Comparison

PhraseByPhrase vs SentenceDeck

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

Head to head
About

PhraseByPhrase

Features
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PhraseByPhrase helps you learn languages using real-world podcasts and audiobooks. You can choose from a wide variety of audio content and turn it into an effective listening and shadowing exercise. The app includes a podcast catalog where you can select your favorite episodes and use them to practice your target language. It automatically splits audio files into short phrases and plays them one by one, making it easy to listen, repeat, and fully understand each segment. For every selected audio segment, PhraseByPhrase provides an AI-generated transcription, a translation into your preferred language, and a clear explanation of difficult expressions โ€” all in one place. Learn naturally, at your own pace, with the content you enjoy. Further Information: Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy: https://phrase-by-phrase.com/data-safety.html

About

SentenceDeck

Features
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Practice the conversations you will actually have. Pick a scene โ€” airport check-in, ordering coffee, a job interview โ€” and SentenceDeck uses AI to write a short dialogue for your level. You say your lines; your partner's lines are played for you. It is shadowing, made real: hear each line, say it, then hear yourself back. No grades, no corrections, no leaderboards โ€” just a calm, repeatable way to rehearse real situations out loud, in a hand-drawn sketchbook. HOW A SCENE WORKS 1. Choose from 30 everyday scenes in five categories: Travel, Daily Life, Work, Social and Emergencies 2. Pick your level (A2, B1 or B2) and a voice for each side of the dialogue 3. Practice line by line: listen to the reference, speak โ€” recording stops when you stop speaking โ€” then play yourself back. Play your own lines, swap to the other role, or practice both sides 4. Finish with a short recap: lines practiced, time spent and the lines you recorded again Line-by-line translations in your interface language are one tap away. A/B compare, sentence lock and playback speed (0.75ร— to 1.5ร—) are all there while you practice. A STAMP FOR EVERY SCENE Finish a scene and it is stamped into your passport, next to today's lines, your day streak and your total. My Scenes keeps every dialogue you have practiced, with all its versions, ready to search and practice again. DESCRIBE YOUR OWN SCENE Type a situation in one sentence โ€” "Calling my landlord because the water heater is broken" โ€” and get a dialogue written for it. Your description is sent to an AI service to write the dialogue, and the app asks for your permission before the first time. Everyday situations only; please leave out names and contact details. Any AI-written dialogue can be reported from the practice screen or the recap. READY OFFLINE 21 built-in English scenes (B1) come with audio, are free to practice and work without a connection, so you can start talking the moment you open the app. TWO WAYS TO WRITE A DIALOGUE โ€ข Standard: free, with a number of free dialogues every day โ€ข Detailed: richer context and more natural lines. Uses characters from your balance; the cost is shown before you start, and nothing is charged if writing fails TWO KINDS OF VOICE System voice: built into iOS. Free, offline, unlimited. Premium voice: natural, lifelike voices that speak each line with the mood of the scene. Premium audio is generated sentence by sentence as you practice and paid for in characters. The same sentence is cached for replay with the same voice settings; changing the voice may generate it again and use characters again. READ ALONG WITH YOUR OWN TEXT Paste an article, a script or presentation notes โ€” or import a text file โ€” and practice it sentence by sentence. Backup & Restore keeps the audio you generated. LANGUAGES Practice English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, Italian or German. The app itself speaks 10 interface languages, on iPhone and iPad, in light or dark mode. CHARACTER PACKS โ€ข 6,000 characters โ€ข 30,000 characters โ€ข 72,000 characters Characters never expire and are used for premium voice and Detailed dialogues. The App Store shows the local price for your region. Whether you are getting ready for a trip, a job interview, IELTS or TOEFL, or simply want to sound natural in everyday conversations, SentenceDeck gives you a focused speaking routine for the situations that matter to you. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.kuroneko-cmd.dev/privacy/sentencedeck/

Screenshots

PhraseByPhrase4 screens
SentenceDeck4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: PhraseByPhrase at every 9 days against SentenceDeck's every 6 weeks. PhraseByPhrase also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. PhraseByPhrase sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and SentenceDeck sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PhraseByPhrase ships an update every 9 days, SentenceDeck every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
PhraseByPhrase versus SentenceDeck: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhraseByPhraseSentenceDeck
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 9 days โ€” betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 โ€” better17.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size21 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperValeri Liebertๅฅ‡ๆฟ‚ ไปป

In-app purchases

3 purchases

PhraseByPhrase

Subscriptions3
  • Basic$5.991 Month
  • Advanced$12.991 Month
  • Premium$19.991 Month
3 purchases

SentenceDeck

One-time3
  • Credits 100$0.99
  • Credits 500$3.99
  • Credits 1200$7.99

Questions

Is PhraseByPhrase free?
PhraseByPhrase is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SentenceDeck free?
SentenceDeck is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PhraseByPhrase or SentenceDeck have ads?
Neither PhraseByPhrase nor SentenceDeck shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PhraseByPhrase or SentenceDeck?
PhraseByPhrase ships an update every 9 days, and SentenceDeck every 6 weeks. Most recently, PhraseByPhrase was updated on October 4, 2026 and SentenceDeck on October 15, 2026.

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