Palabros vs Meshk
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Palabros
This app helps you understand and remember new Spanish and English vocabulary. Look up words, save them, and review using engaging games. It offers widgets for quick access and a word of the day feature.
- Spanish and English word lookup
- Official definitions and explanations
- Save words for review
- 4 vocabulary review game modes
- Home and Lock Screen widgets
- Word of the day
- Bilingual mode and pronunciation
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Find a word. Understand it. Make it yours. Palabros is an English and Spanish dictionary made for people who enjoy reading, writing, and discovering words. Its interface is available in English and Spanish. Look up a meaning when you need it. Explore the nuances when a word catches your interest. Save the words that matter to you and return to them until they become part of your vocabulary. Palabros uses spaced repetition to help those words stay with you. Widgets bring them back into view throughout your day, without needing to open the app or set aside time to study. UNDERSTAND A WORD Read the dictionary definition alongside a clear, plain-language explanation. Explore synonyms and antonyms to notice the shades of meaning, and listen to the pronunciation. Interactive etymology lets you explore where a word comes from. BILINGUAL MODE Look up English and Spanish words and explore translations in both directions. Palabros Pro offers advanced translations, with different equivalents grouped by meaning to help you choose the one that fits what you are reading. KEEP READING You come across an unfamiliar word in the middle of a page. With Reading Mode, say that word aloud and look up its meaning without typing or putting down your book. Turn on spoken answers if you would rather hear the explanation. At the end of your session, revisit the words you looked up and choose which ones to save. Your library grows with the words you decide to keep. RETURN TO YOUR WORDS A word you found in a novel. One you would like to use in your writing. A term you want to remember for your studies. Save them to your library and return to their meanings whenever you like. Organize your collection with tags and filters, or import your own lists. Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets keep your words in sight, giving you another chance to meet them outside the app. REVIEW AT YOUR OWN PACE With Palabros Pro, revisit your vocabulary in four review modes: choose the word, type the word, choose the definition, or write the definition in your own words. Try Review from time to time, and Palabros learns which words are harder for you to remember. With Smart priority enabled, widgets show those words more often, interspersed with the rest. The Review Widget shows a saved word with its definition blurred. Take a moment to recall the meaning, then tap to reveal it. Learning statistics help you follow your progress and see how your vocabulary grows. DISCOVER SOMETHING EACH DAY The Word of the Day invites you to get to know a new meaning. Find it in the app or its widgets, including the extra-large portrait widget. Palabros also includes actions for Siri and Shortcuts, so you can look up, save, and review words, or build your own shortcuts. A DICTIONARY TO KEEP CLOSE Both English and Spanish dictionaries are included in the app, so you can keep looking up definitions offline. On supported devices, Apple Intelligence generates explanations on device. Some features need an internet connection or downloaded resources. There are no ads. Take your time to read, look up a word, and return to it. PALABROS PRO Palabros is free to download. Palabros Pro gives your library and learning tools more room: unlimited saved words and Reading Mode sessions, all four review modes, the Review Widget, advanced translations, tags and filters, list import, learning statistics, widget customization, exclusive icons, and future Palabros Pro improvements. Advanced translations require an internet connection. Choose a monthly subscription, try the annual plan with seven days free if eligible, or get lifetime access. For the words you want to make your own. LEGAL · Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ · Privacy Policy: https://nachocerrato.com/palabros/privacy/
Meshk
Master beautiful handwriting with real-time stroke guidance and validation across multiple writing systems. Learn Latin, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and Devanagari with structured courses, animated guides, and scored practice sessions. Designed for iPad and Apple Pencil.
