# Merriam vs Ultimate Ranks

The clearest difference is ads: Ultimate Ranks at none against Merriam's shown. Ultimate Ranks also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). Merriam's advantage is ratings volume (331K vs 1) and chart position (#50 vs unranked). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Merriam sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.79 per month and Ultimate Ranks sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Ultimate Ranks holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Merriam has 331K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Merriam ships an update every 3 months, Ultimate Ranks weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Merriam | Ultimate Ranks |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (331K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merriam-webster-dictionary/id399452287/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ultimate-ranks/id6761880072/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **331K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 83.2% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#50** | — |
| Size | 255 MB | 34 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Merriam-Webster, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/399452290) | [Joseph Casciano](https://appshunter.io/developer/1891918174) |

## What reviewers say

### Merriam

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merriam-webster-dictionary/id399452287)

**Currently charting:** #50 Top Free · Reference, #80 Top Grossing · Reference (US App Store)

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:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Monthly | $1.79 | per month |
| Remove Ads | $2.99 | per year |
| All References + Remove Ads | $5.99 | per year |
| Premium Annual | $9.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Comprehensive definitions
- 👍 Helpful thesaurus
- 🚀 Offline access
- 👍 Word of the day feature

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Ads can be intrusive
- 🐛 Difficulty closing ads
- 🐛 Repetitive game questions
- 🐛 Missing words in dictionary
- 🐛 Unreasonable level progression in games

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

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


### Ultimate Ranks

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ultimate-ranks/id6761880072)

Discover the best movies, games, books, and music based on aggregated critical consensus. Track your progress, manage wishlists, and sync your data across devices. The basic version is free, with premium options for advanced features.

**Highlights:** Aggregated best-of lists, Track progress and wishlists, Sync data via iCloud, Import/export data (CSV), Rate items, Premium features available

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly | $3.99 | per month |
| Yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| Lifetime | $89.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Merriam free?

Merriam is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Ultimate Ranks free?

Ultimate Ranks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Merriam or Ultimate Ranks?

Ultimate Ranks is rated higher. Merriam averages 4.8 out of 5 from 331K ratings, while Ultimate Ranks averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Merriam or Ultimate Ranks have ads?

Merriam shows ads; Ultimate Ranks does not.

### Which is updated more often, Merriam or Ultimate Ranks?

Merriam ships an update every 3 months, and Ultimate Ranks weekly. Most recently, Merriam was updated on November 3, 2026 and Ultimate Ranks on October 31, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*