# Novel vs Polylingo

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Novel at none against Polylingo's 3. Novel also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Polylingo's advantage is ratings volume (4 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.6). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Polylingo sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days. Novel asks for nothing beyond the download.

Novel holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 4 respectively.

Novel ships an update every 10 days, Polylingo every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Novel | Polylingo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novel-ai-reader/id6758115014/reviews)** | [4.8 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/polylingo-language-reader/id6758527666/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **4** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | **Every 6 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 2 MB | 128 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Tadashi Kumazawa](https://appshunter.io/developer/1871003924) | [Jesse Deng](https://appshunter.io/developer/1584491248) |

## What reviewers say

### Novel

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novel-ai-reader/id6758115014)

Enhance your reading comprehension with AI-powered explanations, summaries, and context. Highlight text to instantly get answers and understand complex material more easily. Features include a built-in dictionary and text-to-speech functionality.

**Highlights:** AI-powered explanations, Text summarization, Highlight and ask questions, Built-in dictionary, Text-to-speech, Focused reading experience

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Polylingo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/polylingo-language-reader/id6758527666)

Enhance language learning through reading with instant translations, synchronized audio narration, and AI-generated stories. Save new vocabulary and import your own content to practice reading in a foreign language.

**Highlights:** Instant tap-to-translate, Audio narration with word highlighting, AI-powered story generation, Personal phrase book, Import EPUB, PDF, and text files, 10 supported languages, Customizable reading themes

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly Pro Subscription | $5.99 | per 7 days |
| Monthly Pro | $14.99 | per month |
| Yearly Pro Subscription | $39.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Novel free?

Novel is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Polylingo free?

Polylingo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Novel or Polylingo?

Novel is rated higher. Novel averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Polylingo averages 4.8 from 4 ratings.

### Do Novel or Polylingo have ads?

Neither Novel nor Polylingo shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Novel or Polylingo?

Novel ships an update every 10 days, and Polylingo every 6 days. Most recently, Novel was updated on October 5, 2026 and Polylingo on September 29, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*