- Real-time stroke guidance and validation
- Support for 6+ writing systems
- Animated stroke guides
- Structured courses and exams
- Lined notebook mode
- Custom font import
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Learn to write by hand — really write. Meshk is a handwriting and calligraphy trainer that guides your pen stroke by stroke, scores every stroke in real time, and covers 140 writing systems in one app. From Latin cursive and Arabic calligraphy to Chinese hanzi, Japanese kana, Korean Hangul, Devanagari, Tamil, Thai, Cherokee, Ge'ez and N'Ko — 73 scripts in living use today, 66 historic ones, 163 practice packs and 12,818 characters, every one with authentic stroke order. WHAT YOU PRACTICE 140 writing systems Latin (print, cursive, formal script, school manuscript) and Cyrillic · Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac and Thaana · Chinese Simplified and Traditional, Japanese kanji and kana, Korean Hangul and hanja, Bopomofo · 39 Brahmic scripts including Devanagari, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Odia, Sinhala and Tibetan · 17 Southeast Asian scripts including Thai, Lao, Khmer, Burmese, Javanese, Balinese and Baybayin · African scripts including Ge'ez, N'Ko, Tifinagh, Vai, Adlam and Bamum · Armenian, Georgian and Greek · and 66 historic scripts from Egyptian-era alphabets to Runic, Gothic, Glagolitic, Old Turkic, Brahmi, Linear B and Cuneiform-era writing. Hat — classical Arabic calligraphy Five historical styles taught the traditional way: Naskh, Thuluth, Diwani, Ruq'ah and Kufi, with right-to-left guides and reed-pen (qalam) simulation that reproduces the angled nib of a real calligrapher. Hat Studio Meşk the way calligraphers learn it: 896 Arabic compositions, from single words and joined words to full lines, stacked compositions, panels, the tughra and mirrored writing, each written stroke by stroke with a reed pen. Eight more pen hands (Foundational, Uncial, Cyrillic and Greek broad pen, Hebrew Ashuri, Hangul Panbonche, Chinese Kaishu, Japanese Kaisho) and a drawing shelf of 84 exercises in line, ellipse, form, perspective, value, contour and construction. Real stroke scoring Not tracing theatre. Every stroke is compared with the master stroke for direction, order, shape and placement, then scored. Hints show exactly where your stroke went off. Animated stroke guides Watch each character written stroke by stroke, replay at your own speed, then write it yourself over a dotted outline, on lines, or on a blank page. Courses, lessons and exams Every script has a structured course: single letters, lowercase and uppercase, connecting letters, words, then an exam that scores you and awards stars. Kids Zone Playful, age-appropriate letter tracing for children — shapes, letters, words, badges and streaks, with a progress map they want to finish. Your own practice material Add your own words, your own texts and blank practice papers. Meshk builds lessons from whatever you want to write — a name, a poem, a vocabulary list. Import your own fonts Bring any writing style in as SVG and Meshk turns it into a guided, scored course. MADE FOR APPLE PENCIL Low-latency ink, pressure and tilt response, paper-texture haptics and hover support. It feels like a pen on paper, not a finger on glass. Works on iPhone too. PERFECT FOR • Adults fixing their handwriting • Language learners who want to write, not just type • Calligraphy beginners and enthusiasts • Children learning their first letters • Teachers and tutors running handwriting classes • Anyone learning a new alphabet before a trip, a course or an exam MESHK PRO Meshk Pro opens connecting letters, word lessons, unlimited exams and your own words, texts and practice papers in every course. Download Meshk and write your first letter today.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Palabros at 4.9 against Meshk's 3.9. Palabros also leads on review sentiment (86% vs 75%). Meshk's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 8) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Palabros sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Meshk asks for nothing beyond the download.
Palabros holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 16 and 10 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of Palabros's written reviews are positive against 75% of Meshk's.
Palabros ships an update every 4 days, Meshk weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Palabros | Meshk |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (16 ratings) — better | 3.9 (10 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 85.7% of reviews — better | 75.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 16 — better | 10 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 181 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nacho Cerrato Ruiz | Cihat Salik |
Customer experience
Palabros
Meshk
In-app purchases
Palabros
- Palabros Weekly$0.997 Days
- Palabros Month$2.991 Month
- Palabros Annual7 Days trial$15.991 Year
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- Palabros Annual7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- Palabros Pro$35.99
- Palabros Pro$49.99
- Palabros Pro (Support)$49.99
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- Palabros Pro Patron$99.99
Meshk
No in-app purchases









