Comparison

Dictionary Universal vs Dicty

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

Head to head
About

Dictionary Universal

Access a vast collection of dictionaries on your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. This app supports StarDict and Lingvo DSL formats, offering fast searches, morphology, fuzzy matching, and pronunciation. Organize dictionaries by language and save your favorites for quick access.

Highlights
  • StarDict and Lingvo DSL support
  • Fast search and fuzzy matching
  • Morphology support
  • Pronunciation playback
  • Dictionary profiles
  • Favorites and history
  • Clipboard lookup
Features
Read full description

Dictionary Universal is iPhone, iPod touch and iPad application for viewing StarDict dictionaries and dictionaries in Lingvo DSL format ¹. Many of these dictionaries are available on the Internet for free ². Features: * Very fast. After dictionary is indexed, minimal time is required to start before you can type text. List of matches appears without delay while you type. * Supports morphology for English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. * Fuzzy search. This functionality will help you find words if they are misspelled or when you don't know how to type word correctly. Just type in the text and hit Search button on the keyboard. * Pronunciation support. * Searching text in currently displayed article. * Profiles group dictionaries, pronunciation and morphology for quick switching. Useful if you work with several languages. * Favorites and Search History. * Ability to lookup word in clipboard when switching to the application. Copy word to clipboard and switch to Dictionary Universal to see translation. * Most complete StarDict format support in the AppStore (including images, synonyms, and various dictionary formats). * Color highlighting for better text readability (when supported by dictionary format). * Arbitrary word lookup. Tap any word in article to lookup it in loaded dictionaries. * Full screen mode support. * Compressed dictionaries and resources support. * Embedded web browser for downloading dictionaries from the Internet. ¹ Lingvo DSL format is a text format with dictionary source code. Dictionary Universal does not support compiled Lingvo dictionaries (LSD format). ² No dictionaries are bundled with the application. You will need StarDict or Lingvo DSL dictionaries to use them with the application.

About

Dicty

This app allows you to view dictionaries in StarDict format on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. It offers fast searching, contextual word lookup, and a dark color scheme for comfortable reading. Dictionaries are not included and must be downloaded separately.

Highlights
  • StarDict format support
  • Fast search while typing
  • Contextual word lookup
  • Dark color scheme
  • Clipboard support
  • Share extension
Features
Read full description

Dicty is a viewer application for dictionaries in StarDict format. Thanks to Dicty, thousands of free dictionaries become available for use with your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad ¹. Features: * StarDict format support (plain text, html, xdxf). * Fast search over all dictionaries while typing. * Contextual word lookup. Tap and hold on a word in the text to lookup it in all dictionaries. * Special "Dark" color scheme. Makes the text easier to read in the dark and saves your eyes. * Clipboard support. Allows to copy last translated word to clipboard. * Portrait and Landscape viewing modes. * iTunes File Sharing support. * Share extension. Allows to translate selected words from other apps. ¹ No dictionaries are provided with the application. You can find them on the Internet free of charge and download inside the application or copy using iTunes.

Screenshots

Dictionary Universal4 screens
Dicty4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Dicty at Free against Dictionary Universal's $5.99. Dicty also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months). Dictionary Universal's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.3). On review sentiment, ratings volume, 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

Dicty is free to download; Dictionary Universal costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dictionary Universal holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 26 and 31 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 85% of Dictionary Universal's written reviews are positive against 87% of Dicty's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dictionary Universal ships an update every 7 months, Dicty every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and July 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Dictionary Universal versus Dicty: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDictionary UniversalDicty
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (26 ratings) — better4.3 (31 ratings)
Positive reviews84.6% of reviews87.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2631 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDmitry ZhukAliaksandr Strakovich

Customer experience

Dictionary Universal

All ratings26 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral3.8%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews182 reviews
Positive84.6%
Neutral5.5%
Negative9.9%

Dicty

All ratings31 ratings
Positive77.4%
Neutral9.7%
Negative12.9%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive87.0%
Neutral8.7%
Negative4.3%

In-app purchases

None

Dictionary Universal

No in-app purchases

None

Dicty

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dictionary Universal free?
Dictionary Universal costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dicty free?
Dicty is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Dictionary Universal or Dicty?
Dictionary Universal is rated higher. Dictionary Universal averages 4.7 out of 5 from 26 ratings, while Dicty averages 4.3 from 31 ratings.
Do Dictionary Universal or Dicty have ads?
Neither Dictionary Universal nor Dicty shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dictionary Universal or Dicty?
Dictionary Universal ships an update every 7 months, and Dicty every 2 months. Most recently, Dictionary Universal was updated on September 22, 2026 and Dicty on July 25, 2026.

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