Comparison

Poly Thai Reader vs ThaiCards

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

Head to head
About

Poly Thai Reader

This app offers a library of graded Thai stories with native audio and instant word definitions to help learners improve their reading comprehension and vocabulary. It features adjustable audio speed, romanization toggles, and grammar explanations for various learning levels.

Highlights
  • Graded Thai stories
  • Native Thai audio with adjustable speed
  • Instant word definitions
  • Favorite words list
  • Romanization toggle
  • Grammar explanations
  • 5 reading levels
Features
Read full description

Struggling to read Thai stories? I designed Poly Thai reader - Read Thai Stories อ่านภาษาไทย to make reading fun and accessible, with a library of graded stories perfect for every level! As a Thai teacher (from "Thai with Grace" on YouTube!), I know how hard it can be to find interesting Thai reading material that's perfect for your level. Other resources may lack the audio pronunciations or the ability to simply look up words with a tap. That's why I created Poly Thai reader - a Thai graded reader app filled with engaging stories that will help you improve your reading skills, whether you are just starting (you can use transliteration) or are intermediate already. I've included all kinds of stories about Thai culture, personal stories about my life, conversations/dialogues, and more. I carefully created each story to build your reading skills while keeping you entertained and motivated. Features: - Native Thai Audio: Listen to my voice as I read each story aloud! You'll learn the correct pronunciation and tones naturally, just by listening. You can also adjust the speed of the audio. - Word-by-Word Highlighting: Watch each word light up as I read it, so it's super easy to follow along. - Instant Word Definitions: Tap any word to see its meaning and hear native audio pronunciation instantly. - Favorite Words List: Save new words to your "favorites" list to review later and build your vocabulary. - Dictionary: Search thousands of Thai words to find the definition and hundreds of example sentences - Categorized words: Search through categories to learn Thai vocabulary and save any word to your own list! - Quiz yourself: Quiz yourself on your saved Thai words and sentences - Romanization Toggle: Turn the romanization (transliteration) on or off depending on your level. Great for beginners or those who want to read pure Thai! - Grammar explanations: Each level has grammar explanations to clear up any questions you might have. For example, explanations about Thai classifiers, pronouns in Thai, Thai patterns, and more. - Change font: You can change the font to practice reading Thai in different fonts. The stories in my graded Thai reader are designed to gradually improve your reading skills: 5 levels for Thai reading: 1. Newbie Level: very-simple stories with a very limited vocabulary. Perfect for those who are brand new to reading Thai! 2. Beginner Level: Simple stories with basic vocabulary and sentence structures. Great for building a strong foundation in easy Thai reading. 3. Easy Level: Slightly longer stories with a bit more vocabulary and some common grammar patterns. 4. Intermediate Level: More challenging Thai stories with a wider range of vocabulary and grammar concepts. 5. Hard Level: These stories have more complex topics, vocabs, patterns, are read at a normal pace (although you can adjust the speed), and are similar to Thai native level texts. Learn Thai for free or upgrade to access: - All the current and future stories - All the vocabulary categories Poly Thai reader is the perfect app for anyone learning Thai language and looking to improve their reading comprehension and vocabulary. If you are ready to level up your Thai reading skills - download Poly Thai reader today and see how quickly you improve! Terms of Use: https://thaiwithgrace.com/poly-thai-reader-terms Privacy Policy: https://thaiwithgrace.com/privacy-policy

About

ThaiCards

Features
Read full description

ThaiCards is a Thai flashcard app built on spaced repetition. It shows you each word right before you would forget it, and keeps bringing it back until it sticks. Every card carries Thai script, romanization, English and audio, so you can start before you can read Thai. Most of them carry a picture of the moment you would use the word in, which is what makes them stay put. Free to start. A beginner deck, the street food phrases and the coached practice tracks are open before you pay for anything, and you do not need an account to try them. Flashcards - Spaced repetition shows each word right before you would forget it. - Tap to flip between Thai and English. Swipe right or up when you know it, left or down to keep studying it. - Thai script, romanization and English on every card, with audio and tone information. - A daily queue sized to about ten minutes. Word Explorer - Browse thousands of common Thai words by category: basics, food, drinks, travel and more. - Ordered by how often Thai people actually say them, not by dictionary order. - Mark words known to clear them, or keep them in your deck. Situations - Whole phrases for the moments you are actually in: a food stall, a taxi, a market, a family meal, the bank counter. - Fourteen cards work the other way round. They show what somebody says to YOU, with the answer to give back, because asking a question is only half of it. - Tap any word in a phrase to see what it means, hear it on its own, and add it to your own deck. - Written for people who spend real time in Thailand, including a section for Isan and family life rather than tourism. Watch - A hands-off mode for the times you do not want to answer anything. Words play one after another with the audio and an illustration. - Choose one, two, three or four seconds a card and it keeps going on its own. - Slide anywhere in the deck: back to the most common words, forward into rarer ones, or to the point your studying has reached. - Over 2,500 Thai words, each with its own illustration. Coached practice - Work through guided tracks step by step, with a teacher panel that reads each line aloud. - Practice introductions and everyday conversation, one prompt at a time. - Choose your mix of Thai and English: mostly Thai, mostly English, or both. - Speak your answer and check it, or reveal the meaning and move on. Made for beginners - No prior Thai needed. Romanization sits beside the script from the first card. - An optional free account syncs your progress across devices. ThaiCards is an independent project, built by someone who splits time between the US and Thailand and married into a Thai family. It is updated often. If something is broken or confusing, email the developer and a human will answer. An internet connection is required. Subscription ThaiCards Premium is 1.99 USD per month and renews automatically until you cancel. The free tier includes a beginner deck, the street food situations and the coached practice. Premium opens the full deck catalogue, the rest of Watch and every Situations set, keeping words from Word Explorer, and custom vocabulary. You can cancel any time in Settings on your iPhone under your Apple Account, then Subscriptions. Cancelling stops the next renewal, and your access continues through the end of the period you have paid for. Terms of Service: https://flashcards.alexsears.org/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://flashcards.alexsears.org/privacy.html

Screenshots

Poly Thai Reader4 screens
ThaiCards4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: ThaiCards at every 4 days against Poly Thai Reader's monthly. ThaiCards also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and 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

Both are free to download. Poly Thai Reader sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and ThaiCards sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Poly Thai Reader ships an update monthly, ThaiCards every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Poly Thai Reader versus ThaiCards: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPoly Thai ReaderThaiCards
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (9 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings9 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size90 MB11 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperEdgar RuizAlex Sears CPA LLC

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Poly Thai Reader

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Yearly$69.991 Year
One-time1
  • Poly Thai Reader - Lifetime$99.99
1 purchases

ThaiCards

Subscriptions1
  • Thai Tutor Premium$1.991 Month

Questions

Is Poly Thai Reader free?
Poly Thai Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ThaiCards free?
ThaiCards is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Poly Thai Reader or ThaiCards have ads?
Neither Poly Thai Reader nor ThaiCards shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Poly Thai Reader or ThaiCards?
Poly Thai Reader ships an update monthly, and ThaiCards every 4 days. Most recently, Poly Thai Reader was updated on October 4, 2026 and ThaiCards on October 10, 2026.

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