Comparison

Etym vs Baybayin Ancient Script

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

Head to head
About

Etym

Discover the fascinating origins of everyday words with daily, bite-sized stories. Test your knowledge with quick quizzes and save your favorite word histories. Perfect for anyone curious about language and history.

Highlights
  • Daily word origin stories
  • Bite-sized learning
  • Save favorite words
  • Daily quizzes
  • Vocabulary expansion
Read full description

Ever wonder where words come from? "Salary" comes from salt. "Muscle" means little mouse. "Clue" was literally a ball of thread. The words you use every day have wild, weird, fascinating histories, and Etym helps you uncover them. Every day, a handful of new words land in your feed. Tap through at your own pace, save your favorites, and take the daily quiz to make it stick. You'll learn something new in under a minute and actually remember it. WHAT'S INSIDE Daily word stories — bite-sized and genuinely interesting My Words — everything you've collected Liked — your favorites, saved for later Daily quizzes — because knowing is half the battle For word nerds, trivia lovers, history buffs, and anyone who's ever thought "wait, why do we say that?" Download etym. Your vocabulary has secrets. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://joinenthusiast.com/privacy

About

Baybayin Ancient Script

Learn and write the ancient pre-colonial Filipino script. Practice tracing characters, transliterate text, and hear authentic pronunciation from native speakers. Works offline with no ads or tracking.

Highlights
  • Trace characters freehand
  • Master individual glyphs and full words
  • Translate Filipino to Baybayin instantly
  • Hear authentic pronunciation from native speakers
  • Full glossary reference guide
  • Works completely offline
  • Save and share progress
Features
Read full description

Baybayin is a free educational app for learning, writing, and transliterating the ancient pre-colonial Filipino script — brought to life for a new generation of Filipinos and friends of the Philippines. Before Spanish colonization, Filipinos wrote in Baybayin — a beautiful abugida script used across the archipelago to write Tagalog and other Philippine languages. This app puts that living heritage in your hands. PRACTICE BAYBAYIN: Trace every character freehand on a guided canvas. Practice all 17 letters — 3 vowels and 14 consonants — across their vowel variants. Switch between Character mode to master individual glyphs and Word mode to practice full words. Save your drawings to your Camera Roll and share your progress. TRANSLATE FILIPINO TO BAYBAYIN: Type any Filipino or Latin text and see it instantly converted to Baybayin script. A growing history of your transliterations is saved automatically so you can revisit your favorites anytime. HEAR AUTHENTIC PRONUNCIATION: Every character and practice word is voiced by a native Filipino speaker — not a computer voice. Hear the correct Tagalog pronunciation of all 51 syllable combinations and 11 practice words including salamat, bahay, puso, and pagibig. GLOSSARY REFERENCE: A full reference guide of all 17 Baybayin letters with their vowel variant glyphs, romanized labels, and voice playback. Tap any character to expand its full detail. Perfect for learners and curious minds alike. WORKS COMPLETELY OFFLINE: No internet connection required. No account needed. No ads. No tracking. Your data stays on your device. WHY BAYBAYIN MATTERS Baybayin is not a dead language — it is a living part of Filipino identity. It appears on the Philippine peso, in street art across Manila, in tattoos worn with pride by Filipinos around the world. Learning Baybayin is an act of cultural reclamation — a way to reconnect with a history that colonization tried to erase. This app was made with deep respect for that heritage, by a Filipino developer, for every Filipino — at home or in the diaspora. WHAT YOU CAN LEARN The 3 Baybayin vowels: A, I, U/O All 14 consonants and their syllable forms The kudlit diacritic system for vowel modification The virama (pangalawang kudlit) for final consonants Common Filipino words written in Baybayin

Screenshots

Etym4 screens
Baybayin Ancient Script4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Baybayin Ancient Script at none against Etym's 2. Etym's advantage is ratings volume (4 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.6). On price, rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Etym sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Baybayin Ancient Script asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Etym against 5.0 for Baybayin Ancient Script. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Etym ships an update weekly, Baybayin Ancient Script every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Etym versus Baybayin Ancient Script: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEtymBaybayin Ancient Script
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better1
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJacqueline Vidal ChangBryan Fernandez

Customer experience

Etym

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Baybayin Ancient Script

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Etym

Subscriptions2
  • English$4.991 Month
  • English7 Days trial$29.991 Year
None

Baybayin Ancient Script

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Etym free?
Etym is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Baybayin Ancient Script free?
Baybayin Ancient Script is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Etym or Baybayin Ancient Script?
Etym and Baybayin Ancient Script are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 4 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Etym or Baybayin Ancient Script have ads?
Neither Etym nor Baybayin Ancient Script shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Etym or Baybayin Ancient Script?
Etym ships an update weekly, and Baybayin Ancient Script every 4 days. Most recently, Etym was updated on November 5, 2026 and Baybayin Ancient Script on October 31, 2026.

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