Comparison

Widget Learner vs LockVocab

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

Head to head
About

Widget Learner

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Learn English vocabulary without opening an app: Widget Learner puts new words right on your Home Screen widget. Lock them in with 4 quiz types and keep your review streak going. The app menus come in 19 languages. Word meanings and example sentences are in English. Features: • Home Screen widgets for quick review • Pick a word level (Lv.1–4) for Learn, Exam, and your widget • Daily vocabulary learning • Multiple quiz modes, including multiple choice, spelling, reverse mode, and fill in the blank • Progress tracking and review tools • A clean interface with light and dark themes Widget Learner Pro (auto-renewing subscription) Without a subscription, you can still flip cards, learn with the widget, and take Today’s Quiz once a day. Pro adds: • No ads • Unlimited widget words from day one • Quizzes cost 0 gems, with no daily limit • Full usage pack for more than 4,800 A1–B2 English words: 3 collocations, 1 common phrase, and 2 example sentences per word, with no translations (without Pro: 1 collocation per word) • Restore your purchase on a new phone or after reinstalling Pro comes as a monthly or yearly plan. The App Store shows the price. • Payment is charged to your Apple ID account when you confirm the purchase. • The subscription renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the current period ends. • The renewal is charged within 24 hours before the current period ends. • To manage or cancel, go to Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://keeponfirst.com/privacy/

About

LockVocab

Features
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You wake your phone 80 times a day. What if each one taught you a word? LockVocab turns your Lock Screen into a vocabulary card you cannot miss. No app to open, no time to set aside — the word is simply there, where you already look. See it enough times and it sticks. Built for exams and for work: 5,200 words — 1,500 TOEIC core, 1,400 business English, 1,000 everyday English and 1,300 IELTS/TOEFL academic vocabulary. The TOEIC, business and academic lists are calibrated against published exam-corpus frequency lists, and every word comes with phonetics, a plain-English definition, synonyms, word origin and a natural example sentence. WHAT YOU GET • Vocabulary on your Lock Screen 21 paper-style templates (single word, example card, vertical, manuscript grid, multi-word lists, side-by-side translations and more), 8 accent colors and 4 typefaces, mixed however you like, on a built-in background or your own photo. A Shortcut swaps in fresh words on a schedule you choose. • Live Activity and Dynamic Island Turn on Live Activity and a word card stays on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, like a widget — tap the corner for the next batch, without opening the app. • Add your own words Missing a word? Type it in and AI fills in the part of speech, pronunciation, meaning and an example sentence, and you can edit anything it writes. Words already in the library use the built-in entry. • Import from photos Snap a vocabulary page from your textbook or an English article. AI turns the whole page into a word list; check the ones you want and import them in one go. From articles it picks the words worth learning and uses the article's own sentences as examples. • One-tap setup Add the ready-made Shortcut in a single tap, then follow the step-by-step guide, as pictures or as a short video, if you also want the wallpaper to change itself every day. Switch to the Shortcuts app mid-video and it keeps playing in Picture in Picture. • Learn and review Mark each card "got it" or "not yet", save favorites, tap to hear the pronunciation. Everything you missed collects into a review list you can also use as your wallpaper source. • Choose what you study Pick your source: all words, favorites, words you missed, your own words (My picks), TOEIC core, business English, everyday English, or IELTS/TOEFL. The wallpaper and the Live Activity can each use a different one. ABOUT PAYING The first 100 words, every template that shows 1–4 words (10 in all), photo backgrounds and up to 20 words of your own are free, and you can try photo import 3 times. A single purchase unlocks every word, the topic word lists, the 5–10 word templates and photo import, with no limit on your own words (AI fill-in has daily and monthly usage caps). No subscription, no auto-renewal, no ads. PRIVACY No account, no personal data, no ad tracking. Your progress and your own words stay on your device. Only if you allow AI word fill-in does the app send the English words and the text recognized in your photo (never the photo itself) through our server to Anthropic's AI model (Claude). Nothing is used to train AI, Anthropic deletes it within 30 days, and you can turn it off anytime in Settings. Everything works offline except the setup videos and AI fill-in. The app sends only anonymous usage statistics, with no personal data, to help improve it. Wake your phone. Learn a word.

Screenshots

Widget Learner4 screens
LockVocab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: LockVocab at none against Widget Learner's shown. LockVocab also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 days). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. Widget Learner sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and LockVocab sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Widget Learner ships an update every 5 days, LockVocab every 2 days. Both last shipped on November 13, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
Widget Learner versus LockVocab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWidget LearnerLockVocab
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developeryu te LinPoyu Chiang

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Widget Learner

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly1 Month trial$0.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly1 Year trial$5.991 Year
2 purchases

LockVocab

One-time2
  • Full Version · Limited Price$2.99
  • Full Version · One-Time$5.99

Questions

Is Widget Learner free?
Widget Learner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is LockVocab free?
LockVocab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Widget Learner or LockVocab have ads?
Widget Learner shows ads; LockVocab does not.
Which is updated more often, Widget Learner or LockVocab?
Widget Learner ships an update every 5 days, and LockVocab every 2 days. Most recently, Widget Learner was updated on November 13, 2026 and LockVocab on November 13, 2026.

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