# English Listening vs Basic for Listening

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Basic for Listening at none against English Listening's 3. Basic for Listening also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 76%) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). English Listening's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 13 months). On price, rating and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. English Listening sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Basic for Listening asks for nothing beyond the download.

Basic for Listening holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: English Listening has 11K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of English Listening's written reviews are positive against 100% of Basic for Listening's.

English Listening ships an update every 4 weeks, Basic for Listening every 13 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | English Listening | Basic for Listening |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (11K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/english-listening-6mins/id1451262531/reviews) | **[5.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/basic-for-listening-3rd/id1505006587/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **11K** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | 76.1% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 weeks** | Every 13 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Ad-supported** |
| Size | 166 MB | 116 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **11.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Nguyen Thi Hoai Thu](https://appshunter.io/developer/1321248741) | [Le Bin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1259013611) |

## What reviewers say

### English Listening

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/english-listening-6mins/id1451262531)

Improve your English skills with short, offline lessons. Practice listening, grammar, and vocabulary through conversations with native speakers. Save favorite lessons and take notes for a personalized learning experience.

**Highlights:** Offline English lessons, Listening practice with native audio, Vocabulary and grammar exercises, Lesson notes and bookmarks, American English conversations, Voice recording and saving

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 Month | $9.99 | per month |
| 1 Year | $12.49 | per year |
| Premium | $14.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Effective for learning English
- 💡 Useful for improving vocabulary, listening, and pronunciation
- 🎨 Good variety of content

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and freezes
- 🔋 App gets hot and drains battery
- 🔇 Audio issues (not playing to the end, poor quality)
- 💰 Premium features not worth the cost

**Reported bugs**

- Favorite/download/bookmark features not working
- Search function not reliable
- App crashing after updates

**Requested features**

- Add Chinese translations
- Ability to control playback speed
- Bookmark/favorite episodes
- Categorize episodes by difficulty level
- Suggest related content after each episode


### Basic for Listening

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/basic-for-listening-3rd/id1505006587)

This app offers an activity-rich listening course designed to build skills in listening and conversation. It includes practice for testing and exam techniques, aiming to develop confident listeners and improve exam success.

**Highlights:** Activity-rich listening course, Builds listening and conversation skills, Practice for testing and exam techniques, Engaging and motivating activities, Short, practical content chunks

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is English Listening free?

English Listening is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Basic for Listening free?

Basic for Listening is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, English Listening or Basic for Listening?

Basic for Listening is rated higher. English Listening averages 4.8 out of 5 from 11K ratings, while Basic for Listening averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.

### Do English Listening or Basic for Listening have ads?

Basic for Listening shows ads; English Listening does not.

### Which is updated more often, English Listening or Basic for Listening?

English Listening ships an update every 4 weeks, and Basic for Listening every 13 months. Most recently, English Listening was updated on November 10, 2026 and Basic for Listening on November 4, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*