Shakespeare Pro vs iPA Phonetics
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shakespeare Pro
Access the complete works of Shakespeare, including plays, sonnets, and poems. Features include a searchable concordance, integrated glossary, note-taking and sharing capabilities, and customizable reading options. Explore character details, historical context, and original spellings.
- Complete works of Shakespeare
- Searchable concordance
- Integrated glossary with definitions
- Add and share personal notes
- Customizable reading experience
- Character descriptions and arcs
- Original First Folios and Quartos
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“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.
iPA Phonetics
Explore the International Phonetic Alphabet and voice production with an intuitive touch interface. Hear and see accurate examples of symbols and articulations, enhanced by real-life laryngoscopic and ultrasound videos. Adjust playback speed for detailed study.
- Interactive IPA chart
- Voice quality exploration
- Articulations demonstration
- Laryngoscopic videos
- Ultrasound videos
- Adjustable playback speed
- Full-screen video viewing
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This App provides a unique and intuitive touch interface for exploring the International Phonetic Alphabet as well as numerous voice qualities and articulations. Simply press any symbol or label in the illustrations to see and hear an accurate example. Amazing real-life laryngoscopic and ultrasound videos never before documented accompany sounds articulated in the mouth and throat! You can speed up and slow down all the video examples, view full-screen, and more!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Shakespeare Pro at 4.8 against iPA Phonetics's 4.2. Shakespeare Pro also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (1.7K vs 64). iPA Phonetics's advantage is price ($3.99 vs $12.99). On review sentiment, ads, in-app purchases 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
Shakespeare Pro costs $12.99 and iPA Phonetics $3.99 up front. Shakespeare Pro sells 24 one-off in-app purchases and iPA Phonetics sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Shakespeare Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shakespeare Pro has 1.7K ratings behind it against 64, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of Shakespeare Pro's written reviews are positive against 83% of iPA Phonetics's.
Shakespeare Pro ships an update every 3 weeks, iPA Phonetics every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shakespeare Pro | iPA Phonetics |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $12.99 | $3.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.7K ratings) — better | 4.2 (64 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 86.7% of reviews — better | 83.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.7K — better | 64 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 416 MB | 900 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PlayShakespeare.com | John Esling |
Customer experience
Shakespeare Pro
iPA Phonetics
Bugs and requests
Shakespeare Pro
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes on launch after recent update
- Glossary feature not working as expected
- Quote of the day widget not functioning properly
- Formatting issues when reading in certain orientations
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to take notes and highlight text
- Improve search functionality, especially for Folio texts
- Provide more detailed character and plot summaries
- Include links to video/audio performances of the plays
- Offer more language options (e.g., original spelling, modern translations)
iPA Phonetics
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Shakespeare Pro
- Modern translation: AYLI$1.99
- Modern Translation (M4M)$1.99
- Modern Translation (Much Ado)$1.99
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- Modern Translation (Tempest)$1.99
- Modern Translation (2GV)$1.99
- Modern translation: A&C$1.99
- Modern Translation (Henry 5)$1.99
- Modern Translation (JC)$1.99
- Modern translation: COE$1.99
- Modern Translation (Pericles)$1.99
- Modern Translation (Othello)$1.99
- Modern Translation (TN)$1.99
- Modern Translation (Macbeth)$2.99
- Modern Translation (RJ)$2.99
- Modern Translation (Hamlet)$2.99
- Schmidt's Lexicon$3.99
- Glossary by C. T. Onions$3.99
- Glossary by Alexander Dyce$3.99
- All Apocrypha Plays$7.99
- All Lexicons$9.99
- Course: Intro to Shakespeare$9.99
- Course: Shakespeare for Kids$9.99
- Modern Translation (All)$17.99
- Shakespeare Ultimate$49.99
iPA Phonetics
- Voice Qualities Plus$1.99
Questions
Is Shakespeare Pro free?
Is iPA Phonetics free?
Which has better reviews, Shakespeare Pro or iPA Phonetics?
Do Shakespeare Pro or iPA Phonetics have ads?
Which is updated more often, Shakespeare Pro or iPA Phonetics?
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