Comparison

Shakespeare vs Blanks

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

Head to head
About

Shakespeare

Access the complete works of Shakespeare, including plays, sonnets, and poems. Features include a powerful search, integrated glossary, note-taking, and customization options for a rich reading experience.

Highlights
  • Complete works of Shakespeare
  • Powerful search and concordance
  • Integrated glossary with definitions
  • Add and share personal notes
  • Customizable reading experience
  • Scene breakdowns and character descriptions
  • Modern translations and lexicons
Features
Read full description

“It’s really great!” —Kenneth Branagh, actor and director “I can't remember a time it wasn't on my iPhone. So feature rich!" —Stephen Fry, actor and writer “‘The app’s the thing.’ Hamlet was almost right. Great to see Shakespeare Pro superplaying with Shakespeare’s plays.” —David Crystal, linguist and author of Shakespeare's Words “The Shakespeare Pro app is simply terrific and filled with loads of wonderful information!” —Ken Ludwig, Tony and Olivier Award Winning Playwright Shakespeare Pro® includes the complete works of Shakespeare (41 plays, 154 sonnets and 6 poems, including apocrypha) and search the concordance to find the exact word or phrase you’re looking for (with “relaxed” searching to find words close to your search term). Shakespeare Pro is packed with these impressive features: ••• QUALITY TEXTS are a top priority and our team spent years compiling and editing the best references available. In the updated editions, the text is even more clear and each individual character is uniquely identified. ••• FIRST FOLIOS AND QUARTOS in original spelling show the works as they were originally published in Shakespeare’s time. ••• AN INTEGRATED GLOSSARY, based on the bestselling lexicon by David & Ben Crystal, Shakespeare’s Words™ is included. Simply tapping on a word will display its definition in context (not just a general definition). ••• ADD YOUR OWN NOTES AND SHARE THEM with your students, classmates, friends, and colleagues. Organize your notes into notebooks for use in the classroom, theatre, or just to remember key facts. Then share them via email or AirDrop. ••• POWER SEARCH THE WORKS by customizing multiple parameters like gender, genre, work, language, line form, soliloquies, and more. ••• CUSTOMIZE YOUR READING EXPERIENCE by choosing from a variety of color themes, change the font family and size, display long or short character names, jump around to different scenes, and view line numbers (*read the note below about line numbering). ••• BOOKMARK YOUR FAVORITE PARTS in addition to remembering the last page you viewed. Even copy/paste that great line. ••• DETAILED SCENE BREAKDOWNS give you an overview of the scenes within each play, their locations, and the characters present in each. ••• CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS help you better understand the actions and motivations of every character—all 1,155 of them. ••• MODERN TRANSLATIONS and lexicons to help you better understand Elizabethan English (extra add-ons). ••• GET THE FACTS by reading up on Shakespeare’s life, view data and chronology about his works, and an overview of scansion terminology or rhetoric. Character Arc Visualizers show individual character arcs or allow for comparison of multiple characters. ••• SHAKE YOUR DEVICE for Shakespeare himself to display a random memorable quote or insult. Or get a new random quote every day. ••• BROWSE THE GALLERY of famous Shakespeare portraits. ••• TEACHER CURRICULUM makes it easy for teachers to introduce students to Shakespeare's works. ••• COMPLETE APOCRYPHA is the most comprehensive breakdown of 14 plays Shakespeare may have had a hand in. ••• BARDFIND™ is the easiest way to find a Shakespeare theatre or venue anywhere in the world. These are just a few highlights of the great things in Shakespeare Pro. If you’re a student, professor, actor, or just plain love the Bard, this must-have app ensures you have the complete works at your fingertips. Like the new features? Having trouble and need support? Let us know at support@playshakespeare.com or at http://support.playshakespeare.com.

About

Blanks

Learn new English words with this interactive app. It presents definitions and multiple-choice answers, allowing you to drag and drop the correct word. Receive immediate feedback with visual cues for correct or incorrect selections.

Highlights
  • Learn new English words
  • Word definitions provided
  • Multiple-choice answers
  • Drag-and-drop interaction
  • Visual feedback (green check/red cross)
  • Wordnet-based definitions
Features
Read full description

'Blanks' is a simple application helping you to learn new English words. It shows you word definition and gives 4 choices as answer. Select one of the choices by dragging it on the hole in the paper. If you are correct, a green hock is displayed. If the selected word does not fit to the definition, you will see a red cross. The word definitions are from Wordnet. The application developer is not associated in any way with Wordnet.

