Comparison

Write in Runic vs DeepL Translate

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

Head to head
About

Write in Runic

Transliterate text into various ancient scripts based on phonetic sounds. Explore different runic alphabets and learn about their pronunciation. Includes system keyboards for typing with these scripts in other applications.

Highlights
  • Phonetic transliteration
  • Supports multiple runic families
  • Includes Ogham script
  • Supports Old Turkic and Gothic scripts
  • System keyboard integration
  • Rune pronunciation guide
Features
Read full description

With this app you can transliterate text to runes based on a phonetic translation. This app translates the sounds of words, not the meaning. It is a good source for rune pronunciation and learning about the runic alphabets. The app also allows exposes system keyboards for typing with runes in other apps. Supports the following major runic families: • Elder Futhark runes (Common Germanic Fuþark) • Swedish-Norwegian Fuþąrk (Rök; Younger Futhark, short twig) • Danish Fuþąrk (Younger Futhark, long branch) • Anglo-Saxon runes (Anglo-Frisian Fuþorc) • Medieval rune alphabets Supports Ogham (Old Irish script): • Aicme Beithe / hÚatha / Muine / Ailme • Forfeda (the letters added later) Furthermore: • Old Turkic (Göktürk script / Orkhon script / Orkhon-Yenisey) • Armanen runes (Armanen Futharkh) • Gothic • Old Italic • Glagolitic (Old Slavonic "Glagolitsa", sometimes known as Slavic runes) Text is transcribed to runes based on a phonetic representation (English, Russian or language agnostic).

About

DeepL Translate

Instantly translate text from your camera, photos, speech, or files. Explore alternative translations, save favorites, and hear translations read aloud. Offers advanced features like glossary and tone selection with a paid plan.

Highlights
  • Real-time camera translation
  • Photo translation
  • Speech dictation and text-to-speech
  • File translation
  • Alternative translations
  • Saved favorites and history
  • Glossary and tone selection (paid)
Read full description

- Real-time camera translation: point your camera at text to instantly translate what you see - Photo translation: translate text in taken or imported photos - Dictation: translate what you speak out loud - Text to speech: hear your translated text read out loud - File translation: translate text from files - Quick detection: translations begin as you type - Alternative translations: explore different options for single words and short phrases - Favorites: save words and phrases for future reference - History: easily find, edit, and reuse past translations - Transliteration: read translations of non-Latin languages, such as Japanese or Russian, in the Latin alphabet - Glossary: translate key words and phrases as defined by you or your organization (available with a paid plan) - Tone: choose a formal or informal tone (available with a paid plan) - Handwriting: draw text characters instead of typing (available on iPad) - DeepL Write: get intelligent writing suggestions to help you create clear, error-free, and impactful texts with ease Feature support varies by language. Currently available: Acehnese, Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Aragonese, Armenian, Assamese, Aymara, Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Basque, Belarusian, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Bosnian, Breton, Bulgarian, Burmese, Cantonese, Catalan, Cebuano, Chinese (simplified)*, Chinese (traditional)*, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dari, Dutch, English (American)*, English (British)*, Esperanto, Estonian, Finnish, French*, Galician, Georgian, German*, Greek, Guarani, Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hausa, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Igbo, Indonesian, Irish, Italian*, Japanese*, Javanese, Kapampangan, Kazakh, Konkani, Korean*, Kurdish (Kurmanji), Kurdish (Sorani), Kyrgyz, Latin, Latvian, Lingala, Lithuanian, Lombard, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, Malagasy, Malay, Maithili, Maltese, Maori, Marathi, Mongolian, Nepali, Norwegian (bokmål), Occitan, Pangasinan, Pashto, Persian, Polish, Portuguese*, Portuguese (Brazilian)*, Quechua, Romanian, Russian, Sanskrit, Serbian, Sicilian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish*, Spanish (Latin American), Sundanese, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Tajik, Tamil, Tatar, Telugu, Tsonga, Tswana, Turkish, Turkmen, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Welsh, Wolof, Xhosa *Also available for DeepL Write Free to download - access core features without cost! - Enjoy more translation features with a DeepL account - Log in to your organization's team account via SSO - To unlock all features, you may need a DeepL paid plan Terms & Conditions: https://www.deepl.com/app-terms Privacy Policy: https://www.deepl.com/privacy DeepL Support: https://www.deepl.com/support

Screenshots

Write in Runic4 screens
DeepL Translate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: DeepL Translate at Free against Write in Runic's $4.99. DeepL Translate also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (13K vs 144). Write in Runic's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 8). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

DeepL Translate is free to download; Write in Runic costs $4.99 up front. DeepL Translate sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $10.49 per month. Write in Runic asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DeepL Translate holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DeepL Translate has 13K ratings behind it against 144, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 39% of Write in Runic's written reviews are positive against 53% of DeepL Translate's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 13, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Write in Runic versus DeepL Translate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWrite in RunicDeepL Translate
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.4 (144 ratings)4.8 (13K ratings) — better
Positive reviews39.1% of reviews53.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings14413K — better
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#67 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB213 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMaarten TrompperDeepL SE

Customer experience

Write in Runic

All ratings144 ratings
Positive85.4%
Neutral6.3%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive39.1%
Neutral21.7%
Negative39.1%

DeepL Translate

All ratings13,276 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral1.9%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews697 reviews
Positive53.4%
Neutral13.5%
Negative33.1%

Bugs and requests

Write in Runic

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

DeepL Translate

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Camera translation not working
  • Disappearing buttons and features
  • Frequent app crashes
  • Connectivity issues
  • Autocorrect interfering with foreign language input

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more languages, especially less common ones
  • Improve translation quality for certain languages
  • Allow offline translation
  • Implement a way to report poor translations
  • Add text-to-speech with adjustable speed
Show 1 more
  • Integrate with other apps for seamless translation

In-app purchases

None

Write in Runic

No in-app purchases

8 purchases

DeepL Translate

Subscriptions8
  • Monthly3 Days trial$10.491 Month
  • Monthly14 Days trial$13.001 Month
  • Monthly3 Days trial$23.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Monthly$38.001 Month
  • Annual3 Days trial$104.991 Year
  • Annual14 Days trial$131.991 Year
  • Annual3 Days trial$209.991 Year
  • Annual$384.991 Year

Questions

Is Write in Runic free?
Write in Runic costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is DeepL Translate free?
DeepL Translate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Write in Runic or DeepL Translate?
DeepL Translate is rated higher. Write in Runic averages 4.4 out of 5 from 144 ratings, while DeepL Translate averages 4.8 from 13K ratings.
Do Write in Runic or DeepL Translate have ads?
Neither Write in Runic nor DeepL Translate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Write in Runic or DeepL Translate?
Write in Runic ships an update weekly, and DeepL Translate weekly. Most recently, Write in Runic was updated on September 13, 2026 and DeepL Translate on September 25, 2026.

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