Home › Best for › Late talkers

Fewer than fifty words at two

The best app for late talkers — and what no app can do (2026)

About one two-year-old in five is a late talker, and the single most useful thing a parent can do is not an app: it is a free evaluation. After that, apps have a place — a small one, used together. Here is the honest list, ours included and its limits stated.

By the parents who make Their First Words · October 2026 · 7 min read

We make Their First Words, so this is our own comparison — written by the two parents who build it, not by a reviewer. The facts about every other app were checked on October 2, 2026 against their store listings and websites, and the sources are listed at the end. Prices are US prices and change. Where another app is the better choice for your family, this page says so.

The short answer

If you only read this part.

Step one is not an app. Fewer than 50 words or no two-word phrases at 24 months is the line clinicians use.¹ In the US, every state offers a free early-intervention evaluation; a parent can ask for it without a referral.²
For knowing where your child is: the free CDC Milestone Tracker.
For speech-sound practice an SLP suggests: Speech Blubs (video modeling, subscription) or Otsimo (SLP-built, with a one-time price).
For the talking you do in between: Their First Words, as prompts for you — no therapy claims, free to start.

The picks at a glance

Who each one is for.

App	Best for	Price	Works on
CDC’s Milestone Tracker	CDC’s Milestone Tracker	Knowing exactly where your child is before you call	Free	iPhone, iPad, Android
Speech Blubs	Speech Blubs	Practice between sessions when a therapist suggests it	Subscription: $14.49 a month or $59.99 a year on the App Store (its FAQ says $14.99 a month); 7-day free trial	iPhone, iPad (iOS 16.6+), Android
Otsimo Speech Therapy	Otsimo Speech Therapy	A speech app built with SLPs, with a one-time price	Subscription from about $6.99 a month or $41.99–$53.99 a year, or $119.99 once for lifetime access; 7-day free trial	iPhone, iPad (iOS 14+), Apple Vision; Android
Their First Words	Their First Wordsours	Prompts for the talking you do between sessions	$9.99 once for everything; no subscription	iPhone, iPad, Android

Prices are US store prices on the day they were checked (October 2, 2026); the store is the authority for today’s price.

How we chose

The yardstick, out loud.

Does it say what it is? Apps that call themselves therapy should say what that means and what it doesn’t.
Does it keep the parent in it? ASHA and Fairplay’s 2026 guidance for families of children with delays is to use screens together and briefly, and to prefer calm content.⁴
Does it take time away from talking? More screen minutes at 12–36 months went with fewer words from adults and fewer back-and-forth turns.⁵
Honest pricing, and no subscription sold to a parent at 2 a.m.

We rank by fit for the family in the title, not by who made the app. Their First Words is on this list because it belongs here for some of these families and not for others, and the page says which.

The picks

One at a time, honestly.

1 of 4

CDC’s Milestone Tracker

Best for: Knowing exactly where your child is before you call

Price FreeWorks on iPhone, iPad, AndroidAges 2 months to 5 yearsLanguages English and Spanish

Free, from the CDC, in English and Spanish: illustrated checklists from two months to five years, what to do if a milestone is missed, and the words to use when you call the pediatrician or your state’s early-intervention program. It collects nothing that identifies you or your child. Bring it, and your child’s word list, to the evaluation.

Worth knowing: Not a screening tool, by the CDC’s own disclaimer. The free evaluation is the real step.²

2 of 4

Speech Blubs

Best for: Practice between sessions when a therapist suggests it

Price Subscription: $14.49 a month or $59.99 a year on the App Store (its FAQ says $14.99 a month); 7-day free trialWorks on iPhone, iPad (iOS 16.6+), AndroidAges 1–8, as the maker statesLanguages Content in US and UK English, Spanish, French and Brazilian Portuguese; the app’s screens in ten languages

Your child watches short videos of other children saying sounds and words, copies them, and speech recognition rewards the try. The maker names late talkers, apraxia and autism among the children it serves and says it supplements professional therapy rather than replacing it. Content in English, Spanish, French and Brazilian Portuguese; $14.49 a month or $59.99 a year after a seven-day trial; an account is required.

Worth knowing: A subscription with refunds only in its first three days, by its FAQ. Its listing describes itself as a therapy app and cites a study of the method rather than the app; ask your SLP before relying on it.

3 of 4

Otsimo Speech Therapy

Best for: A speech app built with SLPs, with a one-time price

Price Subscription from about $6.99 a month or $41.99–$53.99 a year, or $119.99 once for lifetime access; 7-day free trialWorks on iPhone, iPad (iOS 14+), Apple Vision; AndroidAges Not stated as a range; marketed for children with speech difficultiesLanguages English

Articulation, apraxia and first-words activities built with speech-language pathologists, in English. Subscriptions from about $6.99 a month, or $119.99 once for lifetime access, after a seven-day trial. Of the speech apps we checked it is the only one with a one-time price.

Worth knowing: English only, child-led, and its listing showed no update since May 2025 when we checked.

