Maktabati vs Arabic Minute
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Maktabati
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Learn Arabic by reading real Islamic books, one word at a time. Maktabati is a quiet reading room for anyone learning Classical Arabic (fuṣḥā) and the Arabic of the Qur'an and hadith. Tap any word to see what it means in that sentence, with its root, dictionary form and grammar. Save the words you meet, quiz yourself on them, and earn back screen time by reading. A SHELF OF CLASSICAL BOOKS • Qaṣaṣ an-Nabiyyīn, the Stories of the Prophets by Abū al-Ḥasan an-Nadwī: fully voweled, with audio for every word, and the place to begin • Imam an-Nawawī's Forty Hadith: fully voweled, with audio for every word • Forty Hadith Qudsī, sayings of Allah narrated by the Prophet (peace be upon him): fully voweled, with audio for every word • Min Akhlāq ar-Rasūl al-Karīm, on the character of the Prophet (peace be upon him), for readers ready for a moderate text • Laftat al-Kabid by Ibn al-Jawzī, a father's advice to his son, at a moderate level New books arrive in the online library as they're added, with no app update needed. Short chapters, three Arabic fonts, any text size, and two columns on iPad. Maktabati opens where you stopped. EVERY WORD EXPLAINED Tap a word to see its meaning in context and hear it pronounced. Open it further in the Arabic dictionary for: • its parts, such as the article al- and the stem • its dictionary form, pattern and part of speech, and whether a noun is masculine or feminine • its meanings in plain English, each also explained in Arabic • example sentences from the books • its plural, feminine and other forms • its root, with a page for every root and the words built from it FIND A WORD Search a book for an Arabic word, with or without vowels and in all its forms, or for an English word in the translation, and jump to every place it appears. FLASHCARDS FOR YOUR VOCABULARY Save any word with one tap. Cards earn stars as you answer them, from new to mastered, and you can group them into decks. QUIZ YOURSELF IN A MINUTE Each quiz picks the ten words you need most, and asks about them five ways: meaning, sound, a gap in a sentence, root, or Arabic explanation. Premium adds two word games, Root Garden and Sentence Builder. READ MORE, SCROLL LESS Choose the apps that pull you away and give them a balance of minutes. Every minute you read and every quiz answer you get right earns a minute, up to the limit you set. When the balance runs out, Maktabati can block those apps until you've read a little more. Focus uses Apple's Screen Time, and the apps you choose stay private on your device. ON ALL YOUR DEVICES Sign in with Apple or Google, if you like, to keep your saved words, decks and reading place on your iPhone and iPad. No account is needed to read, and the books work offline. WATCH YOURSELF GROW Keep a daily streak, see this week's reading at a glance, and follow your words mastered, roots met and quiz accuracy. Eight achievements, each with levels, mark the way. MAKTABATI PREMIUM Maktabati is free to download. The free plan includes reading, the word panel, each word's dictionary form and root, up to 15 saved words, unlimited quizzes, and Focus. Premium adds full dictionary entries, unlimited saved words, your own decks, Root Garden and Sentence Builder, and requests for the next book on the shelf. Premium is an auto-renewing weekly, monthly or yearly subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it's cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for the renewal within 24 hours before that period ends. You can manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings at any time. Privacy Policy: https://www.ilmtech.ltd/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Arabic Minute
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Learn Arabic one minute at a time. Put a daily Arabic word on your lock screen, and talk with AI tutors whenever you want to speak. Every word comes with its root, pattern, sound and a real example, so each minute shows you how Arabic actually works. Start free. No sign-up needed. YOUR LOCK SCREEN, IN ARABIC • Daily Word and Daily Proverb widgets for the Lock Screen and Home Screen (iOS 17 or later) • Meaning, transliteration, root letters, pattern and an example sentence for every word • Keep one word pinned all day, or let the app choose one at your level TALK: SPEAKING PRACTICE WITH EIGHT AI TUTORS Chat by text or start a live voice call with Layla, Abu Youssef, Um Saeed, Dr. Karima, Scheherazade, Ibn Battuta, Ahmad Shawqi or Imru' al-Qais. Each tutor is an AI character with a voice and a register of their own, from everyday Gulf and Egyptian Arabic to classical fusha. They reuse the words you are studying, correct you gently, explain why, and give you a recap with corrections you can save and review. Free every day: 2 minutes of live talk and 10 tutor messages. Premium: 10 minutes and 60 messages a day. ROOTS: WHERE ARABIC STARTS TO MAKE SENSE Arabic words grow from three-letter roots that share a core meaning. Tap a word to see its whole family: teacher, to learn, knowledge and world all come from ع-ل-م. Once you see the system, new words stop feeling random. LETTERS, READING AND WRITING • All 28 letters in 7 groups by shape, in every positional form, with audio • Trace letters and words with your finger • Reading passages and listening practice PRACTICE THAT STICKS • Flashcards with spaced repetition • Quizzes, sentence builder and verb conjugation drills • Daily challenge and streaks • A placement test so you start at the right level • Clear grammar lessons: pronouns, the definite article, gender, plurals, verb forms and more • Export your words as an .apkg flashcard deck MSA AND DIALECTS, SIDE BY SIDE Compare Modern Standard Arabic with Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf and Maghrebi Arabic, so you know what to say in a book and what to say in a café. CALLIGRAPHY AND PROVERBS Turn classical poetry and more than 100 proverbs into Arabic wallpapers, in your choice of style and color. PROGRESS Streaks, levels from the alphabet to advanced, achievements and a calendar of your study days. More than 750 hand-picked words and all 28 letters, with audio, built with deep respect for the Arabic language and its speakers. Talk needs an internet connection. ARABIC MINUTE PREMIUM Premium is an optional monthly auto-renewing subscription that gives you 10 minutes of live talk and 60 tutor messages a day. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings. Begin today. مرحباً Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://arabic-minute-ai.abdulla-saeed-alhemeiri.workers.dev/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Arabic Minute at 15.0 against Maktabati's 17.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Maktabati sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and Arabic Minute sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Maktabati ships an update every 5 days, Arabic Minute every 9 days. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.
| Parameter | Maktabati | Arabic Minute |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 9 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 58 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ilmtech Limited | Abdulla Alhemeiri |
In-app purchases
Maktabati
- Maktabati Premium (Weekly)$2.997 Days
- Maktabati Premium (Monthly)$6.991 Month
- Maktabati Premium (Yearly)$39.991 Year
Arabic Minute
- Arabic Minute Premium$9.991 Month









