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Their First Words vs Speech Blubs

Speech Blubs is a speech-practice app: your child copies short videos of other children saying sounds and words, on a subscription. Their First Words is a parent-led flashcard app: you say the word, with a native voice to copy first, in any of eight languages, for $9.99 once. They solve different problems — and for a late talker, neither replaces an evaluation.

By the parents who make Their First Words · October 2026 · facts checked October 2, 2026

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 Speech Blubs were checked on October 2, 2026 against its store listings and website, 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 version

Which one, in one minute.

Pick Speech Blubs if…

Your child is working on speech sounds — how a mouth shapes a word — and responds to watching other kids do it.
You want an app your child can use on their own for a stretch, with filters and stars keeping them going.
A subscription fits your budget, and English, Spanish, French or Brazilian Portuguese covers your home.
A speech-language pathologist suggested it for practice between sessions.

Pick Their First Words if…

You want to be the one talking, with a native voice to copy first — in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Korean or Russian.
Your home has two languages and you want the same picture to carry both.
You want to pay once and never think about billing again — or start free with 75 words and 35 phrases and no account.
Your child is under two and the screen stays in your hands.

At a glance

Side by side, no adjectives.

Fact	Speech Blubs	Their First Wordsours
What it is	Speech-practice app: short videos of real children saying sounds and words for your child to copy, with speech recognition and face filters	Parent-led flashcards: illustrated first words and everyday phrases, each spoken by a female and a male native voice
Ages	1–8, as the maker states	0–5, in three parent-chosen stages (phrases are not split by stage)
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 trial	$9.99 once for everything; no subscription
What’s free	The trial. There is no permanent free set; a free AI articulation screener is offered separately	75 words and 35 phrases, forever, in all eight languages with both voices
Languages	Content in US and UK English, Spanish, French and Brazilian Portuguese; the app’s screens in ten languages	English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Korean and Russian on every card (the app’s own screens are in English)
Who holds the phone	The child, copying the on-screen kids; a parent is encouraged nearby	The parent. You say the word; the app is the prop.
Works offline	Partly — some activities after they are downloaded	Yes, completely — every picture and clip ships inside the app
Ads	None, as the maker states	None, at any tier
Account	Required (email, Apple or Google sign-in)	Not needed; optional sign-in only syncs progress between devices

Speech Blubs facts checked October 2, 2026; sources below. “Who holds the phone” is who the app is designed around: a child playing, or a parent holding it and talking.

Credit where it is due

Where Speech Blubs is better.

Speech sounds and mouth shapes. Video modeling — a real child’s face saying “b-b-ball” — shows what a mouth does. A flashcard can’t, and we don’t pretend otherwise.¹
Built-in feedback. Speech recognition listens for an attempt and rewards it, and a parent report tracks progress against speech milestones.^{1, 2} Their First Words only records what you mark as learned or said.
Made with speech delay in mind. The maker names late talkers, apraxia, autism and Down syndrome as children it serves, and says its approach supplements professional therapy.³ We make no clinical claims at all.
Keeps a child going alone. Face filters, stars and sections like Mouth Gym are designed so a three-year-old wants the next one.¹ Our cards wait for a parent.
A deep library and years of use. 1,500+ exercises and videos in 28 sections, plus a free AI articulation screener added in 2025.¹ Their First Words launched in 2026.

And the other way

Where Their First Words is better.

Eight languages, two native voices each. Every one of 1,000+ words and 500+ phrases is spoken in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Korean and Russian, by a female and a male voice. Speech Blubs’ content comes in four languages.¹
One purchase, no renewals. $9.99 once versus $14.49 a month or $59.99 a year.^{1, 2} There is nothing to cancel, and the free 75 words and 35 phrases never expire.
Starts free, with no account. Speech Blubs needs an account, and its free week is a subscription you must remember to cancel.² Ours opens to the cards with no sign-up; your child’s progress stays on your phone unless you choose to sync it.
Fully offline. Every picture and clip ships inside the app — nothing to download before a flight. Speech Blubs works offline only for activities you downloaded first.²
Words, then phrases. The second library is 500+ everyday phrases — “I want milk,” “All done,” “Look at me!” — the step after single words that speech-sound apps leave to you.
Nothing built to keep a child on it. No filters, stars, timers or streaks; no ads; no analytics. Auto Play is off until you turn it on, and nothing is designed to keep a child watching.

