MDict vs Chanary
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MDict
This open platform dictionary app supports multiple languages and allows users to download various pre-built dictionary data. It offers fast lookups, rich text content, pronunciation, search history, and in-page search capabilities.
- Multi-language support
- Downloadable dictionary data
- Fast lookup and loading
- Rich text content
- Pronunciation support
- Favorites and search history
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MDict is a dictionary that support multi-language. It dosen't bundle with dictionary data. But it's a open platform that you can download many pre-built dictionary datas by others. Key features include: 1. Very fast lookup speed and dictionary loading speed. You can switch dictionary instantly. 2. Support rich text formated content 3. Pronunciation support. Currently with English, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese.(Chinese/Japanese pronunciation support are limited) 4. Favorites and Search history 5. Supports in page search
Chanary
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A dictionary app that allows for the importing of custom dictionary files and sharing example sentences to the AnkiMobile app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Chanary at every 3 weeks against MDict's every 3 months. MDict's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
MDict ships an update every 3 months, Chanary every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MDict | Chanary |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (32 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 32 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 文伟 张 | John Whatley |
Bugs and requests
MDict
Reported bugs
34 issues- Appearance settings reset on macOS
- UI misalignment in appearance settings
- Full-text search missing on mobile
- Daylight mode not working at night
- Cannot add custom fonts to iOS version
Show 29 moreShow fewer
- App crashes frequently on Mac
- App crashes on launch (older reviews)
- Audio not working after iOS updates
- Clipboard not working in floating mode
- Search bar behavior requires back button
- Auto-lookup clipboard not working in floating window
- Group function invalid format on iPhone
- Sharing section not working
- MDict floating window blank when looking up words in Instapaper
- Cannot search from right sidebar on iPad
- Sound not working
- Sound not working after upgrading to new version on iOS 9.1
- Multi-dictionaries lookup not working
- Auto lookup clipboard not working in floating window
- Group function does not work on iPhone
- Sharing section not working
- MDict's pop out window is always blank and cannot provide any definition when looking up words in Instapaper
- Cannot search a word from right sidebar on iPad
- Sound not working
- Sound wasn't work after upgrading to new version on IOS 9.1
- Multi-dictionaries lookup cannot work
- Audio problems solved (older review, implies it was an issue)
- Cannot search clipboard content on iOS 5
- Dictionary sorting gets messed up after upgrades
- Shows 'pirated' status despite payment
- Clicking on dictionary name triggers unwanted search
- Russian Wikipedia search not recognizing Russian input
- Font corruption when loading some dictionaries
- App crashes when using notification bar shortcut
Requested features
22 requests- Full-text search on mobile
- Custom font support for dictionary entries
- Add fonts to iOS version
- Dark mode
- Add collection folders
Show 17 moreShow fewer
- Login and sync function
- Fix clipboard auto-lookup in floating window
- Fix search bar behavior
- Support more extensions (.BGL, .LD2)
- Improve Mac version shortcut functionality
- Add test function
- Add support for .mdd downloads on iPhone
- Add scroll bar
- Add dict shortcut button in main window
- Improve file reader support
- Add simplified/traditional Chinese conversion for search
- Allow full screen on iPhone
- Font selection memory
- Improve configuration for dictionary grouping backup
- Support for iPhone 6/6 Plus
- Allow scrolling down precedents near a keyword
- Multi-dictionary lookup convenience
Chanary
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
MDict
No in-app purchases
Chanary
No in-app purchases
