Teach Yourself Library vs Assimil
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Teach Yourself Library
Access free audio and learning resources to supplement your studies. Download materials to your personal library for anytime, anywhere learning. Sync your content across devices for a seamless experience.
- Free audio resources
- Learning materials
- Offline access
- Cross-device syncing
- Downloadable content
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Discover a world of free audio and learning resources to accompany your Teach Yourself course. Teach Yourself has been trusted by learners for over 75 years to deliver expert learning materials across a wide range of topic areas – languages, business, careers, self-help, creative writing and hobbies. Now for the first time you can access any accompanying audio or learning resources in this free app. Download the resources to your Library and access anywhere anytime. You can even sign in from a different device and all your content will be queued for easy downloading. Teach Yourself: books that make life better.
Assimil
Master a new language in 100 days with an immersive, interactive method. Gain confidence for everyday and professional communication, reaching B2 or C1 proficiency. Includes native speaker audio, dialogues, and grammar explanations.
- 100-day language mastery
- Interactive lessons
- Native speaker audio
- Immersive dialogues
- Grammar explanations
- Review lessons
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Learn a new language with the Assimil method | First 7 lessons free Master a new language in just 100 days with Europe's leading method for beginners and false beginners. With 30 to 40 minutes of learning per day, you will gain confidence to communicate easily in everyday situations and in a professional environment. By the end of the course, you will be able to reach level B2 (independent user) according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), or even level C1 (proficient user) with the Advanced collection. A proven, interactive method – 110 lessons with 2 hours and 40 minutes of audio, recorded by native speakers – Immersive dialogues inspired by real-life situations – Review lessons to consolidate what you've learned – Clear grammar explanations and practical exercises Why choose the Assimil method? – Over 85 years of expertise in language learning – An approach designed for fast and effective results – Based on the principle of intuitive assimilation, validated by cognitive science Download now and start learning today
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Assimil at every 4 days against Teach Yourself Library's every 4 months. Assimil also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.9). Teach Yourself Library's advantage is ratings volume (144 vs 21). On price, review sentiment, ads 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. Teach Yourself Library sells 16 one-off in-app purchases and Assimil sells 45 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Assimil holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Teach Yourself Library has 144 ratings behind it against 21, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 31% and 31% positive.
Teach Yourself Library ships an update every 4 months, Assimil every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Teach Yourself Library | Assimil |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (144 ratings) | 4.3 (21 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 30.5% of reviews | 31.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 144 — better | 21 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 96 MB | 134 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hachette UK (Holdings)Limited | HOLIWAVE |
Customer experience
Teach Yourself Library
Assimil
Bugs and requests
Teach Yourself Library
Reported bugs
89 issues- App doesn't open
- Crashes on launch
- Downloads not working
- App keeps logging off
- App not opening on iPhone
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- App closing spontaneously
- Requires internet connection when available
- Crashes when features are selected
- Arrow keys don't turn pages on Mac
- UI is confusing
- Clicking on buttons navigates pages
- No way to pop from book to collection
- Visual affordances lacking
- Clicking page makes text appear/disappear
- Book content broken across pages
- Default font tiny, font settings don't work
- App is unstable, crashes frequently
- Doesn't save progress
- Cannot play some downloaded audios
- No way to re-download audios
- App won't sign in
- Buttons too small to click
- Audio doesn't play
- Yellow text on yellow background
- No proper categories for genres
- Little accessibility options
- Menu is terrible, no easy way to select chapters
- App port of a browser page
- App says user has to pay for purchased content
- Audio player doesn't stay on Lock Screen
