Comparison

Cura vs MyScribe

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

Head to head
About

Cura

This app uses a timed recognition method to help you learn Russian vocabulary quickly. It presents words rapidly, forcing instant comprehension rather than slow deciphering. The word bank focuses on the most common Russian terms to build a foundational vocabulary.

Highlights
  • Timed word recognition
  • Adjustable speed and word count
  • Focus on common vocabulary
  • Instant comprehension training
  • Build elementary vocabulary
Features
Read full description

Having a hard time learning Russian? You can sound out Cyrillic, but it still takes you forever to work out what a word actually means? CURA, the Commonly Used Russian Assistant, is built around one simple idea: there's a difference between reading a word and knowing it. CURA closes that gap. SIGHT LEARNING A Russian word flashes on screen for a fraction of a second, then disappears. You pick what you saw. Because there's no time to sound it out, recognition has to become automatic, which is exactly what fluent reading feels like. Five speeds, from relaxed to blink-and-you-miss-it, in either direction. FLASH CARDS New in this version. Study any word with two-sided flash cards scheduled by spaced repetition. Each card comes back just before you would forget it, so your review time goes where it is actually needed instead of drilling words you already know. CYRILLIC ALPHABET Just getting started? Learn to read all 33 letters, sorted by how much trouble they tend to cause, with special attention to the "false friends" that look like Latin letters but sound completely different. ALSO INSIDE - 300 of the most common Russian words, organized into three frequency tiers - Every word with its stress marked and a romanization - Problem Words mode that resurfaces the vocabulary you keep missing - Daily streaks, stars, and progress tracking to keep you coming back Whether you are learning your first Cyrillic letter or sharpening vocabulary you already half-know, CURA turns reading Russian into knowing Russian.

About

MyScribe

Features
Read full description

MyScribe is a calm, complete way to begin Russian — built for adults who want to learn properly, not chase a streak. Most apps turn language into a game of points and pressure. MyScribe doesn't. There are no scores, no levels, no leaderboards and no timers. What there is: a quiet count of the days you showed up, and — only if you ask for it — one reminder a day, always about something real: a lesson left in the unit, an episode waiting for the commute. The rest is a course you move through at your own pace, the way you'd work through a good book. Every lesson is checked by a native Russian teacher before it reaches you. It's built on four things you actually do with a language: READ — Meet each phrase in print, with a clear English gloss and a note on the sounds that surprise you. WRITE — Write it back by hand. MyScribe is named for the scribe in you: tracing the words yourself is how they stick, and it's the one thing screens usually skip. Prefer the keyboard? You can type instead. LISTEN — Hear everything spoken by real Russian voices — Katya and Maxim, your native hosts — with Sarah to guide you along in English. Or let any lesson read itself to you, hands free, and put the phone in your pocket. UNDERSTAND — And it tells you what the Russian literally says. «У меня есть брат» is, word for word, "at me there is a brother" — because Russian has no verb for "have". Once you can see that, the grammar stops being a set of shapes to memorise. Every phrase in the course carries its literal reading, checked by a Russian teacher. SPEAK — Say it yourself, out loud, in every lesson. Then step into short guided conversations with your hosts and take your turn. WHAT'S INSIDE • A full A1 beginner's course — 23 units, from the Cyrillic alphabet to saying where you're from • The alphabet taught letter by letter — all 33, with stroke-order tracing and a real Russian teacher's own recordings • Real spoken audio throughout — over 1,500 clips, all human-warm • Handwriting practice on every phrase (or type, your choice) • A Practice room for every unit: recognise words, identify sounds, choose the right reply, rebuild a phrase from memory, and hold a short conversation • A Grammar bank that lays out the patterns you've been using, in plain language — including the six cases • Shadowing — 22 episodes made for headphones and a screen-off pocket: the unit's conversation in Russian, then in English, then a gap to say each line back • Lessons on the go — any lesson read aloud, hands free, carrying on through the course while the screen is off • The literal reading of every phrase — what the Russian actually says, word for word, beneath the translation • A fourteen-day rhythm on the home screen — the days you showed up, never a chain that breaks PRIVATE BY DESIGN MyScribe works fully offline — the whole course lives on your device. An account is optional: sign in with Apple or Google only if you want your progress to follow you to another phone, and delete it from the app whenever you like. Your microphone is used only so you can practise speaking; what you say is kept just long enough to play it back to you, and is never sent anywhere. We never ask to track you, and never read your advertising identifier. What the app does report is anonymous: that it was opened, how far through the course somebody got, and whether a purchase happened — so we can tell which of our own ads work and where the course loses people. Nothing is attached that identifies you or your device. TRY IT, THEN DECIDE The first four units are free — the Cyrillic alphabet among them, no sign-in, no time limit. Then choose: one purchase that opens every remaining unit for good, or a weekly or monthly plan that starts with three days free and renews until you cancel. A2 is included either way. No ads. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://drawbridgestudio.com/myscribe#privacy Здравствуйте — let's begin.

Screenshots

Cura4 screens
MyScribe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cura at none against MyScribe's 3. Cura also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). MyScribe's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 86 months). On price, rating, ratings volume and device support 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. MyScribe sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days. Cura asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Cura against 5.0 for MyScribe. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cura ships an update every 86 months, MyScribe weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 5 level
Cura versus MyScribe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCuraMyScribe
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 86 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB494 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHoang Harry TranSteven Decia

Customer experience

Cura

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

MyScribe

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Cura

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

MyScribe

Subscriptions2
  • Full Course, Weekly3 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Full Course, Monthly3 Days trial$16.991 Month
One-time1
  • Full Course$49.99

Questions

Is Cura free?
Cura is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MyScribe free?
MyScribe is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cura or MyScribe?
Cura and MyScribe are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Cura or MyScribe have ads?
Cura shows ads; MyScribe does not.
Which is updated more often, Cura or MyScribe?
Cura ships an update every 86 months, and MyScribe weekly. Most recently, Cura was updated on October 14, 2026 and MyScribe on October 24, 2026.

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