Smarty Symbols

What Smarty Symbols does

Smarty Symbols is a privately held, Texas-incorporated (Smarty Symbols LLC) educational technology company founded in 2014 by CEO Barbara Fernandes and headquartered in Cedar Hill, Texas. The company operates a web-based platform — Smarty Symbols Studio — that hosts a proprietary library of more than 70,000 modern, inclusive visual symbols and provides drag-and-drop tools, ready-made templates, text-to-symbol conversion, and 7-language translation for building custom visual support materials such as communication boards, visual schedules, social stories, and flashcards. The platform is designed for and consumed by speech-language pathologists, special-education teachers, board-certified behavior analysts, occupational therapists, parents of children with communication needs, and K-12 school districts.

The business runs a tiered subscription model with monthly and annual billing: Standard Access at $7.50–$10.99/month for personal use, Commercial License at $24.99–$39.99/month for creators selling on Teachers Pay Teachers, Etsy, and Amazon, and one-off publishing licenses for physical-product use. A district-wide licensing channel serves K-12 schools via direct quotes and purchasing-cooperative membership (Choice Partners, BuyBoard), while Playground Communication Boards — a related sub-brand — sells customized physical communication boards for public spaces (e.g., the 28-board Boston municipal deployment, 24 of them bilingual). The University Access Program offers free institutional access for training future clinicians and educators.

Smarty Symbols is bootstrapped, with no disclosed funding rounds or institutional investors, and operates with 1–10 employees. Its growth relies on product-led acquisition through the website and free tiers, marketplace distribution via commercial licensees, content marketing through its educational blog and video tutorials, and participation in industry events such as ASHA 2023. The Studio was named an EdTech Awards finalist in 2024 for the second consecutive year, and the affiliated Smarty Ears Expressive Go AAC app was made 100% free in October 2024 to broaden the symbol-set footprint across clinical AAC products.

Name

Smarty Symbols

Legal name

Smarty Symbols LLC

Website

https://smartysymbols.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Smarty Symbols is a Texas-based EdTech company that provides a web-based platform of 70,000+ visual symbols and drag-and-drop tools for speech-language pathologists, special-education teachers, and parents to create custom AAC and visual support materials via subscription licensing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912)

SIC

Pens, Pencils & Other Artists' Materials (3950)

akta.pro primary industry

Accessibility & Assistive Learning Tools for Early Childhood (AAC, sensory supports) (EDACANAL)

Keywords

• Visual support resources
• Educational symbol library
• AAC communication tools
• Special education materials
• Image licensing platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Cedar Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Standard Membership Subscription: Monthly or annual subscription for non-commercial use providing access to 30,000 images with daily download limits. Includes printing center access and community library.
2. Commercial Membership Subscription: Monthly or annual subscription for commercial use allowing educators and creators to sell materials on Teachers Pay Teachers, Etsy, and Amazon with access to 30,000 images.
3. Smarty OpenMarket License: Annual subscription for PDF-based marketplace selling on Teachers Pay Teachers and Etsy with over 30,000 images.
4. Entrepreneurial Excellence License: Annual subscription for PDF format and one self-hosted website with over 30,000 images.
5. One Off Publishing License: One-time license fee for single product use of over 70,000 images in specific formats including books, flashcards, posters, board games, and puzzles. Includes one year of access to download assets.
6. Playground Communication Boards: Customized physical communication boards for public spaces including purchase, customization, manufacturing, shipping, and installation support.
7. School District Licensing: District-wide license agreements for educational staff access to Smarty Symbols resources.
8. University Access Program: Free access program for students and faculty at educational institutions to train future educators and therapists.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Smarty Symbols sells a library of over 70,000 contemporary, inclusive symbols and the Smarty Symbols Studio web platform, which lets educators, therapists, and parents create custom visual support materials such as communication boards, visual schedules, flashcards, social stories, and classroom activities via drag-and-drop tools. The company also licenses its imagery for commercial use on third-party marketplaces and sells customized physical Playground Communication Boards for public spaces.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Smarty Symbols Studio: A web-based drag-and-drop platform for creating custom visual support materials including communication boards, flashcards, visual schedules, and social stories with access to over 70,000 symbols.
• Playground Communication Boards
• Expressive Go

Quantifiable outcome

• Supports communication, learning, behavior, and social skills development through custom visual support materials
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments8 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PlaygroundCommunicationBoards.comcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRelated brand operated by Smarty Symbols for selling customized physical playground communication boards. Boards are designed by speech-language pathologists, customized, manufactured, shipped, and installed with support for appropriate installation requirements.
• Teachers Pay TeacherscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorApproved marketplace platform where commercial licensees can upload and sell PDF products containing Smarty Symbols images.
• EtsycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorApproved marketplace for commercial licensees to sell digital educational products created with Smarty Symbols.
• AmazonminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorApproved marketplace for commercial licensees to sell products containing Smarty Symbols images.
• Choice Partners CooperativeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSmarty Symbols LLC listed as vendor through Choice Partners cooperative purchasing organization for school districts.
• BuyBoardminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSmarty Symbols listed as awarded vendor through BuyBoard purchasing cooperative for education.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Tobii Dynavox (Boardmaker / PCS): Industry-leading AAC platform with the Picture Communication Symbols (PCS) library that historically dominated the K-12 special education market. Comparable because it provides symbol-based visual supports directly competitive with Smarty Symbols.
• Canva for Education: Broad design platform with education-specific templates and an enormous asset library. Comparable as a substitute for educators creating visual materials, with overlapping drag-and-drop use cases for teachers.

Direct peers

• SymbolStix: Subscription-based symbol library used extensively in special education and AAC. Direct peer offering a similar image/symbol model sold to schools, SLPs, and content creators.
• LessonPix: Customizable picture and symbol library for educators, SLPs, and parents to create learning materials. Closely comparable on subscription image-library model and target audience.
• Widgit Symbols: Provider of symbol-based visual supports for education and accessibility. Comparable as a symbol library with similar use cases around communication boards, schedules, and learning materials.
• CoughDrop: Subscription-based AAC platform offering symbol-based communication. Comparable as a paid AAC/symbol solution targeting SLPs, schools, and families.
• Proloquo2Go (AssistiveWare): Premium AAC app for iOS using symbol-based communication. Comparable as a paid accessibility/communication tool serving non-speaking individuals and the same SLP/special-ed buyer.

Emerging players

• ARASAAC: Free, open-licensed AAC symbol library widely used by educators and therapists. Comparable as a substitute product, especially in price-sensitive or non-English markets.
• Mulberry Symbols: Free AAC symbol library developed for use in communication apps and educational contexts. A direct substitute in the symbol-library category, particularly for cost-sensitive users.

Others

• Teachers Pay Teachers: Primary marketplace where Smarty Symbols commercial licensees sell products. It is a channel partner and ecosystem infrastructure rather than a direct competitor, but materially shapes Smarty Symbols' commercial licensee economics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/smartysymbols
• Facebookfacebook.com/smartysymbols
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smarty-symbols-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smarty Symbols