Co vs SmartScan Go
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Co
This app provides advanced word prediction and spelling support for students. It offers grammar-smart suggestions and access to millions of topic-specific dictionaries to aid in writing. Built-in text-to-speech functionality helps users review their work.
- Grammar-smart word prediction
- Millions of topic-specific dictionaries
- Flexspell™ technology for spelling errors
- Built-in text-to-speech
- Personalized vocabulary and settings
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Co:Writer® Universal app and third-party keyboard gives students easy access to word prediction on iPad, iPad Pro, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Students simply sign in to their Co:Writer Universal accounts to write with their personal settings and vocabulary. ABOUT CO:WRITER UNIVERSAL This version is for schools with a Co:Writer Universal license only. Users without a Co:Writer Universal license must purchase the Co:Writer app. HOW DOES CO:WRITER WORK? As letters are typed, Co:Writer predicts the intended word with a selection of word suggestions using powerful grammar-smart word prediction. These suggestions can be read aloud with a swipe. Selecting the intended word places it into the writing document. For feedback while writing (and after writing) built-in text to speech can be used to read letters, words, sentences, and the entire document. 4+ MILLION TOPIC-SPECIFIC DICTIONARIES Co:Writer has access to a main prediction dictionary (that includes core words) and Topic Dictionaries (that includes topic specific words). Co:Writer can access over 4 million topic-specific dictionaries which are activated based on the writing task. A small sampling of the variety of topic dictionaries: - America's Cup - Apple II - Compare and Contrast - Dinosaurs - Grumpy Cat - History of the Peloponnesian War - Mahatma Gandhi - My Dog - Pig Latin - Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost - SpongeBob SquarePants - Tommy (album) - Wonders of the World SPELLING SUPPORT Co:Writer handles the widest range of spelling mistakes through its Flexspell™technology including phonetic spelling and inventive spelling errors (letter omissions, word ending omissions, letter reversals, etc). Examples of how Co:Writer aides with phonetic and/or inventive spelling: Before Co:Writer The blk jargon flu over the bra lfnt. R u hpy to ce me? I no hw to nor the fone. After Co:Writer The black dragon flew over the gray elephant. Are you happy to see me? I know how to answer the phone. GRAMMAR SUPPORT Co:Writer bases its prediction off of proper grammar, and uses its understanding of grammar to accurately predict words within the framework of valid sentence structures. Examples of how Co:Writer aides with grammar: Dogs are furry. (noun, verb, adj.) - When you typed d-o, you get plural noun choices Three very mangy dogs ran down the street. (adj., adv., adj., noun, verb… etc.) - After typing three, very, mangy, you get plural noun choices, then you get plural verb tenses. OTHER FEATURES - Built-in Text to Speech - Export
SmartScan Go
Instantly scan assessment answer forms using your device's camera for immediate results. Teachers can efficiently track scanned forms and identify missing submissions, with all data sent to Mastery Manager for comprehensive reporting.
- Scan answer forms with device camera
- Instant assessment results for students
- Track scanned and missing forms
- Automatic data submission to Mastery Manager
- Teacher progress monitoring
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SmartScan allows you to scan Mastery Manager answer forms on the fly by using your device's camera. Students can easily scan their assessment and get instant results. Teachers can scan multiple answer forms for any assessment while the app keeps track of forms scanned. Easily see what Mastery Manager forms have been scored and what forms are still missing. All results will be immediately sent to Mastery Manager for advanced reporting. The SmartScan App requires a subscription to Mastery Manager and the SmartScan Module to be turned on.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SmartScan Go at 3.7 against Co's 2.6. SmartScan Go also leads on review sentiment (17% vs 8%). Co's advantage is monetization model (free vs subscription) and ratings volume (17 vs 3). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
SmartScan Go holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Co has 17 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 8% of Co's written reviews are positive against 17% of SmartScan Go's.
Co ships an update every 4 months, SmartScan Go every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Co | SmartScan Go |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.6 (17 ratings) | 3.7 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 8.3% of reviews | 16.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 17 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 45 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Don Johnston Incorporated | Goldstar Learning, Inc. |
Customer experience
Co
SmartScan Go
In-app purchases
Co
No in-app purchases
SmartScan Go
No in-app purchases









