We make StoryRetriever, so read this comparison with that in mind. We've tried to be fair. Each detail about another app comes from its own website or app store page, checked on November 2, 2026. Prices and features change, so check the current listing before you buy.

There's no single best social story app. The right one depends on the devices your family, school or clinic already uses, how stories need to travel between people, and what you want to spend. Below are six tools people often compare, what each one says it does, and where each one fits.

If you'd rather test tools yourself, our evaluation guide walks through trying any visual-story tool with a real task before you commit.

How we compared

Where it runs. The devices the app's own listing names.
Price. What the listing showed in US dollars on November 2, 2026.
Sharing. How a story gets from the person who makes it to the people who use it, as the listing describes it.
What it's built for. Some of these tools are made for social stories, and some are made for schedules or symbol materials.

We didn't rate the apps, and we didn't count features nobody listed. Where a listing doesn't say something, we say so instead of guessing.

Pictello (AssistiveWare)

Pictello is a long-standing iPhone and iPad app for making talking visual stories.

Where it runs: iPhone and iPad (iOS 17 or later), per the App Store and AssistiveWare's product page.
Price: $19.99 on the US App Store, with no in-app purchases listed. AssistiveWare's own site shows prices and voice counts by region, so a reader outside the US may see different figures.
Sharing: the App Store listing describes sharing with other Pictello users through a free sharing server, exchanging stories through Dropbox, and exporting to PDF or printing for people who don't have Pictello.
Voices: the App Store listing says "over 110 free Text to Speech voices in 29 languages," and you can record your own voice.

Where Pictello fits better: if everyone who makes and reads the stories uses an iPhone or iPad, you want a one-time purchase, and you value a wide choice of text-to-speech voices, Pictello is a strong choice.

Social Story Creator & Library (Touch Autism)

An iPhone and iPad app with a library of ready-made stories you can buy.

Where it runs: iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, per the App Store.
Price: a free download with in-app purchases. The App Store lists "Social Stories Pro" at $14.99 and "Pro Upgrade & All Stories" at $29.99, plus single stories from $0.99.
Sharing: the listing says you can share created stories with other users of the app and print PDFs.
Offline: the listing says stories can be created and played without an internet connection.
Updates: the App Store shows its latest version, 5.2.2, from 2020.

Where it fits better: if you want ready-made stories on common topics (waiting, personal space, greetings) on an iPad. The app is free to download, and you pay only for the stories you want: single stories from $0.99, up to $29.99 for everything.

Choiceworks (Bee Visual)

Choiceworks is a visual support app. Its listing describes schedule, waiting, feelings and feelings-scale boards. It doesn't describe itself as a social story app.

Where it runs: iPhone and iPad, and Macs with Apple silicon, per the App Store.
Price: $19.99. The listing says "One purchase includes everything. No subscriptions."
Sharing: boards can be sent by AirDrop, Files or email, and optional iCloud sync works across your own devices on the same Apple ID.

Where Choiceworks fits better: if what you need is a daily schedule, a waiting timer or a feelings scale rather than a story, Choiceworks is built for exactly that. Our guide on visual stories and visual schedules explains the difference.

Boardmaker 7 (Tobii Dynavox)

Boardmaker is a symbol-based platform for making teaching and communication materials, used widely in schools.

Where it runs: Windows, Mac and Chromebook computers, per Tobii Dynavox's Boardmaker 7 page.
Symbols: access to over 74,000 PCS (Picture Communication Symbols).
Community: the Boardmaker Community shares free pre-made materials.
Price: a free Community account for free activities. On yearly billing, Personal was $99 a year and Professional (multiple students) $199 a year, each with a 60-day free trial. Organizations get a quote.

Where Boardmaker fits better: if your team relies on PCS symbols and makes printed and interactive materials beyond stories on computers. It's a symbol and activity tool built for classrooms.

Social Story Maker (Spectrum Unlocked)

A free story maker on Spectrum Unlocked's website.

Price: free. Its FAQ says "Every template, layout, and download is free."
Account: none needed. An email is optional.
What it makes: printable stories from 22 templates or from scratch, in several booklet and page layouts.
Privacy: the page says everything stays on your device and photos are never uploaded. A share link carries the story text.

Where it fits better: if you want one printed story today, for free, with no account, this is the quickest route on our list.

StoryRetriever

StoryRetriever is the app we make. It's built around one story being made by one person and read by others: a professional and a family, or two parents, on different devices.

Where it runs: in a web browser (including Chromebooks and Windows), and as an app on the App Store and Google Play.
Price: a Free plan with 1 child profile, 1 created story, 1 shared story and 1 communication board. Silver is $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year, and Professional is $9.99 a month or $84.99 a year. See pricing for every plan.
Sharing: you share a story with a connected family or professional as View Only, Can Edit or Can Edit & Share. They open the same story on their own device.
Offline: stories you've opened stay available offline, and you can add voice memos.

Where StoryRetriever falls short: the Free plan holds one story you create, so most regular users will pay. It has no PCS symbol library, so you work with photos and pictures instead. And it's newer than Pictello or Boardmaker, with fewer reviews.

Where it fits: a child whose stories need to be read on more than one kind of device, such as an Android phone at home and a Chromebook at school, or a professional who wants families to open the same story they made. More on that in our Chromebook guide.

Side by side

Each app's own website or store listing, checked November 2, 2026. US prices.
Tool	Built for	Where it runs	Price we saw	Sharing, as listed
Pictello	Talking visual stories	iPhone, iPad	$19.99 once	Other Pictello users, Dropbox, PDF or print
Social Story Creator & Library	Social stories, ready-made library	iPhone, iPad, iPod touch	Free, in-app purchases up to $29.99	Other users of the app, PDF print
Choiceworks	Schedules, waiting, feelings	iPhone, iPad, Apple silicon Mac	$19.99 once	AirDrop, Files, email; iCloud across your own devices
Boardmaker 7	Symbol-based materials	Windows, Mac, Chromebook	Free Community account; $99 or $199 a year	Boardmaker Community materials
Spectrum Unlocked maker	Printable social stories	Its website	Free	Print; a link that carries the story text
StoryRetriever	Social stories shared between people	Web browser, iPhone, iPad, Android	Free plan; paid from $4.99 a month	Connected families and professionals, with view or edit access

Which one should you try?

Everyone uses an iPhone or iPad, and you want one purchase: Pictello.
You want ready-made stories on an iPad: Social Story Creator & Library.
You need a schedule or a waiting timer, not a story: Choiceworks.
Your team works with PCS symbols on computers: Boardmaker.
You want one free printed story today: Spectrum Unlocked's maker.
The story has to reach people on different devices, and stay the same story: StoryRetriever.

Whatever you pick, try it with one real situation the child is facing this week. Our evaluation guide has a short task you can run with any of these tools. If you're new to social stories, start with what visual social narratives are.