Comparison

Collins COBUILD Dictionary vs Merriam

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

Head to head
About

Collins COBUILD Dictionary

This comprehensive English language reference tool offers clear definitions in full sentences, drawing from a vast database of real-world text. Enhance your writing and understanding with detailed word entries, example sentences, and advanced search and learning tools.

Highlights
  • Clear definitions in full sentences
  • Extensive word database
  • Thousands of example sentences
  • Search autocomplete
  • Keyword lookup
  • Camera and voice search
  • Favorites and recent word lists
Features
Read full description

You will find all the words you need, defined clearly in full sentences. Including a range of 17,000 headwords, 63,000 references and 25,000 examples, the information in this dictionary has been carefully chosen in order to allow the dictionary user to be a confident language user. It will enable you to write better in English as well as understand the language better. The Collins COBUILD Intermediate Dictionary is based on a huge database of text, both written and spoken, called The Bank of English. The Bank of English® contains over 650 million words, and it is the basis of all the statements that COBUILD makes about the language. The entries contain a detailed account of the main uses and meanings of every word. Each of the forms is listed at the start of each entry, along with information about alternative spellings, if any exist. Explanations are written in full sentences, show typical grammatical behavior and give a clear description of meaning. The thousands of examples are taken directly from The Bank of English®, showing typical patterns of usage and grammatical structure. LATEST APP UPDАТES:  • Learn in style with any of the four colorful new themes – The colorful layout will turn your learning experience into an enjoyable routine. Customize your dictionary and benefit from the cheerful mood your favorite color brings you.  • Dive right into the intricacies of the language - With new and convenient Home page, sleeker and more intuitive visual layout, as well as innovations in the speed of searches, you can get to the desired entry faster than ever.   SEARCH TOOLS - quickly find words with the clear, functional, and easy-to-use interface. Designed to provide the most comprehensive search experience, the dictionary combines several search tools to match or predict what are you looking for, including:  • Search autocomplete helps you find words quickly by displaying predictions as you type.  • Keyword lookup allows you to search within compound words and phrases.  • Camera search looks up words in the camera viewfinder and displays results in seconds.  • Voice search helps you find an entry when you don’t know how a word is spelled. Looking for a specific word but don't know how it's spelled? We've got you covered with our automatic ‘Fuzzy filter’ to correct word spelling, as well as ‘Wild card’ ('*' or '?') to replace a letter or entire parts of a word. LEARNING TOOLS - engaging features that help you further enhance your vocabulary. Designed to give you freedom to structure your studies, the dictionary combines several learning tools to help you be more organized, including:  • ‘Favorites’ that allow you to create custom folders with lists of words.  • Recent list which helps you to easily review looked-up words.  • Swipe-to-delete functionality in the Recent and Favorites menus.  • Word-of-the-day option to teach you a new word every day. Feel excited by the new word or definition you just learned? Share your discovery with friends on social media, email or any other option available on your device.

About

Merriam

Access America's most respected dictionary, updated with new words and meanings. This app offers offline access, voice search, daily vocabulary challenges, and a thesaurus. It's designed for English language reference, education, and vocabulary enhancement.

Highlights
  • Offline dictionary access
  • Voice search for words
  • Daily Word of the Day
  • Vocabulary word games
  • Integrated thesaurus
  • Audio pronunciations
Features
Read full description

Get America's most useful and respected dictionary, optimized for your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Continuously updated with the newest words and meanings, this is the premier iOS app for English language reference, education, and vocabulary building. Key Features: * Offline access: Complete access to definitions and synonyms whether or not you're connected * Voice Search: look up a word without having to spell it * Word of the Day: learn a new word every day * Word Games: fun, fast quizzes to test your vocabulary * Favorite Words and Search History: keep track of the words that are most important to you * Favorite Word Syncing Through iCloud: share your favorites between devices and on the Web * In-app purchase: an ad-free experience + access to Kids, Medical, and Legal dictionaries * For Tablets: browse the entire dictionary with a scrolling index * Apple Watch Extension: see the Word of the Day and find watch-sized definitions with voice search Expert Word Guidance: * Integrated Thesaurus: more than 200,000 word choices with examples of their use * Example Sentences: understand how a word is used in context * Audio Pronunciations: voiced by real English speakers, not text-to-speech robots Terms of Use: https://www.merriam-webster.com/terms-of-use

Screenshots

Collins COBUILD Dictionary4 screens
Merriam4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Merriam at Free against Collins COBUILD Dictionary's $11.99. Merriam also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (328K vs 46). Collins COBUILD Dictionary's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Merriam is free to download; Collins COBUILD Dictionary costs $11.99 up front. Merriam sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.79 per month. Collins COBUILD Dictionary asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Merriam holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Merriam has 328K ratings behind it against 46, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of Collins COBUILD Dictionary's written reviews are positive against 83% of Merriam's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Collins COBUILD Dictionary ships an update every 9 months, Merriam every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard10 real differences · 1 level
Collins COBUILD Dictionary versus Merriam: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCollins COBUILD DictionaryMerriam
Price$11.99Free — better
Rating4.4 (46 ratings)4.8 (328K ratings) — better
Positive reviews59.2% of reviews83.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings46328K — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank—#56 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB255 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperMobiSystems, Inc.Merriam-Webster, Inc.

Customer experience

Collins COBUILD Dictionary

All ratings46 ratings
Positive84.8%
Neutral4.3%
Negative10.9%
Written reviews49 reviews
Positive59.2%
Neutral16.3%
Negative24.5%

Merriam

All ratings327,751 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral2.1%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews2,560 reviews
Positive83.2%
Neutral4.8%
Negative12.0%

Bugs and requests

Collins COBUILD Dictionary

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Merriam

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes when searching for certain words
  • Widget does not update daily word
  • Scribble feature is buggy
  • Inconsistent ad behavior

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add spelling correction suggestions
  • Improve word game timer and scoring
  • Expand etymology information
  • Add more languages beyond English
  • Improve widget functionality

In-app purchases

None

Collins COBUILD Dictionary

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Merriam

Subscriptions4
  • Premium Monthly$1.791 Month
  • Remove Ads$2.991 Year
  • All References + Remove Ads7 Days trial$5.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Premium Annual7 Days trial$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Collins COBUILD Dictionary free?
Collins COBUILD Dictionary costs $11.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Merriam free?
Merriam is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Collins COBUILD Dictionary or Merriam?
Merriam is rated higher. Collins COBUILD Dictionary averages 4.4 out of 5 from 46 ratings, while Merriam averages 4.8 from 328K ratings.
Do Collins COBUILD Dictionary or Merriam have ads?
Merriam shows ads; Collins COBUILD Dictionary does not.
Which is updated more often, Collins COBUILD Dictionary or Merriam?
Collins COBUILD Dictionary ships an update every 9 months, and Merriam every 3 months. Most recently, Collins COBUILD Dictionary was updated on October 16, 2026 and Merriam on October 17, 2026.

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