4 of 4

Their First Wordsours

Best for: Prompts for the talking you do between sessions

Price $9.99 once for everything; no subscriptionWorks on iPhone, iPad, AndroidAges 0–5, in three parent-chosen stages (phrases are not split by stage)Languages English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Korean and Russian on every card (the app’s own screens are in English)

We should be plain: this is not a speech app and makes no claims about speech delay. It is pictures with native-voice recordings that a parent uses to name things with a child — which is the activity clinicians keep asking parents to do more of.⁶ You tap a card, hear milk once, say it yourself looking at your child, and wait. The Lock mode keeps a toddler’s taps from skipping ahead; Auto Play is off unless you want it. Eight languages, so a bilingual late talker is counted and prompted in both.⁷

75 words and 35 phrases are free with no account; $9.99 once for everything.

Worth knowing: We make it. It gives no feedback on your child’s sounds, shows no mouths, tracks no milestones. If an SLP has given you a program, follow the program.

In fairness

Where Their First Words falls short for this family.

It is not therapy and offers nothing an SLP would call an intervention: no video modeling, no articulation work, no feedback.
It will not keep a child practicing alone, which is what some therapy homework needs.
It has no milestone tracker; the CDC app does that better, free.

What to do

This week.

Count the words. Every word your child says in any language, including animal sounds and signs, on a list on the fridge.^{1, 7}
If your child is two and the list is under fifty, or there are no two-word phrases, call your state’s early-intervention program this week; it is free and needs no referral.² Ask the pediatrician for a hearing test on the same call.
Name what your child is looking at, then wait. Count to five in your head before you fill the silence; late talkers are often quick to be spoken for.⁶
Keep any app you use shared, short and calm, in your hands, and stop before your child does.⁴
Read our late-talker guide for the line, the catch-up rates, and the five signs worth a call sooner.

Questions

What parents ask.

Is Their First Words a speech therapy app?

No, and we would be uneasy if anyone used it as one. It is a set of talk prompts for a parent. The evaluation comes first; our late-talker guide explains who to call.

My child hears two languages. Could that be the cause?

No. ASHA’s position is that more than one language does not cause delay, and that a true disorder shows in all a child’s languages — so count words in both together, and tell the evaluator both are spoken at home.^{3, 7}

Do speech apps work?

The honest answer from speech-language pathologists is that no app replaces working with one, and that a device is not a person.⁴ Used as homework an SLP chose, an app can help; chosen instead of an evaluation, it can delay one.

What about screen time for a late talker?

The 2026 ASHA and Fairplay guidance for children with delays: use screens together, keep it short, choose calm content without loud sounds or fast visuals, and remember most screen-time rules are by age, not by where a child is developmentally — so ask your child’s providers.⁴

Head to head: Their First Words vs Speech Blubs.

What this is based on

Sources

Rescorla, L. (1989). The Language Development Survey: a screening tool for delayed language in toddlers. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 54(4), 587–599 — the 50-word / two-word line at 24 months. doi:10.1044/jshd.5404.587
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Concerned about your child’s development? — talk with the doctor, ask about screening, and call your state’s early-intervention program for a free evaluation; no referral needed. cdc.gov
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Late Language Emergence (Practice Portal) — definition, risk factors, assessment. asha.org
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association & Fairplay (May 2026). Be Tech Wise: Children With Developmental Delays or Differences — use screens together, briefly; choose calm content; apps are built to keep children hooked. fairplayforkids.org (PDF)
Brushe, M. E. et al. (2024). Screen time and parent-child talk when children are aged 12 to 36 months. JAMA Pediatrics — more screen minutes went with fewer adult words, fewer child vocalizations and fewer back-and-forth turns. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Tomasello, M. & Farrar, M. J. (1986). Joint attention and early language. Child Development, 57(6), 1454–1463. doi:10.2307/1130423
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Learning more than one language — using more than one language does not confuse children or cause delays; a true disorder shows up in all the languages a child uses. asha.org
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC’s Milestone Tracker app. cdc.gov
Apple App Store, Speech Blubs: Language Therapy — in-app purchase prices, ages, content languages, privacy label, compatibility. apps.apple.com
Speech Blubs, FAQ — subscription prices and trial, offline use, account, child profiles, refund window, supported devices. speechblubs.com/faq
Speech Blubs, home page — “designed to supplement, not replace, professional speech therapy.” speechblubs.com
Speech Blubs, Privacy policy for applications — what is collected about a child; no voice recordings or photos stored. speechblubs.com
Apple App Store, Otsimo | Speech Therapy SLP — subscription and lifetime prices, trial, clinical wording, last update shown as May 2025. apps.apple.com
Their First Words, FAQ — price, free set, languages, offline use, accounts. theirfirstwords.org/faq

Facts about other apps were checked on October 2, 2026 against the sources above. Store prices are US prices on that day; they change, and the store is the authority for today’s price.

More guides

Other families.

Simple Words, Special Moments

Start with one word.

75 words and 35 phrases are free, forever, with both voices. One $9.99 purchase opens the rest of the 1,000+ words and 500+ phrases, in all eight languages at once. No subscription, nothing renews.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

No ads, ever Private by design Works offline No account needed Up to 4 children