Sayella vs the incumbents: an honest comparison

If you are choosing an AAC app, you deserve a comparison that does not pretend the established apps are bad. They are not. Several of them are genuinely excellent, backed by decades of research and used successfully by hundreds of thousands of communicators. Sayella is new. New does not automatically mean better, and we are not going to argue that it does.

What we will do is lay out the real differences accurately, credit the incumbents for what they do well, and be clear about the specific places where Sayella is built differently. Then you can decide what matters most for your situation.

A note on figures: AAC prices move around, especially during sales (many vendors discount during AAC Awareness Month in October), and US-headquartered apps convert and add VAT differently in the UK. The numbers below are best-available approximations from our research as of mid-2025, and Sayella's own prices, which are fixed.

Credit where it is due

Before the table, here is what the incumbents genuinely do well, because any honest comparison has to start here.

Proloquo2Go (AssistiveWare) has the longest track record and the widest clinical adoption of any AAC app. Its Crescendo core-word system with Progressive Language is research-based and well respected, and it ships with a very large symbol library and a big range of voices including genuine children's voices. It is widely regarded as a gold standard. The main criticisms are price and a steep customisation learning curve.

LAMP Words for Life (PRC-Saltillo) is built on the Unity language system and the LAMP approach (Language Acquisition through Motor Planning), with consistent motor patterns and a strong autism research base. For motor-planning-led intervention it is a serious, evidence-backed choice.

TouchChat HD with WordPower (PRC-Saltillo) runs on both iOS and Android, offers multiple vocabularies, and is often around £100 cheaper than LAMP or Proloquo for the base app, which has earned it a reputation as a good choice for families on a tighter budget.

TD Snap (Tobii Dynavox) has a deep set of page sets (Core First, PODD, Gateway, scanning, aphasia and more), uses the large PCS symbol set, and integrates touch, switch and eye-gaze across iPad and dedicated Windows devices. For complex access needs it is a powerful, mature system.

Grid 3 (Smartbox) is the dominant AAC software in UK special education for good reason. Its eye-gaze, switch and pointer access is comprehensive, it bundles multiple symbol sets, and its Education Licence offers floating, concurrent licences that suit schools well.

CoughDrop deserves particular credit here, because it got cross-platform right first. It runs across web, iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and Chromebook, offers free supervisor accounts, uses Open Board Format for portability, and was created by the father of a nonverbal child. Its main weaknesses are a dated interface and that it is not marketed to UK families.

These are real strengths. Decades of clinical research, enormous proprietary symbol libraries (PCS, SymbolStix and others) and established intervention systems are not things a new app conjures overnight.

The honest comparison table

A few honest caveats on the table. "No" under Open Board Format means we have no record of native OBF import and export in that app, not that migrating is impossible by other means. "No" under published WCAG statement means we found no published conformance statement, which is different from saying the app is inaccessible (TD Snap and Grid 3 in particular have strong access features). And every price except Sayella's own is an approximation that vendors may discount.

Where Sayella is actually different

Strip away the marketing and Sayella's differences come down to four things.

1. Genuinely cross-platform from one account

The most clinically respected apps are single-platform. Proloquo2Go, LAMP and Speak for Yourself are iOS only; Grid 3 is Windows-bound. TouchChat adds Android. Only CoughDrop is fully cross-platform among the established names. Sayella runs on iPhone, iPad, Android and the web from one account, so a board built on a laptop appears on the child's device and the same vocabulary follows the person between home, school and everywhere else.

2. No forced subscription, ever

This is a hard line, not a marketing line. There is always a one-off, lifetime way to own Sayella (£189). If an optional subscription lapses, the app degrades to local-only and never switches off a voice the user already had. This is a direct response to the most painful trend in the market: Proloquo moving to subscription-only and TD Snap moving core speech behind a monthly fee, which families and funders have publicly called inequitable, and which managed school devices and grant funders often cannot accommodate.

3. Price and total-cost transparency

Sayella's full pricing is public: free forever on one device, £7.99/month or £59/year, or £189 lifetime, with VAT relief at checkout for eligible UK disabled individuals and charities. That lifetime figure sits well below the £239 to £300 one-off wall of the premium iOS apps and far below Grid 3's ~£550. We are not claiming to out-research apps with a twenty-year head start. We are claiming the price wall that stops families starting AAC does not have to be there.

4. Your data is portable

Sayella supports Open Board Format import and export at any time. Coming from another OBF-compatible system, you can bring your boards in; if you ever leave, you can take them out. Portability is built in as a trust feature, not withheld as a retention tactic.

So which should you choose?

Honestly, it depends.

If you need eye-gaze for complex physical access, Grid 3 and TD Snap are mature, proven systems and you should look hard at them. If your intervention is motor-planning-led and your team is already trained in Unity, LAMP is a strong, evidence-backed fit. If you are firmly in an iOS household and want the longest clinical track record, Proloquo2Go has earned its reputation.

Sayella is the strongest fit if you have a mixed set of devices (especially anything beyond iOS), if you are wary of subscriptions or rely on grant or charity funding that rejects them, if up-front cost is a barrier, or if you want the freedom to import and export your boards and never feel locked in.

FAQ

Is Sayella better than Proloquo2Go? It is different, not strictly better. Proloquo2Go has a longer research track record and broader clinical adoption. Sayella is cross-platform, has a one-off lifetime price below Proloquo2Go's, never forces a subscription, and supports Open Board Format. Which wins depends on your priorities.

Can I move my boards from another app to Sayella? If your current system supports Open Board Format, yes. Sayella imports and exports OBF, so you can bring boards in and take them out at any time.

Why is Sayella cheaper than the incumbents? Sayella is built on open symbol libraries and a modern cross-platform codebase, and is sold direct with a free tier and a one-off lifetime option. That lets us sit below the £239 to £300 one-off wall without making the apps with decades of research wrong about their value.

Does Sayella have eye-gaze like Grid 3 or TD Snap? Switch access, scanning and auditory scanning are first-class in Sayella from launch. For comprehensive eye-gaze on complex physical access needs, the dedicated systems remain the established choice today.

See for yourself

Sayella is in early access ahead of a public launch in October for AAC Awareness Month. The fairest comparison is the one you make yourself, with your child or your caseload in mind.

Join the early access list to try Sayella, and compare it honestly against whatever you are using now.

Sayella. Every voice deserves to be heard.