Polyglot Reader vs duoBooks
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Polyglot Reader
Read books in foreign languages and learn new vocabulary. Tap on unknown words for instant translations and save them to flashcards for later study. Supports various document formats and offers pronunciation practice and knowledge tests.
- Read books in multiple formats (PDF, EPUB, TXT)
- Translate unknown words and phrases instantly
- Create flashcards for vocabulary learning
- Pronunciation support for words and phrases
- Knowledge tests for vocabulary sets
- Scan and recognize text from documents
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Read books in any foreign language and turn every unknown word into a flashcard you'll actually remember. Version 5.0 brings a complete redesign — a calmer reader, a smarter library and a new way to study. Polyglot Reader is your pocket library, dictionary and flashcard trainer in one app. Tap any word or phrase in a book, get an instant translation with transcription, hear the pronunciation, and save it to a deck to review later. Built for iPhone, iPad and Mac, with a refined dark theme. — READ — • Completely redesigned reader, bookmarks, translation popup and settings • New System theme that follows iOS automatically, plus refined Light and Dark • Open books in PDF, EPUB, FB2, RTF and TXT • Import from Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or any file app • Scan a paper page — the app recognizes the text and saves it as a book • Highlights words you don't know yet, right inside the page • Vertical scrolling, comfortable type settings, picture zoom — LIBRARY — • Thousands of free classic books in 38+ languages, sorted into sections like Classics, Sherlock Holmes, Shakespeare, Horror & Mystery, Children's Books, Philosophy, Adventure • Adapted A2–B1 readers for German learners, plus original literature in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Latin, Greek and many more • New sorting, new sections and search inside every shelf • Filter to show only recent books • Difficulty level and tags shown right on each cover • Drag and drop to reorganize your shelves • New "Added manually" section for everything you imported yourself • Smoother search, scroll and sharing on iPad — LEARN — • Redesigned cards and study screens • Ready-made flashcard sets for English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese and Japanese — verbs, nouns and themed categories • Smart virtual decks: All cards, Recent, Unknown — see progress at a glance • Quick preview and actions inside every deck • Pick a default deck for new words you save while reading • Per-card knowledge level with a colored progress bar (red → green as you master each word) • Three study modes: foreign only, foreign + native, native only • Hands-free mode — keep learning without touching the screen • Long-press context menu: mark as known or unknown in one tap • Optional shuffled order during study • Filter to show only words you haven't learned yet • Pronunciation for both the word and its translation • Knowledge tests for every deck • Export and import cards in CSV — TRANSLATE — • 111 offline dictionaries — no internet, no quota • On-the-fly transcription for all popular languages • Speech-to-text: just say the word, get the translation • Translate your own phrases and add them to any deck • Edit translations when you want a better wording • 90+ languages supported, including Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese and many more — AND ALSO — • System, Light and Dark themes • Choose Google or Yandex as default online translator • Compact mode on iPhone, expanded card view on iPad • Notifications to bring you back to recent cards Whether you're reading Sherlock Holmes in English, Kafka in German, Don Quijote in Spanish or Dostoevsky in Russian — Polyglot Reader turns reading into vocabulary, one tap at a time. Questions or feedback: support@readandlearnapp.com
duoBooks
Read any book in any language with instant translation and detailed word explanations. Build your vocabulary with a personal dictionary and spaced repetition tools. Improve pronunciation with audio voiceovers and master new languages through immersive bilingual reading.