- Makes everything zoomed in and keyboard larger
- Audio dialogues don't work well
- App is rubbish
- Forced to use phone, not laptop
- Audio doesn't display track numbers
- Video in ebook says highlighting words, but can't
- Dictionary takes to external sites
- App not updated for larger screens
- Basic features like translation lookup missing
- No support received
- App says 'Coming Soon' for books
- Unable to access purchased books or sign in
- App quits or says 'coming soon' for audio
- App closes automatically when reproducing a book
- App closes automatically
- App crashes when opening files
- App crashes and won't open
- Audio doesn't work with iOS 13
- App keeps closed
- App crashes when playing a chapter
- Not compatible with iOS 13
- App crashes constantly when tapping on a book
- Audio app not working
- App doesn't open and listenings can't be heard
- Crashes on iOS 13
- Not working since iOS 13 update
- App crashes
- App automatically shuts down when clicking a clip
- Layout not compatible with iPads
- Cannot play audio content
- App closes when opening audio for Norwegian
- Upgrade stopped French from working
- Program keeps closing when trying to listen to lessons
- Can't open ANYTHING
- App crashing when choosing chapters/audio recordings
- Audio no longer works
- App crashes and shuts down when opening a new language
- App isn't working, program closes when playing French
- Not all languages available in audio library
- Missing language audio (Serbian, Latvian)
- App doesn't work from the beginning on iPhone X
- Terrible to sign into
- Doesn't allow profile creation or sign in via social media
- Error message and sent back to first page when skipping sign in
- No sound in ebook, icon present but no mention of audio
- App crashes after each track play when switching pages
- Downloading audio takes multiple retries
- Confusing app, hard to find/access audio
- No way to buy audiobooks or audio/book
- Audio download is good, but better chapter labeling needed
- App keeps closing even after uninstall/reinstall
- App closes when clicking on a clip to play
- Poor app design
- Cannot download audio to iTunes or media player
- Listening and re-listening is not intuitive
- App is a mess
- No control over content paid for
- No clear pictures, up-to-date phrases, or easy audio access
- Worst educational tool encountered
Requested features
15 requests- Track repeat functionality
- More exercises, words, and grammar
- Chapters listed as default
- Shorter jump forward/back options
- Audio player on lock screen
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- Longer pause between tracks
- Better chapter labeling for audio
- Make all complete language audio available
- Highlighting words in ebooks
- Proper in-app dictionary
- Update for larger screens
- Allow use of other e-reader software
- Download audio files to iTunes/media player
- More pause time for practice
- Add missing units
Assimil
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Teach Yourself Library
- Pack of 2 Tokens$1.99
- Pack of 3 Tokens$2.99
- Pack of 10 Tokens$9.99
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- Pack of 11 Tokens$10.99
- Pack of 13 Tokens$12.99
- Pack of 15 Tokens$14.99
- Pack of 17 Tokens$16.99
- Pack of 18 Tokens$17.99
- Pack of 20 Tokens$19.99
- Pack of 25 Tokens$24.99
- Pack of 26 Tokens$25.99
- Pack of 27 Tokens$26.99
- Pack of 30 Tokens$29.99
- Pack of 35 Tokens$34.99
- Pack of 50 Credits$49.99
- Pack of 51 Credits$50.99
Assimil
- Anglais d'Amérique$41.99
- Assimil Perf. Italien$41.99
- Assimil Néerlandais$41.99
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- Assimil Brésilien$41.99
- Assimil Turc$41.99
- Assimil Perf. Allemand$41.99
- Assimil Perf. Russe$41.99
- Assimil Latin$41.99
- Assimil French$41.99
- Assimil Allemand$41.99
- Assimil Italien$41.99
- Assimil Hindi$41.99
- Assimil Roumain$41.99
- Assimil Corse$41.99
- Assimil Anglais$41.99
- Assimil Polonais$41.99
- Assimil Chinois$41.99
- Assimil Hongrois$41.99
- Assimil Coréen$41.99
- Assimil Malgache$41.99
- Assimil Swahili$41.99
- Assimil Espagnol$41.99
- Assimil Perf. Espagnol$41.99
- Assimil Russe$41.99
- Assimil Vietnamien$41.99
- Assimil Catalan$41.99
- Assimil Norvegien$41.99
- Assimil Inglés$41.99
- ASSIMIL FRANCÉS$41.99
- Assimil Perf. Anglais$41.99
- Assimil Grec moderne$41.99
- Assimil Croate$41.99
- Assimil Grec Ancien$41.99
- Assimil German$44.99
- Assimil Italian$44.99
- Assimil Brazilian Portuguese$44.99
- Assimil Chinese$44.99
- Assimil Japanese$44.99
- Assimil Russian$44.99
- Assimil Spanish$44.99
- Assimil Portugais$44.99
- Korean$44.99
- Assimil Portugais 2026$44.99
- German 2025$44.99
- Assimil L’inglese americano$49.99
Questions
Is Teach Yourself Library free?
Is Assimil free?
Which has better reviews, Teach Yourself Library or Assimil?
Do Teach Yourself Library or Assimil have ads?
Which is updated more often, Teach Yourself Library or Assimil?
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