Tala vs. GoTalk NOW: An Honest Comparison

GoTalk NOW, from Attainment Company, brings the classic GoTalk communication book to the iPad: pages of buttons you build yourself, with recorded or synthesized speech. Teachers have used GoTalks for decades, and the app version is flexible and familiar. The full version is $119.99; a free Lite version covers one book.

Tala starts from the opposite end: ready-made boards, natural voices, and no building required before a child can speak.

“We’ve spent years trying different AAC apps, both at home and at school, with very limited success. I downloaded Tala a few days ago — within minutes, both my son and I were using it. For the first time in years, I feel like we have a tool that’s designed for families instead of specialists.”

— Aron, dad of an 11-year-old nonspeaking son with autism

	Tala	GoTalk NOW
Price	Free 7-day trial, then $9.99/month or $39.99/year	$119.99 (Lite free, 1 book)
Free for SLPs & teachers	Yes, free forever	No
Languages	29, with four natural voices in each	Any — you record or type everything yourself
Whole-phrase cards (GLP)	Yes, by design	No, word-based
Platform	iPhone, iPad (iOS 17+), Android	iOS (iPad)
Best for	Beginning communicators, gestalt language processors, families starting out	Custom page-based books, scene displays, teacher-built activities

Build-it-yourself vs. ready out of the box

GoTalk NOW is a construction kit: you create every page, choose every image, and record every message. That's powerful for bespoke activities — and a real time commitment before the app says its first word.

Tala ships with 9 ready-made boards (General, Mealtime, Activity, School, Body & Needs, Places, People, Feelings and Clothing) in 29 languages, each phrase spoken in a natural voice. A child can communicate in the first minute; customization (your own photos and your own voice recordings on any card) comes later, if you want it.

Voice quality

GoTalk NOW relies on your own recordings or standard synthetic voices. Tala uses four natural voices per language (woman, man, boy and girl): consistent, clear, and humanlike across every card.

Price

GoTalk NOW full is $119.99 one-time. Tala starts with a free 7-day trial, then $9.99/month or $39.99/year, and it is free forever for speech-language pathologists and teachers.

Who should choose what

Choose GoTalk NOW if you want to hand-build custom communication books or scene-based activities, and you have the time to craft each page.

Choose Tala if you want your child communicating today with ready boards, natural voices, and whole phrases — with a free 7-day trial to start.

The best AAC app is the one your child will actually use every day.