- Instant translation of any book
- Personalized vocabulary dictionary
- Spaced repetition for memorization
- Audio voiceovers for pronunciation
- Bilingual parallel text reading
- EPUB reader for custom files
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Read any book in any language with instant translation into your native language. We offer short stories designed specifically for beginner language learners. Alternatively, you can add any book from your device and read with translation whatever you want. Break any sentence into clear pieces and see every word explained in context. Instantly understand how the sentence works, what each word means, and how it fits into the full translation. In our app, you will also have your personal dictionary where you can keep your vocabulary in one place and easily review it whenever you want. Mastering correct pronunciation is key to language acquisition. In our app, you can listen to audio voiceovers of every sentence or word to hear it pronounced accurately. Immerse yourself in language learning with ease. To learn words, we provide a Spaced Repetition tool. With it you can review words at increasing intervals, ensuring long-term retention and mastery. Swipe through word flashcards effortlessly to build a robust vocabulary and make memorizing words a seamless part of your daily routine. Build your English vocabulary. Many people who are not native English speakers use our app as epub reader to read scientific materials or programming books in English. As long as you have an EPUB file for what you want to read, our app is the best choice. Our bilingual book reader is designed to enhance your language proficiency one page at a time. Practice and study foreign languages by reading parallel texts where every sentence is translated into your native language. Reading books with translation is a proven method for language learners to improve their reading comprehension, expand their vocabulary, and gain a deeper understanding of grammar structures. Read with translation any EPUB ebook from your device, or choose from our library with 3000+ books and short stories. Reading enhances your creativity, imagination, and empathy. Moreover, reading has been shown to reduce stress, improve mental health, and increase our overall well-being. Dive into a world of dual-language storytelling. Don't just take our word for it - hear what our users have to say: "This app has revolutionized my language study! I use it with my own EPUB files in a language I am studying. The interface is intuitive. It's also very fast to use and provides a smooth experience during long reading sessions." Read in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, or any other language, build your vocabulary, and improve your grammar skills. With our cross-language ebook reader, translate books on the fly and listen to voiceovers of any sentence or word in your book. Best bilingual reading app available. With duoBooks you will: - Take control of your language learning journey and achieve your goals faster and easier than ever before. - Improve speaking by listening to how words and phrases are pronounced correctly. - Easily incorporate reading into your daily routine and reap the numerous benefits of this powerful skill, all while you learn English (or other languages). - Read English books with translation (or Spanish, French, etc.) easily even if it's not your native language. - Study words with scientifically proven technique (Spaced repetition). Swipe word cards and enjoy the process. Smart Interval system is as effective for memorizing words as English lessons. duoBooks offers short stories specifically created for beginners. They use simple vocabulary, repetitive words, simple dialogues, and uncomplicated sentences. Alternatively, we have a vast selection of classic literature. From the works of Edgar Allan Poe to the novels of Jane Austen. With over 3000+ classic ebooks available and the ability to import your own files, you'll never run out of options to practice your language skills. Whether you're a beginner or an advanced learner, duoBooks is your app for language learning success. Start your journey today with our free language learning app!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: duoBooks at none against Polyglot Reader's shown. duoBooks also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Polyglot Reader sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and duoBooks sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
duoBooks holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 74 and 48 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of Polyglot Reader's written reviews are positive against 69% of duoBooks's.
Polyglot Reader ships an update every 2 months, duoBooks every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Polyglot Reader | duoBooks |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (74 ratings) | 4.7 (48 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.7% of reviews | 68.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 74 — better | 48 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 120 MB | 54 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Anton Ivanov | PlainProg LLC |
Customer experience
Polyglot Reader
duoBooks
In-app purchases
Polyglot Reader
- Monthly subscription$3.991 Month
- Monthly subscription3 Days trial$7.991 Month
- Monthly subscription$7.991 Month
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- Monthly subscription$9.991 Month
- Annual subscription$22.991 Year
- Annual subscription$34.991 Year
- Annual subscription7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Annual subscription$59.991 Year
- Upgrade from advanced to professional version$3.99
- Upgrade from Starter to Advanced version$15.99
- Full version$99.99
duoBooks
- Full Plan7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Full Plan3 Days trial$6.991 Month
- Full Plan7 Days trial$17.991 Year
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- 6 Month Full Plan3 Days trial$19.996 Months
- Full Yearly Plan3 Days trial$29.991 Year
- War and Peace$0.99
- Silver Blaze$0.99
- On The River$0.99
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- Clochette$0.99
- The Fishing Hole$0.99
- Alice in Wonderland$0.99








