67% of Instant Words's.
iHear PECS ships an update every 4 months, Instant Words every 122 months. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iHear PECS | Instant Words |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | $0.99 — better |
| Rating | 3.0 (2 ratings) | 4.0 (7 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 25.0% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 7 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 122 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pyramid Global Communication Technology LLC | Red Five LLC |
Customer experience
iHear PECS
Instant Words
In-app purchases
iHear PECS
No in-app purchases
Instant Words
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is iHear PECS free?
Is Instant Words free?
Which has better reviews, iHear PECS or Instant Words?
Do iHear PECS or Instant Words have ads?
Which is updated more often, iHear PECS or Instant Words?
Other comparisons
