Comparison

Teach Yourself Library vs Migaku

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Free audio resources
  • Learning materials
  • Offline access
  • Cross-device syncing
  • Downloadable content
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Migaku

This app helps you learn languages by making content interactive. Click words in subtitles or text to get definitions, create flashcards, and personalize study sessions. It focuses on high-frequency words for efficient learning.

Highlights
  • Interactive subtitles for YouTube
  • One-click media-rich flashcard creation
  • Personalized study sessions
  • Data-driven courses for beginners
  • Word frequency-based vocabulary learning
  • AI sentence breakdown and explanations
Features
Read full description

Learning languages is actually pretty simple: if you consume content you enjoy, and you understand that content, you will make progress. Period. Migaku (and its Chrome browser extension) enables you to do that: 1. Our courses take you from zero to 80% comprehension in ~6 months (10 cards/day) 2. We make text interactive: click words in your phone's YouTube subtitles to see what they mean 3. We let you make media-rich flashcards out of those words with one click 4. We make personalized study sessions out of the flashcards you create 5. Repeat! Whether you're learning Japanese, Mandarin, Korean, Spanish, Italian, German, Cantonese, Portuguese, English, French or Vietnamese, Migaku equips you with the tools you need to make real progress. Migaku requires a paid subscription to access its courses, features, and AI tools. Migaku – AI Language Learning Tool ■ How languages are really learned: If you want to watch movies in other languages, then you need to learn languages with movies. If you want to read books in other languages, then you need to learn languages by reading. As you spend more time doing the things you enjoy doing in the language you're learning, you'll build the unique skills you need to more easily do those things. Unfortunately, it's difficult to read books and watch movies in another language as a beginner. And that's where Migaku comes in ■ Data-driven courses for beginners The problem with most apps and textbooks is that they teach you what someone else thinks language learners need to know, and those things may not reflect what you actually need to learn to do the things that are important to you. This matters because not all words are used equally often: while a college-educated native speaker knows ~30,000 words, you only need to know ~1,500 words to recognize 80% of the words in modern media. Our flashcard-based courses teach you these ~1,500 words—the ones that are useful to everyone, no matter their goals—plus a few hundred basic grammar points. What makes our courses special is that every "next" flashcard contains only one new word, making Migaku's learning curve super smooth. You're always learning something new, but never overwhelmed. It's a fluent language learning approach. Migaku courses are currently available for Japanese, Mandarin, and Korean. ■ Turn subtitles and text into interactive language learning opportunities Migaku makes texts interactive: just click on words to see what they mean. You can also hear audio recordings from native speakers, reference images of the term, check example sentences, get an AI explanation of what the word means in context, have AI break sentences down for you word-by-word, or see a translation of the sentence that your word appears in. Basically, Migaku lets you consume content in another language as if you knew as many words as a native speaker. Our mobile app supports YouTube, manually pasted content, and physical content like books or street signs. Our Chrome extension supports web pages and several popular streaming websites. ■ Create custom study cards or import language flashcards Find a useful looking word while consuming content? Turn it into a high-quality flashcard with one button, and Migaku's spaced repetition language practice algorithm will create personalized study sessions for you. You'll be nudged to review these flashcards periodically, ensuring you remember them. Decks designed for the Anki flashcard app can be converted for use with Migaku, too. ■ Study anywhere, even offline Migaku's courses and any flashcards you make are available offline and automatically sync between all of your devices. ■ Learn multiple languages at once A single Migaku subscription gives you access to all of Migaku's languages and lets you use all of Migaku's features and AI language learning tools as much as you want. - - - Immerse → enjoy → improve

Screenshots

Teach Yourself Library4 screens
Migaku4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Migaku at 73% against Teach Yourself Library's 31%. Migaku also leads on rating (4.4 vs 3.9) and update cadence (weekly vs every 4 months). On price, ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Teach Yourself Library sells 16 one-off in-app purchases and Migaku sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $14.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Migaku holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 143 and 377 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 31% of Teach Yourself Library's written reviews are positive against 73% of Migaku's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Teach Yourself Library ships an update every 4 months, Migaku weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Teach Yourself Library versus Migaku: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTeach Yourself LibraryMigaku
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (143 ratings)4.4 (377 ratings) — better
Positive reviews30.5% of reviews73.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings143377 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size96 MB1.9 GB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperHachette UK (Holdings)LimitedMigaku Inc.

Customer experience

Teach Yourself Library

All ratings144 ratings
Positive71.5%
Neutral5.6%
Negative22.9%
Written reviews95 reviews
Positive30.5%
Neutral13.7%
Negative55.8%

Migaku

All ratings375 ratings
Positive84.3%
Neutral1.6%
Negative14.1%
Written reviews237 reviews
Positive73.0%
Neutral3.0%
Negative24.1%

User reviews

Teach Yourself Library

From 143 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Good content of books
  • 👍 Helpful for language learning
  • 👍 Clear audio pronunciation
  • 👍 Easy to navigate interface
  • 👍 Free titles available

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🐛 App doesn't open or crashes on launch
  • 🐛 Audio playback issues
  • 🐛 Downloads fail
  • 🐛 Poor user experience

Migaku

From 377 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Effective and convenient language learning
  • 👍 Intuitive and visually appealing interface
  • 🎓 Comprehensive courses and lessons
  • 💡 Seamless integration with streaming platforms
  • 🗣️ Helpful pronunciation and pitch accent features

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
  • 🔒 Lack of free trial or free plan options
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 🤖 Inconsistent performance of AI-powered features
  • 🔌 High storage and battery consumption on mobile

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
Show 84 more
  • 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
Show 10 more
  • 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

Migaku

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Unable to create new accounts in the app
  • Broken kanji course with empty cards
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between apps

Requested features

4 requests
  • Offline mode for learning on the go
  • Expanded support for more languages
  • Better integration with Anki and other SRS apps
  • More customization options for flashcards and reviews

In-app purchases

16 purchases

Teach Yourself Library

One-time16
  • Pack of 2 Tokens$1.99
  • Pack of 3 Tokens$2.99
  • Pack of 10 Tokens$9.99
Show 13 more
  • 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
13 purchases

Migaku

Subscriptions8
  • Migaku Standard2 variants$14.001 Month
  • Migaku Standard7 Days trial$14.001 Month
  • Early Access2 variants$21.001 Month
Show 5 more
  • Early Access7 Days trial$21.001 Month
  • Migaku Standard$136.991 Year
  • Migaku Standard7 Days trial$136.991 Year
  • Early Access$179.991 Year
  • Early Access7 Days trial$179.991 Year
One-time5
  • Lifetime$214.99
  • Lifetime$289.00
  • Lifetime$344.99
Show 2 more
  • Lifetime$359.00
  • Lifetime$719.00

Questions

Is Teach Yourself Library free?
Teach Yourself Library is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Migaku free?
Migaku is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Teach Yourself Library or Migaku?
Migaku is rated higher. Teach Yourself Library averages 3.9 out of 5 from 143 ratings, while Migaku averages 4.4 from 377 ratings.
Do Teach Yourself Library or Migaku have ads?
Neither Teach Yourself Library nor Migaku shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Teach Yourself Library or Migaku?
Teach Yourself Library ships an update every 4 months, and Migaku weekly. Most recently, Teach Yourself Library was updated on October 21, 2026 and Migaku on October 22, 2026.

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