Welcome to The Eko Review!
A nonprofit initiative of the Eko Vision Foundation (opens in a new tab)
We are so glad you found us. This is a community-driven space where blind and low-vision people, along with their families, friends, and the vision professionals in their lives, share honest reviews of assistive technology.
Choosing assistive technology is rarely simple. A device can cost anywhere from nothing to several thousand dollars, it is hard to try before you buy, and most of the information out there comes from the companies selling it. We think the best guidance comes from the people who live with these tools every day.
What we do
We gather reviews of the technology blind and low-vision people use to read, write, work, study, navigate, and live independently: screen readers, braille displays, OCR and camera tools, navigation aids, smart glasses, voice assistants, and specialized hardware like video magnifiers. Reviews from the blind and low vision community, for the blind and low vision community.
Our community spaces are also a place to ask questions, share tips, and support one another, whether you are a longtime user or just starting out.
Reducing the disability tax
Living with a disability often means paying for trial and error. A screen reader that will not play well with your apps. A braille display that turns out to be uncomfortable. A device that costs thousands and ends up in a drawer. Each one is money and time most sighted people never have to spend. People call this the "disability tax".
The Eko Review exists to change that. When sighted people want a new phone, they read a dozen reviews online first. You deserve the same. The person best placed to tell you whether a device is worth its price is someone who has used it, because lived experience catches what a spec sheet misses.
How reviews and ratings work
Whether you are comparing products or writing your own review, these are the five things every review covers. Asking everyone the same questions is what lets you weigh two products fairly, even when they come from different makers at very different prices.
Price tier
Prices go out of date, so we group products instead:
- Free: $0
- $: under $100 a year
- $$: $100 to $999
- $$$: $1,000 to $2,999
- $$$$: $3,000 and up
Subscriptions are grouped by yearly cost, so $29 a month lands in $$.
The four ratings
Each is scored 1 to 5, where 1 is poor and 5 is excellent:
- Reliability. Is the feedback it gives you consistent and trustworthy enough to rely on with confidence?
- Adaptability. Does it hold up indoors and out, in quiet rooms and noisy streets, across different mobility and social situations? And how much do you have to learn before it becomes useful?
- Maintenance. How durable is it, and what does upkeep take? Battery life, replacement parts, repairs, and what they cost you in money and effort.
- Connectivity and sensitivity. How stable are its connections, and how well does it hear your voice commands?
Then you write about your experience in your own words, which is the part most readers find most useful.
One thing worth keeping in mind as you read: a score built from two reviews tells you far less than the same score built from twenty. We show you how many people have weighed in so you can judge for yourself, and the written reviews are often more revealing than the numbers.
How to suggest a product
Is something you use missing from our catalog? You can add it.
- Select Suggest a product.
- Enter the name, the brand or maker, and the category.
- Add any other product details you have.
- Write your review.
A Foundation volunteer or team member checks the entry for accurate information and typos. Your product and review go live shortly after.
Which category?
- Screen readers and accessibility software. Software that turns a screen into speech or braille so you can control a computer or phone completely, including magnification, contrast modes, and larger text. Examples: NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, TalkBack, Narrator.
- Braille technology and tactile output. Hardware that gives tactile access to text and digital content, plus braille production tools. Examples: refreshable braille displays, note takers, braille input devices.
- OCR and camera-based tools. Tools that use a camera to turn print and real-world visual information into speech or audio. OCR stands for optical character recognition. Examples: OCR apps, dedicated readers, barcode and product identification, scene description.
- Navigation, orientation, and mobility. Tools that support independent travel, route guidance, and safer movement. Examples: canes and cane accessories, electronic travel aids, accessible GPS and mapping, indoor navigation, sensor-based smart canes.
- Wearables and smart glasses. Devices worn on the body that give continuous support through sensors, audio, haptics, and recognition. Examples: smart glasses, camera-based wearables, haptic navigation wearables, accessible smartwatches, bone-conduction headsets.
- Smart assistants. Voice-controlled platforms that reduce your reliance on visual interfaces and can act as an accessibility hub. Examples: Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, smart speakers.
- Specialized hardware and other tools. Devices whose main value is an accessible physical interface through audio or touch, or a design made specifically with disability in mind. Examples: video magnifiers, talking scales and thermometers, accessible labeling systems, accessible medical devices.
Not sure which one fits? Choose the closest and our team will sort it out.
How we keep reviews trustworthy
When you join, we ask which perspective you bring: blind or low-vision user, family member or friend, or vision professional. It shows as a small badge on your reviews so readers understand the point of view behind each one. We never ask about medical details, and you can change it anytime.
Every review is read by our moderation team before it appears, which keeps the site honest, respectful, and free of spam.
We are not a retailer. We sell nothing reviewed here, and no company can pay for a listing or a better rating.
Our accessibility features
Accessibility is not a feature of The Eko Review. It is the whole point. The site is built for screen readers, magnification, braille displays and keyboard navigation, with adjustable text size and contrast. We are working towards full WCAG 2.1 AA conformance, the international standard for web accessibility — our accessibility statement sets out exactly where we stand today, including what is not yet finished.
We know our community will hold us to a high standard, and we welcome that. If anything here is hard to use, tell us at theekoreview@ekovisionfoundation.org.
About the Eko Vision Foundation
The Eko Vision Foundation is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to improving the lives of blind and low-vision people through accessible, privacy-first technology. We act as a bridge between our community and the technology meant to empower it, listening to real needs and carrying them to the people building these tools.
The Foundation's name honors Eko, a grandmother who lost her sight to glaucoma but never let it dim her spirit. She would call to ask someone to describe the colors of her clothes, a reminder that vision is not only about seeing. It is about dignity, independence, and connection. Her son, a retired software engineer, built her a simple app that used AI to describe her surroundings. What began as a way to help one grandmother has grown into this community. Visit ekovisionfoundation.org (opens in a new tab) to learn more.
Get involved and support us
- Create an account to write reviews and join the conversation
- Suggest a product you would like reviewed
- Share the platform with someone weighing a decision
- Volunteer your time (opens in a new tab)
- Partner with the Foundation (opens in a new tab)
- Donate to keep The Eko Review free (opens in a new tab)
The platform is free, supported by donations from people who believe, as we do, that good information should reach everyone who needs it.
However you take part, you are helping make life a little easier for the next person facing these choices. Welcome to the community.