Merriam vs Power Thesaurus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Offline dictionary access
- Voice search for words
- Daily Word of the Day
- Vocabulary word games
- Integrated thesaurus
- Audio pronunciations
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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
Power Thesaurus
Find accurate synonyms, antonyms, definitions, and related words with this comprehensive and fast thesaurus. Designed for writers, students, and professionals, it offers intuitive navigation and smart filters to help you express ideas clearly and confidently.
- Ad-free PRO Membership
- Intuitive navigation
- Smart filters
- Flexible sorting
- Quick tools (copy, pronounce, save)
- Personal library (favorites, history)
- Cross-device sync
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Brought to you by PowerThesaurus.org, the trusted and acclaimed online thesaurus. Discover accurate synonyms, antonyms, definitions and related words — expertly reviewed and continuously refined for clarity and context. Enjoy a fast, comprehensive, and user-friendly experience built for writers, students, and professionals. Power Thesaurus helps you express ideas clearly and confidently, wherever you write. Key Features • Ad-free PRO Membership – unlock more content and seamless browsing • Intuitive navigation – a clean, easy-to-use interface • Smart filters – narrow results by part of speech, tags, or type • Flexible sorting – arrange by rating, alphabet, syllables, or length • Quick tools – copy, pronounce, and save words instantly • Personal library – favorites and search history at your fingertips • Cross-device sync – access your account anywhere Loved by millions worldwide, Power Thesaurus makes word discovery effortless. If you enjoy the app, please take a moment to rate and review — your feedback helps us improve. Questions or suggestions? Contact apple@powerthesaurus.org. Write with confidence. Express with precision! Terms and Conditions: https://www.powerthesaurus.org/_terms_conditions Privacy Policy: https://www.powerthesaurus.org/_privacy_statement
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Merriam at 328K against Power Thesaurus's 3K. Merriam also leads on chart position (#35 vs unranked). Power Thesaurus's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Merriam sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.79 per month and Power Thesaurus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Merriam against 4.8 for Power Thesaurus. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Merriam has 328K ratings behind it against 3K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of Merriam's written reviews are positive against 86% of Power Thesaurus's.
Merriam ships an update every 3 months, Power Thesaurus monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Merriam | Power Thesaurus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (328K ratings) | 4.8 (3K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 83.2% of reviews | 85.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 328K — better | 3K |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #35 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 255 MB | 67 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Merriam-Webster, Inc. | Radyushin Pty Ltd |
Customer experience
Merriam
Power Thesaurus
User reviews
Merriam
From 328K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Comprehensive definitions
- 👍 Helpful thesaurus
- 🚀 Offline access
- 👍 Word of the day feature
Room to improve
- 🐛 Ads can be intrusive
- 🐛 Difficulty closing ads
- 🐛 Repetitive game questions
- 🐛 Missing words in dictionary
- 🐛 Unreasonable level progression in games
Power Thesaurus
From 3K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ⭐ Invaluable tool for everyone
- 🚀 Must have
- ⭐ Superior
- ⭐ Synonyms
- ⭐ Indispensable
Room to improve
- 🔌 Could be better
- 🐛 Crashes
- 🐛 Crashes the second you tried to open it
- 🐛 New updates cause crashes
- 🐛 Crashes and won't open
Bugs and 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
Power Thesaurus
Reported bugs
4 issues- Login screen freezes
- Incompatible with older devices
- Paid account suddenly gone?
- App still crashes after update
Requested features
5 requests- Separate favorites and new words/vocabulary
- Flash card review mode with audio
- Bookmark/favorite feature
- Dark mode option
- Advanced analytics dashboard
In-app purchases
Merriam
- Premium Monthly$1.791 Month
- Remove Ads$2.991 Year
- All References + Remove Ads7 Days trial$5.991 Year
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- Premium Annual7 Days trial$9.991 Year
Power Thesaurus
- PRO Monthly$3.991 Month
- PRO Annual$29.991 Year
Questions
Is Merriam free?
Is Power Thesaurus free?
Which has better reviews, Merriam or Power Thesaurus?
Do Merriam or Power Thesaurus have ads?
Which is updated more often, Merriam or Power Thesaurus?
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