Quran Explorer vs Bayaan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Quran Explorer
Explore the Quran with a complete, ad-free digital text featuring diacritical marks and English translations. Listen to recitations, bookmark verses, and customize your reading experience with adjustable fonts and modes. Unlock more features with a one-time purchase.
- Complete Quran with diacritical marks
- Side-by-side English translation
- Audio recitation by famous Qari
- Bookmarking
- Scalable font sizes
- Portrait and landscape mode
- Ayah highlighting
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Our Quran Explorer app is the perfect tool for anyone seeking a comprehensive and user-friendly way to explore the Quran. Available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, this essential app is completely ad-free in both the basic and premium versions. Features include: - Complete, scalable Quran with all diacritical marks - Side-by-side English translation by Mufti Taqi Usmani with audio - Beautiful Uthmanic and IndoPak script (fonts) - Complete audio recitation by famous Qari Sheikh Mishari Rashid and more - Bookmarking up to 3 and more - Bulk download (for last ten suras only) - Portrait and landscape mode - Scalable font sizes - Sura and Juz index - High-quality audio recitation with ayah highlighting - Pinch/zoom feature for changing the font size - Fast audio playback through robust download method with progress icon - Colored ayah marking to show downloaded audio - Contextual toolbar on double tap - Option to update existing content (for fixing errors in Quran text, translation or audio) - Goto aya feature - Our complete Arabic text and translation have been proofread by a Muslim scholar ('alim), ensuring accuracy and authenticity. For those seeking even more features, our paid version (available for only USD $4.99) offers additional translations, reciters, English and Urdu translation audio, unlimited bookmarks, background audio, disable standby feature, bulk download, and much more. Explore the Quran like never before with our Quran Explorer app.
Bayaan
Listen to the Quran with over 200 reciters and a digital Mushaf. Features include real-time ayah highlighting, word-by-word meanings, translations, and memorization tools. Personalize your experience with custom playlists and ambient sounds.
- 200+ Quran reciters
- Digital Uthmani script Mushaf
- Real-time ayah highlighting
- Word-by-word meanings and translations
- Thematic verse highlighting
- Memorization tools
- Adhkar and ambient sounds
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Listen to the Quran the way it was meant to be heard. Bayaan brings together 200+ reciters, a stunning digital Mushaf, and thoughtful tools that help you build a deeper connection with the Quran. Whether you listen during your commute, read after Fajr, or memorize before bed, everything you need is in one place. The Mushaf A full Uthmani script reading experience with tajweed coloring, page-by-page navigation, and an immersive mode that clears everything but the words. Choose between Madani 1405, Madani 1421, or IndoPak Nastaliq script. Pick up right where you left off every time you open the app. All 20 Rewayat Read the mushaf in eight rewayat with full text and diff highlighting: Hafs, Warsh, Qalun, Al-Bazzi, Qunbul, Shu'bah, Al-Duri (Abu Amr), and Al-Susi. Twelve more rewayat are available for audio listening, rounding out every canonical qira'at narration. Follow Along Each ayah highlights in real time as the reciter reads, so you never lose your place. Available for dozens of your favorite reciters, with more being added regularly. Word by Word Tap any word in the Mushaf or player to see its meaning, transliteration, and root, right where you're reading. No switching screens, no losing context. Translations and Tafseer Browse dozens of translations and scholarly commentaries in multiple languages, all downloadable for offline reading. Switch between translations with a tap. Thematic Highlighting Verses are color-coded by theme so you can see the structure and topics of each surah at a glance. A quiet layer that makes the Quran's organization visible. Listen to Memorize Repeat a single ayah, play a range of verses, or loop an entire page. Built for hifdh students and anyone reviewing what they know. 200+ Reciters From Mishary Rashid Alafasy to Abdul Basit, from Al-Husary to lesser-known gems you will fall in love with. Browse by reciter, rewayah, or style. Adhkar The complete Hisnul Muslim collection with 134 categories, audio playback, Play All mode, and a favorites list for your daily routine. Ambient Sounds Layer rain, ocean, forest, thunder, and more over any recitation. Find your focus. Share and Save Share verses, surahs, mushaf pages, reciters, and adhkar with deep links that open back into the app. Bookmark, highlight, take notes, and copy any verse. Your annotations stay with you across the entire app. Personal Recitations Import your own recordings, tag them with surah and reciter info, and keep your personal collection organized alongside everything else. Offline Downloads Download individual surahs or entire playlists for listening without an internet connection. Playlists Create custom playlists, reorder tracks, and build your own listening routines. Reading Themes Choose from 12 color themes for your reading experience: warm cream, soft parchment, deep midnight, and more. Light and dark modes each have their own palette. Open Source Bayaan is released under AGPL-3.0 at github.com/thebayaan/Bayaan. Issues, pull requests, and translations are welcome. Designed with care. Dark mode. Lock screen controls. Background playback. Fast, smooth, and built for everyday use.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Bayaan at none against Quran Explorer's 2. Bayaan also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 months). Quran Explorer's advantage is ratings volume (55K vs 80) and device support (4 vs 2). 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. Quran Explorer sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Bayaan asks for nothing beyond the download.
Bayaan holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Quran Explorer has 55K ratings behind it against 80, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of Quran Explorer's written reviews are positive against 98% of Bayaan's.
Quran Explorer ships an update every 6 months, Bayaan fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Quran Explorer | Bayaan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (55K ratings) | 5.0 (80 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 92.7% of reviews | 97.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 55K — better | 80 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 112 MB | 224 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Noble Education Foundation, Inc. | Osman Saeday |
Customer experience
Quran Explorer
Bayaan
User reviews
Quran Explorer
From 55K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Best app
- 🚀 Excellent app
- 🚀 Amazing app
- 👍 Good app
- 👍 Wonderful app
Room to improve
- 🐛 Charging for the entire Quran?
- 🐛 Speaker not free!
- 🐛 Useless without purchase!
- 🐛 Problem with reciter
- 🐛 Internet Connectivity Issue
Bayaan
From 80 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Excellent user interface
- 🚀 Smooth and seamless experience
- 🕋 Organized and easy to navigate Quran content
- 🎨 Beautiful and peaceful design
- 🔍 Helpful features like verse context and reciter recommendations
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional scrolling issues when browsing reciters
Bugs and requests
Quran Explorer
Reported bugs
3 issues- Login screen freezes
- Incompatible with older devices
- Network error when playing some reciters
Requested features
12 requests- Audio translation switch off option
- Customizable marking for listening from random words
- Customizable listening feature like a MP3 player
- Juz/Sapara search and listen option
- Tajweed version for reading
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- Playlists of surahs for studying the Quran
- More reciters like Sheikh Noreen
- More English translations
- Word lookup with pronunciation
- Dark theme
- English search functionality
- Verse export with Sura:verse number format
Bayaan
Reported bugs
1 issue- Scrolling bug when browsing reciters
Requested features
2 requests- CarPlay support
- Reciter discovery and randomization features
In-app purchases
Quran Explorer
- Mishari-Rashid-HQFree
- Quran Explorer Full Upgrade$4.99
Bayaan
No in-app purchases









