For families and professionals
Free AAC apps: an honest comparison
Eight AAC apps used in Brazil compared on price, offline use, Brazilian Portuguese voice, platforms, remote editing and ads, with sources and dates. This is a shorter English version of our comparação em português.
falatheo team · Updated · about 4 minutes
Disclosure: we make falatheo. We only used public information (app stores, vendor sites, academic papers), we state the date each fact was read, and we mark as not verified anything we could not confirm. No app replaces an assessment by a speech-language pathologist or occupational therapist.
The table
Prices and ratings as read on 17 October 2026 in the Brazilian stores and on vendor sites.
| App | Price | Works offline | pt-BR voice | iOS / Android | Remote editing | Ads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| falatheo | Free, no subscription, no in-app purchases | Yes, 100%: boards, phrases and voice stay on the device | Yes, the device's own system voices (quality depends on the device) | iOS and Android | From the web portal, from version 0.1.6 (the store build in Oct 2026 is 0.1.2, standalone) | No |
| Cboard | Free, open source (UNICEF and Microsoft grants); a ~US$8/month freemium plan is announced | Not verified | Community-translated pt-BR interface; voice not verified | Web and app | Not verified | No (today) |
| LetMeTalk | Free; discontinued in 2018 | Not assessed: no updates since 2018 | Not verified | |||
| Livox | In-app purchases R$2.49–699; users report about R$200/month or R$675 (bank slip) plus a R$150 course; no free trial | Not verified | Not verified | Android only | Not verified | Not verified |
| Expressia | Free tier (R$0); PRO R$59/month for SLPs and OTs | Not verified | Yes; free-tier users describe the voices as mechanical, natural voices in PRO | Android (Google Play); iOS not verified | Yes, in PRO (activities sent by link) | Not verified; users report a paid-games tab inside the child's board, with no lock |
| Matraquinha | Free with ads; Silver R$9.99/month, Premium R$47.99/month, packs R$47.90 | Yes (offline by design) | Yes; users report no sound on iOS | iOS and Android | Not verified | Yes, in the free version |
| Otsimo | Freemium; school edition R$1,499.90 | Not verified | Not verified | Android (Google Play); iOS not verified | Not verified | Not verified |
| Leeloo | Freemium; no updates since 2023 | Not verified | Portuguese interface; voice not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified |
falatheo's limits
- System voices. falatheo speaks with the device's own voices so speech works offline and free of charge. Quality varies by device; on iPhone and iPad, download a higher-quality Portuguese voice in the accessibility settings. No vendor offers a neural child voice in Brazilian Portuguese.
- Remote editing only from version 0.1.6. The store build in October 2026 (0.1.2) is standalone. Pairing with the portal by 6-digit code or QR arrives in the next version.
- Smaller symbol library. The built-in buttons use Mulberry and OpenMoji (open licences) plus family photos; ARASAAC-based apps ship more ready-made pictograms. The store build (0.1.2) has 145 words; version 0.1.6, in preparation, grows to 521 words and 124 phrases.
- Little track record. The app is from 2026 and has few ratings. Test before relying on it, as with any app.
How to choose
- Start from the person: age, access method, current vocabulary, who will edit.
- Check that the voice works on the device you own, including with the phone on silent.
- Test offline for a day.
- Look at what the child sees: ads, paid games or buy buttons inside the board get in the way.
- Ask the SLP or OT which system they can follow and edit.
- Always keep a paper board with the same words. Print ours for free.
Sources
Read on 17 October 2026.
- Google Play (pt-BR): Livox, Expressia, Matraquinha, Otsimo, Cboard, falatheo.
- App Store Brazil: Matraquinha.
- expressia.life · Cboard at MIT Solve · Google Play #WeArePlay: Matraquinha.
- Martinez & Pires (2022), Audiology — Communication Research. SciELO.
Brand names belong to their owners. This page is informational and does not replace a professional assessment.