Comparison

Hob Learning vs Kitabi

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

Head to head
About

Hob Learning

Learn spoken Levantine Arabic through structured courses, interactive exercises, and real-life videos from native speakers. This app focuses on practical conversation skills, helping you understand and respond in authentic dialogues.

Highlights
  • Structured Arabic courses
  • Interactive vocabulary games
  • Real-life video lessons
  • Native speaker content
  • Conversation dictionary
  • Daily learning path
Features
Read full description

Learn real spoken Levantine Arabic Most apps feel generic and disconnected from how people actually speak. Hob Learning teaches you real spoken Arabic, built for you to understand and respond in real conversations. YOUR DAILY PLAN (NO GUESSING) Open the app, follow your path, and make progress. No decisions and no overwhelm. WHAT YOU’LL GET: • 5 structured courses Built into your daily path • Vocabulary that actually sticks Interactive games + quizzes • Interactive listening activities Watch, toggle subtitles, and test your understanding with built-in questions • 600+ real-life videos From native speakers across the Levant • Dictionary built for real conversation Carefully selected and reviewed by experts for real-life use MADE FOR REAL LIFE Understand what people are saying. Actually know what to say back. NOT BUILT LIKE OTHER LANGUAGE APPS Most apps miss the nuance of real language. Hob is built by real speakers, with cultural context, so what you learn actually holds up in real life. Finally, a way to actually learn real Arabic. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Kitabi

Learn Arabic by reading actual books, stories, and dialogues. Tap any word for instant meaning, or a sentence for translation. Practice vocabulary with smart flashcards and import your own content for interactive lessons.

Highlights
  • Read actual Arabic books and dialogues
  • Tap words for instant meaning and roots
  • Tap sentences for full translation
  • Smart flashcards for vocabulary practice
  • Import YouTube videos and articles
  • Track vocabulary progress
Features
Read full description

Kitabi is a different kind of Arabic learning app. Instead of endless multiple-choice quizzes, you read and watch real Arabic — books, stories, dialogues and videos. Tap any word to see its meaning instantly. Tap a sentence to see the full translation. It's the closest thing to having a tutor sitting beside you. YOUR OWN ARABIC LIBRARY Browse a growing collection of Arabic books: stories of the prophets, the life of the Prophet Muhammad saw, hadith, supplications, everyday dialogues and more. Every word is tappable — meaning, root and related forms, one tap away. Save the words you want to remember and watch them highlight across every book you read. WATCH REAL ARABIC Cartoons, stories and vlogs in Arabic, with live subtitles that follow the video. Tap any word as it's spoken to see what it means. Pick a topic, or search for a word and jump straight to the moment it's said. TAP TO TRANSLATE Read naturally. When you hit a word you don't know, tap it. A clean panel shows the meaning, the root and related words. Tap the sentence for the full translation. No switching apps, no copy-pasting into a translator. HEAR EVERY WORD Native-quality audio throughout. Tap to hear a single word pronounced correctly, or listen to a whole passage read aloud while you follow along. EXPLORE ARABIC ROOTS Arabic is built from three-letter roots, and once you see them the language stops feeling random. The Explorer maps any word back to its root and shows you the family it belongs to — the verbs, the nouns and the patterns that connect them. VOCABULARY THAT STICKS Every word you meet is tracked. Practise with flashcards that adapt to your level, plus listening, matching, scramble and speed-match exercises. Words you struggle with come back more often. Picture Words teaches everyday vocabulary with animated illustrations across 35+ topics, and the built-in dictionary is always a tap away. START FROM ZERO Never seen the Arabic script before? The alphabet course takes you letter by letter — the shapes, the sounds, and how each one changes at the start, middle and end of a word. IMPORT YOUR OWN VIDEOS Paste a YouTube link and Kitabi turns it into an interactive Arabic lesson, with word-by-word translation and playback synced to the text. LEARN IN YOUR LANGUAGE The app speaks your language: English, French, German, Spanish, Turkish, Russian, Urdu, Bengali, Indonesian, Malay and more. FREE AND PREMIUM Kitabi is free to start. You get free chapters in every book, daily flashcard practice, the dictionary, Picture Words, exercises and the alphabet course. Kitabi Premium unlocks everything: • Every book and every chapter • Watch — the full Arabic video feed • Unlimited flashcards and practice • The full root and word-family Explorer • Import from YouTube • Everything we add later SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Kitabi Premium is available as an auto-renewing subscription. The annual plan includes a 7-day free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription renews automatically for the same period and price unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renewal at any time in your Apple ID account settings. In some regions Kitabi Premium is also available as a one-time purchase that does not renew. Whether you're a complete beginner or an intermediate learner who wants to understand real Arabic, Kitabi gives you the tools to actually understand what you're reading and hearing — not just memorise words in isolation. Start reading Arabic today. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://kitabi.space/privacy

Screenshots

Hob Learning4 screens
Kitabi4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Hob Learning at none against Kitabi's shown. Hob Learning also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Hob Learning sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month and Kitabi sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Hob Learning holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hob Learning has 85 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 93% of Hob Learning's written reviews are positive against 100% of Kitabi's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hob Learning ships an update weekly, Kitabi every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Hob Learning versus Kitabi: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHob LearningKitabi
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (85 ratings) — better4.6 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews92.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings85 — better8
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size75 MB160 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSofia MitreZani Dobruna

Customer experience

Hob Learning

All ratings84 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews27 reviews
Positive92.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.4%

Kitabi

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Hob Learning

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription14 Days trial$199.991 Year
2 purchases

Kitabi

Subscriptions2
  • Kitabi Premium$12.991 Month
  • Kitabi Premium7 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Hob Learning free?
Hob Learning is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Kitabi free?
Kitabi is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Hob Learning or Kitabi?
Hob Learning is rated higher. Hob Learning averages 5.0 out of 5 from 85 ratings, while Kitabi averages 4.6 from 8 ratings.
Do Hob Learning or Kitabi have ads?
Kitabi shows ads; Hob Learning does not.
Which is updated more often, Hob Learning or Kitabi?
Hob Learning ships an update weekly, and Kitabi every 3 weeks. Most recently, Hob Learning was updated on October 24, 2026 and Kitabi on October 24, 2026.

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