Screenshots

Shakespeare4 screens
Blanks3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Shakespeare at 3.5K against Blanks's 7. Shakespeare also leads on review sentiment (74% vs 57%) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). Blanks's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Shakespeare sells 27 one-off in-app purchases and Blanks sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Shakespeare holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shakespeare has 3.5K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Shakespeare's written reviews are positive against 57% of Blanks's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shakespeare ships an update every 3 weeks, Blanks every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Shakespeare versus Blanks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShakespeareBlanks
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.5K ratings) — better4.6 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews74.0% of reviews — better56.6% of reviews
Number of ratings3.5K — better7
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size416 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPlayShakespeare.comKai Kunze

Customer experience

Shakespeare

All ratings3,500 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral1.9%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews308 reviews
Positive74.0%
Neutral6.8%
Negative19.2%

Blanks

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews122 reviews
Positive56.6%
Neutral25.4%
Negative18.0%

User reviews

Shakespeare

From 3.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Best app out there
  • 👍 Excellent app
  • 👍 Terrific app for Shakespeare lovers
  • 👍 Remarkable level of detail and care
  • 👍 Invaluable for actors and students

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes, buggy, unstable
  • 💰 Nickel-and-diming for features
  • 💰 Upgrade to pro is misleading
  • 💰 Constant nagging to upgrade
  • 🤔 Abbreviated character names

Blanks

From 7 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💡 Fun vocabulary builder
  • 👍 Educational and engaging
  • 💰 Free to use
  • 🚀 Simple and easy interface
  • 🧠 Stimulates deductive reasoning

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Word repetitions
  • 🐛 Poor or inaccurate clues
  • 🐛 Answer often in the question/definition
  • 🐛 Lack of ability to review mistakes
  • 🐛 Too easy/commonplace words

Bugs and requests

Shakespeare

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on launch or opening plays
  • Scrolling and UI issues
  • Incompatible with latest iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add modern translations
  • Include line numbers
  • Improve search and navigation
  • Add more content like sonnets
  • Sync purchases across devices

Blanks

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Correct word marked as incorrect
  • Answer in definition/question
  • Repeats words too often
  • Starts on same word every time
  • Word repetitions
Show 4 more
  • Poor clues
  • Doesn't show correct answer
  • Definitions can be inaccurate
  • Answer in the question

Requested features

24 requests
  • Tap to go to next definition
  • See percentage of correct answers
  • Ability to review mistakes
  • Option to see correct answer
  • Game modes (word count, time limit)
Show 19 more
  • Review correct words/definitions after game
  • Create own word bank/flashcard feature
  • Shuffle words each time
  • More challenging words/levels
  • Leaderboard
  • Track progress (saved scores)
  • Use word in a sentence
  • Different users
  • Sync new words
  • Remove words learned
  • Tap instead of drag
  • More extensive vocabulary
  • Improve definitions
  • Report stats (avg time, total correct/incorrect)
  • Timed game option
  • Combine with flashcard feature
  • Different difficulty levels
  • More similar alternate words
  • Update app icon

In-app purchases

27 purchases

Shakespeare

One-time27
  • Modern Translation (AYLI)$1.99
  • Modern Translation (Sonnets)$1.99
  • Modern Translation (AWEW)$1.99
Show 24 more
  • Modern Translation(Coriolanus)$1.99
  • Modern Translation (CoE)$1.99
  • Modern Translation (WT)$1.99
  • Modern Translation (Othello)$1.99
  • Modern Translation (Much Ado)$1.99
  • Modern Translation (LLL)$1.99
  • Modern Translation (Hamlet)$2.99
  • Modern Translation (Macbeth)$2.99
  • Modern Translation (R&J)$2.99
  • Modern Translation (King Lear)$2.99
  • Glossary by Alexander Dyce$3.99
  • Glossary by C. T. Onions$3.99
  • Schmidt's Lexicon$3.99
  • Glossary by C. T. Onions$4.99
  • All Apocrypha$7.99
  • Course: Intro to Shakespeare$9.99
  • All Apocrypha$9.99
  • All Lexicons$9.99
  • Course Shakespeare for Kids$9.99
  • Upgrade to Shakespeare Pro$12.99
  • All Lexicons$12.99
  • Modern Translation (All Works)$14.99
  • Modern Translation (All Works)$19.99
  • Shakespeare Ultimate$59.99
3 purchases

Blanks

One-time3
  • Coffee$1.99
  • Lunch$5.99
  • Pizza$9.99

Questions

Is Shakespeare free?
Shakespeare is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Blanks free?
Blanks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shakespeare or Blanks?
Shakespeare is rated higher. Shakespeare averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.5K ratings, while Blanks averages 4.6 from 7 ratings.
Do Shakespeare or Blanks have ads?
Neither Shakespeare nor Blanks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shakespeare or Blanks?
Shakespeare ships an update every 3 weeks, and Blanks every 10 days. Most recently, Shakespeare was updated on September 22, 2026 and Blanks on September 17, 2026.

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