When families first explore AAC, the price tags can be shocking. Proloquo2Go is $249.99 and TouchChat HD with WordPower is $299.99 (App Store prices, checked October 2026). For a family navigating a new diagnosis, spending that before knowing whether your child will even take to it can feel like an enormous risk.
Free to download does not always mean every tool is free. This guide distinguishes ongoing free communication from optional purchases and time-limited trials.
This guide covers the best iPad-compatible AAC apps that cost nothing to download, and what each one asks for after that.
Disclosure: this guide is published by SpeakPad, which is one of the apps listed below.
What Does "Free" Actually Mean?
Be sceptical of any AAC app that markets itself as "free". In practice this often means:
- Free to download, but $49.99 to unlock any meaningful vocabulary
- Free for 30 days, then $14.99/month
- Free version with ads displayed to your child mid-session
Ads are a particular problem for AAC. A child using their device to communicate should never be interrupted by an advertisement. Truly free means free to download, with the core communication features usable without paying, and no ads during use.
Check what each in-app purchase unlocks, what stays available without paying, and what happens when a subscription ends.
1. SpeakPad: free communication, optional Pro tools
Start communicating with SpeakPad Free. Optional Pro tools save the time it takes to build and keep up their boards.
Goals, team sharing and drawing require SpeakPad 3.0.1 or later.
SpeakPad Free
- Unlimited speech, sentence building, prediction, drawing and every accessibility feature
- One complete vocabulary set and every topic board, plus one free change of set per profile
- Unlimited text and personal photo vocabulary; create and edit boards freely
- Search the symbols available for your profile’s symbol set, reuse symbols already on its boards, and assign 30 new ones free; the SpeakPad set includes all 26,000+
- Two communicator profiles
- Board imports, .speakpad sharing, printing, file backups and automatic iCloud backups
SpeakPad Pro
- Assign any built-in symbol, beyond the 30 free assignments on each profile
- Create a whole board from a word list with Quick Board Builder
- Switch vocabulary sets as often as you need
- Apply newer boards from your other devices on the same iCloud account automatically
- Create a third communicator profile and beyond
- Export formatted activity reports as PDFs
- Track IEP or therapy goals session by session, with prompt levels and progress in the PDF report
- Share boards, goals and sessions with invited team members on different Apple Accounts; receiving their updates is free
- Export .obz boards for other compatible AAC apps
- Download SpeakPad's natural-sounding voices for English and Irish; every voice built into SpeakPad stays free
2. Cboard: free communication with optional Pro
Cboard is an open-source AAC app with a free tier for basic communication and board creation. It is available in a browser and as mobile apps; voice and language availability depends on the device.
Some tools require Pro, including board sharing, Open Board Format export, usage analytics and an ad-free experience. The iOS app offers in-app purchases. Check the current plan and platform before moving an existing board set.
Cboard plans and current prices
3. Low-Tech AAC - Always Free
Before any app, there is low-tech AAC: printed communication boards, PECS cards, and core word charts. These cost nothing more than paper and a printer, and Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) generally recommend keeping a physical board alongside any device.
When the iPad battery dies, when you are at the pool, when the screen cracks - a physical board is there. Low-tech AAC is not a last resort. It is an essential part of a robust communication system.
Pros
- Completely free (cost of printing only)
- Works anywhere - no battery, no Wi-Fi
- Waterproof if laminated
Cons
- No voice output
- Limited vocabulary space per board
4. TD Snap and Avaz: Free to Download, Then a Subscription
TD Snap (from Tobii Dynavox) and Avaz AAC are both free to download, which is why they turn up in searches for free AAC apps. Neither keeps speaking for free. TD Snap needs a $9.99 monthly subscription for speech after a one-month trial. Avaz has a 14-day trial, then costs $9.99 a month, $99.99 a year, or a one-off lifetime purchase.
Both are established systems, and a subscription can make sense when a school or funder is paying. For a family testing AAC at home, find out what happens to speech when the trial ends before you build your child's words into the app.
What About Apps With Free Trials?
Proloquo2Go has no free trial on the App Store. TouchChat HD with WordPower and LAMP Words for Life each offer a 30-day trial through their free companion apps, TouchChat Discover and LAMP Words for Life Discover. They are worth exploring to see what a full clinical AAC system looks like. But go in with eyes open: the full versions cost $249.99 to $299.99, before any add-ons. Unless your child's school provides them or you have insurance coverage, that is a significant commitment.
Start where there is no financial barrier. If the free option works, fantastic. If you need more clinical depth later, that conversation can happen with your SLP at the right time.
How to Access Paid AAC Without Paying Out of Pocket
Even expensive apps do not have to come out of your own pocket. There are routes to access them for free:
- School provision: In many countries, schools are required to provide appropriate communication tools as part of a child's IEP (US) or EHCP (UK). Ask the SLP attached to your child's school.
- Insurance: In the US, funding usually covers a dedicated speech-generating device rather than an app on a general-purpose iPad. An SLP evaluation is the route to finding out what your plan covers.
- Funding charities: Organizations like Communication Matters (UK) can point families toward equipment grants and loan programs.
- Device loan programs: Many SLPs and AAC organizations lend devices for trial periods before purchase commitments.
The Bottom Line
If you are at the start of your AAC journey and are not sure where to begin: start free. SpeakPad gives you everything you need to begin modeling AAC immediately. Involve a speech and language therapist as early as you can: they can check the fit and, if your child later needs a different system, plan the move so familiar words are easy to find again. There is no reason to delay communication today because of cost.
Want a board that speaks?
Private, offline AAC for iPhone and iPad. Speaking is always free, with optional SpeakPad Pro tools for caregivers.
Download on the App Store