Comparison

Poly vs Lingo Academy

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

Head to head
About

Poly

Features
Read full description

Language Learning: Listen and Read Your Favorite Story Books Subscription & Premium Features Poly: Story offers optional auto-renewable subscriptions that unlock premium features such as: โ€ข Unlimited stories โ€ข Advanced language tools โ€ข Additional learning content Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple ID account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Lingo Academy

Features
Read full description

Learn a language the way you will actually use it โ€” speaking, listening and reading real sentences from your very first lesson. Lingo Academy teaches 12 languages, and you can study any of them from 36 native languages. You always learn from the language you already think in. TWELVE LANGUAGES, ONE APP English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Polish, Turkish and Dutch. Each one is a real curriculum, taught in order the way a language is taught at school โ€” chapter by chapter, from your first greeting to holding a real conversation. BUILT AROUND SPEAKING โ€ข Speech recognition marks your pronunciation word by word, as you say it โ€ข Native-quality audio on every word, phrase and sentence โ€ข Missed a sound? Play it back slowly and try again โ€ข You speak out loud from lesson one, not lesson fifty TALK WITH AN AI TUTOR Practice real conversation whenever you want. Speak out loud and your tutor answers aloud โ€” or type, if that's easier, in the language you're learning or in your own. Every reply is translated underneath, and suggestions are ready when you're stuck for words. The tutor runs entirely on your device: download it once, and your conversations stay private and work with no internet. FIVE WAYS TO PRACTICE Multiple choice, writing, speaking, dragging letters into place, and ordering words into a sentence. Every exercise attacks the same vocabulary from a different angle, which is what makes it stay. GRAMMAR, EXPLAINED LIKE A PERSON WOULD Every lesson opens with short explanation cards, before a single exercise, covering exactly the rules that lesson is about to use. You meet a rule the moment it starts to matter, not as a wall of grammar to memorize up front. BILINGUAL AUDIOBOOKS Everyday conversations, read out loud: greetings and small talk, ordering in a restaurant, checking into a hotel, a visit to the doctor, shopping, getting around a city โ€” plus classic tales to unwind with. Every sentence is read in the language you are learning and then straight away in yours, so you always know what you just heard and never stop to look anything up. Playback keeps going when you leave the app, so a commute, a walk or the washing up becomes practice. PROGRESS WORTH KEEPING โ€ข Streaks and active days that reward turning up โ€ข Badges, and a certificate when you finish a curriculum โ€ข Daily reminders at a time you choose, silent overnight IPHONE, IPAD AND MAC One app for all three, with your progress synced across them. Every lesson, every voice and every audiobook ships inside the app, and the AI tutor is a single one-time download โ€” after that, no Wi-Fi, no cellular data, nothing to stream. A plane, a tunnel or a dead signal changes nothing. ONE PURCHASE, NOT A SUBSCRIPTION Start free. Unlock everything once and keep all 12 languages โ€” no monthly fee, no paying again per language. Download Lingo Academy and say your first sentence today.

Screenshots

Poly4 screens
Lingo Academy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Lingo Academy at weekly against Poly's monthly. Poly's advantage is iOS requirement (16.6 vs 26.2). 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. Poly sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Lingo Academy sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Poly ships an update monthly, Lingo Academy weekly. Both last shipped on November 9, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Poly versus Lingo Academy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPolyLingo Academy
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac โ€” better
Requires iOS16.6 โ€” better26.2
Further details โ€” not scored
Size90 MB430 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperDatabase of Everything Inc.Popescu-Ungureanu Silviu-Georgian PFA

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Poly

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly Subscription$0.991 Month
One-time1
  • Liftetime Access$14.99
1 purchases

Lingo Academy

One-time1
  • Lingo Academy Pro$24.99

Questions

Is Poly free?
Poly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lingo Academy free?
Lingo Academy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Poly or Lingo Academy have ads?
Neither Poly nor Lingo Academy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Poly or Lingo Academy?
Poly ships an update monthly, and Lingo Academy weekly. Most recently, Poly was updated on November 9, 2026 and Lingo Academy on November 9, 2026.

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