Comparison

Shakespeare vs Shakespeare SwipeSpeare

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

Shakespeare SwipeSpeare

Easily understand Shakespeare's works with this app that translates classic texts into modern English. Swipe to toggle between original and translated versions, access a built-in dictionary, biography, and study guides. Order print or ePub versions of plays.

Highlights
  • Modern English translations
  • Interactive swipe to toggle text
  • Searchable Shakespeare Dictionary
  • Shakespeare biography
  • Print and ePub ordering
  • Cross-device sync
  • Study guides and lesson plans
Features
Read full description

Shakespeare has all the ingredients of a big budget movie—if you can understand him. SwipeSpeare puts the words of the Bard into plain and simple English with a Swipe of a finger! SwipeSpeare only shows you the modern text when you want to see it. Simply swipe your finger over the text, and the text will change; swipe it again and it will change back. This app features: • FREE built in (and searchable) Shakespeare Dictionary • FREE Shakespeare biography • FREE "Swipeable" books available • Order print copies and ePubs of any play • Sync highlights, notes, and bookmarks across any device • Every Shakespeare play translated into modern English! (The original play is also included--you choose how you want to read it. Swipe your finger and you can easily toggle back and forth!) • Study Guides for every major play with more on the way • Lesson Plans for every major play with more on the way We are already making lots of improvements to this app--both to the content / features and the UI; we are eager to receive any feedback about what you dislike about the app or what you would like to see in future updates.

Screenshots

Shakespeare4 screens
Shakespeare SwipeSpeare4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Shakespeare at 4.8 against Shakespeare SwipeSpeare's 2.7. Shakespeare also leads on ratings volume (3.5K vs 23) and review sentiment (74% vs 58%). Shakespeare SwipeSpeare's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 16.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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 Shakespeare SwipeSpeare sells 10 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 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shakespeare has 3.5K ratings behind it against 23, 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 58% of Shakespeare SwipeSpeare's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shakespeare ships an update every 3 weeks, Shakespeare SwipeSpeare every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Shakespeare versus Shakespeare SwipeSpeare: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShakespeareShakespeare SwipeSpeare
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.5K ratings) — better2.7 (23 ratings)
Positive reviews73.7% of reviews — better57.6% of reviews
Number of ratings3.5K — better23
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS16.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size416 MB171 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperPlayShakespeare.comBookCaps

Customer experience

Shakespeare

All ratings3,536 ratings
Positive96.1%
Neutral2.0%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews316 reviews
Positive73.7%
Neutral7.3%
Negative19.0%

Shakespeare SwipeSpeare

All ratings23 ratings
Positive39.1%
Neutral4.3%
Negative56.5%
Written reviews92 reviews
Positive57.6%
Neutral7.6%
Negative34.8%

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

Shakespeare SwipeSpeare

From 23 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💡 Great resource for understanding Shakespeare
  • 👍 Easy to use interface
  • 📚 Modern translation alongside original text
  • 🚀 Swipe feature for quick translation
  • 🎯 Helpful for students and teachers

Room to improve

  • 💸 App takes money without unlocking content
  • 🚫 Customer service unresponsive
  • ❓ Confirmation codes not sent
  • 💰 Lost money on purchases
  • 📉 Purchases not restoring on new devices

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

Shakespeare SwipeSpeare

Reported bugs

17 issues
  • Crashes when opening app
  • Crashes when trying to open a book
  • Takes money but doesn't unlock plays
  • Confirmation code not sent
  • Purchases not restoring
Show 12 more
  • App crashes on iPhone 7 iOS 10.3.3
  • Modern translation not appearing
  • Swipe feature not working
  • Lesson plan summaries are all the same
  • Omitted lines in original text
  • Cannot create a profile (code error)
  • App glitches and shuts down shortly after opening
  • Modern Shakespeare biographies not loading
  • Typos in biographies
  • Missing line numbers
  • Misspellings in text
  • Character list for Romeo and Juliet not accessible

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to edit notes
  • Side-by-side view of original and modern text
  • Line numbers included
  • Character lists available
  • Bookmark functionality
Show 1 more
  • Visual overhaul to fit modern iOS

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
10 purchases

Shakespeare SwipeSpeare

One-time10
  • Midsummer Nights Dream$1.99
  • Hamlet$1.99
  • Macbeth$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Romeo and Juliet$1.99
  • Julius Caesar$1.99
  • The Tempest$1.99
  • Twelfth Night$1.99
  • Othello$1.99
  • Much Ado About Nothing$1.99
  • Unlock All Plays$19.99

Questions

Is Shakespeare free?
Shakespeare is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shakespeare SwipeSpeare free?
Shakespeare SwipeSpeare is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shakespeare or Shakespeare SwipeSpeare?
Shakespeare is rated higher. Shakespeare averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.5K ratings, while Shakespeare SwipeSpeare averages 2.7 from 23 ratings.
Do Shakespeare or Shakespeare SwipeSpeare have ads?
Neither Shakespeare nor Shakespeare SwipeSpeare shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shakespeare or Shakespeare SwipeSpeare?
Shakespeare ships an update every 3 weeks, and Shakespeare SwipeSpeare every 6 weeks. Most recently, Shakespeare was updated on October 21, 2026 and Shakespeare SwipeSpeare on October 16, 2026.

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