The real difference

Two different ideas of an app.

Speech Blubs is built on video modeling: a child watches another child say a sound, then tries it, and the app listens and rewards the try.¹ That is a real technique, and for a child who needs help shaping sounds it is a sensible thing to have on a phone between therapy sessions — the maker itself says the app supplements professional speech therapy rather than replacing it.³

Their First Words is built on a different fact: babies and toddlers learn the sounds and words of a language from a live person, not from a screen. In the best-known study, nine-month-olds who heard a new language from a person in the room learned its sounds, and the ones given the identical material on video or audio learned nothing measurable.⁵ So our app is a prop for that live person. You tap a card, a native voice says the word once so you can hear how it goes, and then you say it, looking at your child. The app is not trying to teach anyone; you are.

That difference decides the price model too. A library of video exercises is a service, and services are subscriptions. A set of cards is a thing you own, so it costs $9.99 once — or nothing, because 75 words and 35 phrases are free forever with no account.

If you are worried about your child’s speech, neither app is step one. In the United States every state runs a free early-intervention evaluation for children under three, and a parent can refer their own child without a doctor’s note.⁶ Our late-talker guide explains the 50-word line, the few signs worth a call, and what helps in the meantime.

Which one for your family

Four straight answers.

A two-year-old with few words and a worried parent. Book the free evaluation first.⁶ If the speech-language pathologist then suggests practice between sessions, Speech Blubs is built for that. Our cards are for the talking you do at the highchair in the meantime, which the ASHA and Fairplay guidance for families of children with delays describes as the point: use screens together, briefly, as a prompt for talking.⁷
A bilingual home — say, Korean and English. Their First Words. Speech Blubs has no Korean, German, Italian or Russian; ours says every card in all eight languages, and each child profile keeps its own language and voice.
A child who needs twenty minutes of independent screen time. Speech Blubs — or, honestly, a free app such as Khan Academy Kids. Ours is a two-person object; handed to a toddler alone it is a picture book with a button.
A parent who hates subscriptions. Ours, and the free set may be all you ever use. If you do unlock it, it is $9.99 once, with Family Sharing on Apple.

Questions

What parents ask us.

Is Their First Words a speech therapy app?

No, and it does not claim to be. It is a set of pictures with native-voice recordings that a parent uses to name things with a child. If you are worried about your child’s speech, the free evaluation comes first; our late-talker guide explains what counts and who to call.

Can I use both?

Yes, and some families will: Speech Blubs for the sound work a therapist suggests, our cards for the everyday naming — milk, shoe, dog, “all done” — in whichever language the moment is in.

Does Speech Blubs have a one-time price?

Not on its own site or store listing when we checked: it sells monthly and annual subscriptions with a seven-day trial, and its FAQ gives refunds only in the first three days.^{1, 2} Third-party deal sites have offered lifetime bundles; read the terms before buying one.

Which languages does each app speak?

Speech Blubs: US and UK English, Spanish, French and Brazilian Portuguese.¹ Their First Words: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Korean and Russian, on every card, with a female and a male native voice each.

Looking at it the other way round? Read Speech Blubs alternatives, or see who each app suits in the best-for guides.

What this is based on

Sources

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
Kuhl, P. K., Tsao, F.-M. & Liu, H.-M. (2003). Foreign-language experience in infancy: effects of short-term exposure and social interaction on phonetic learning. PNAS, 100(15), 9096–9101. pnas.org
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Concerned about your child’s development? — how to ask for a free early-intervention evaluation in every U.S. state. cdc.gov
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association & Fairplay (May 2026). Be Tech Wise: Children With Developmental Delays or Differences — use screens together, briefly, and choose calm content. fairplayforkids.org (PDF)

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.

Keep comparing

Other head-to-heads.

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