OpenArabic vs Kalaam
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
OpenArabic
Learn classical Arabic vocabulary from Islamic texts with English translations and audio. Features bilingual texts, word meanings, offline audio, and vocabulary review tools. Designed for focused study of religious literature.
- Bilingual texts with English translations
- Tap words for meaning and pronunciation
- Audio pronunciation for vocabulary
- Offline listening for study
- Vocabulary review and progress tracking
- Distraction-free interface
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Read Classical Arabic Texts OpenArabic provides classical Arabic texts with English translations and audio pronunciation. Designed for Muslims studying Islamic literature, Quranic vocabulary, and Hadith. BILINGUAL TEXTS • Arabic with English translations • Tap any word for meaning and pronunciation • Classical Arabic vocabulary from Islamic texts • Filter articles by topic and difficulty AUDIO PRONUNCIATION • Audio for all vocabulary • Learn correct pronunciation of classical terms • Listen offline during study sessions • Bilingual audio support (Arabic and English) VOCABULARY REVIEW • Review words you've encountered in texts • Track which vocabulary needs more practice • Receive review reminders based on your progress • Simple swipe interface for review sessions DESIGNED FOR STUDY • Clean, distraction-free interface • Works offline for masjid or travel use • Progress tracking for daily study
Kalaam
Learn Quranic Arabic effectively with this app, designed to help you understand the Quran in just minutes a day. Utilize advanced learning techniques and personalized lessons to achieve fluency and deepen your connection with the text.
- Understand Quranic Arabic
- Daily 10-minute lessons
- Personalized learning paths
- Active recall & spaced repetition
- Quran translation challenges
- Gamified learning with points and badges
- Quran-reading mode with color-coded words
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Finally Feel Your Heart Move In Prayer Kalaam uses cutting-edge technology to help you understand Quranic Arabic - in a way that you'll never forget it. NOW AVAILABLE IN 80+ LANGUAGES! Including Bengali, Urdu, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and many other languages not typically available in app stores. We've re-imagined the Arabic learning process at every step. By dedicating just 10 minutes a day, you can understand: 40% of the Quran in one week 70% in one month 95% in one year It doesn't matter whether you're a beginner, intermediate or expert. There's a clear path from your current level to 100% understanding. Start off with an on-boarding test and receive insights into your current understanding level, paving the way for a tailored learning journey. Kalaam will tell you exactly what percentage of the Quran you currently understand. Every single day, come in for a daily lesson that will teach you new words with their Quranic context. Beautiful images showcase their range of meanings. Delve deeper to explore their usage throughout the Quran. Memorized certain surahs? Prioritize them so you learn words from there before anything else. Kalaam uses a learning technique known as active recall with spaced repetition (popular in medical schools) to ensure that you never forget what you've learned by prompting you to review these words right when you're on the brink of forgetting them. Once you get to about 65% understanding, unlock a daily Quran translation challenge tailed to your vocabulary. Earn points with each activity and win badges by competing with Kalaam users world-wide, or just those in your country or city. Create custom leaderboards to compete against your friends and family and learn together. Experience the Quran come alive as you learn! With Kalaam's Quran-reading mode, words shift in color, and translations start to disappear, reflecting your growing understanding. Immerse in the text with newfound confidence, sans translation. Privacy Policy: http://kalaamapp.com/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://www.kalaamapp.com/terms-of-use
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Kalaam at 86% against OpenArabic's 0%. Kalaam also leads on ratings volume (305 vs 3). OpenArabic's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 15) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Kalaam sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. OpenArabic asks for nothing beyond the download.
OpenArabic holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Kalaam has 305 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 0% of OpenArabic's written reviews are positive against 86% of Kalaam's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
OpenArabic ships an update weekly, Kalaam every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | OpenArabic | Kalaam |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | 4.8 (305 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 86.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 305 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 116 MB | 515 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jonas Andreasson | Areeb Bajwa |
Customer experience
OpenArabic
Kalaam
Bugs and requests
OpenArabic
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Kalaam
Reported bugs
9 issues- App crashes on startup with blank/white screen
- Login functionality broken with valid email addresses
- Audio feature breaking down frequently
- Progress data lost after app reinstallation
- Progress reset after updates
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- App freezing and requiring restart
- Error messages preventing app access
- Compatibility issues with device changes
- Performance lag and UI freezing
Requested features
10 requests- Dark mode for late-night/early morning reading
- iPad and tablet version for larger screens
- Advanced grammar learning component
- Mushaf (Quran text) feature for hafiz review
- Non-AI images for better memory recall
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- Quranic diacritical marks and symbols
- Improved imagery and graphics
- Better variety in daily challenge word selection
- Cloud backup for progress preservation
- Skippable tutorial videos
In-app purchases
OpenArabic
No in-app purchases
Kalaam
- Nickel Subscription$6.991 Month
- Monthly Subscription$12.991 Month
- Bronze VIP Donor$14.991 Month
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- Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$24.991 Year
- Silver Subscription$29.991 Month
- Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Platinum Subscription$49.991 Month
- Black Diamond Subscription$200.001 Month
- Streak Repair$4.99
- Nickel Donation$69.99
- Bronze Donation$150.00
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- Silver VIP Donation$300.00
- Platinum Donation$500.00
- Gold Donation$749.99
- Black Diamond VIP Donation$1000.00








