Comparison

ReadArabic vs Kitabi

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

Head to head
About

ReadArabic

Learn Arabic (A1-B2) through engaging stories and news. Instantly translate words by tapping them within the text, making vocabulary acquisition contextual and seamless. Avoid the hassle of switching between apps for translation.

Highlights
  • Read stories and news in Arabic
  • Tap words for instant translation
  • Learn vocabulary in context
  • Supports A1-B2 proficiency levels
  • No dictionary switching required
Features
Read full description

Improve your Arabic (A1-B2) by reading real-world content. Read stories and news, tap words for instant translation, and learn vocabulary in context. No more dictionary switching, just fluid reading.

About

Kitabi

Learn Arabic by reading actual books, stories, and dialogues. Tap any word for instant meaning, or a sentence for translation. Practice vocabulary with smart flashcards and import your own content for interactive lessons.

Highlights
  • Read actual Arabic books and dialogues
  • Tap words for instant meaning and roots
  • Tap sentences for full translation
  • Smart flashcards for vocabulary practice
  • Import YouTube videos and articles
  • Track vocabulary progress
Features
Read full description

Kitabi is a different kind of Arabic learning app. Instead of endless multiple-choice quizzes, you read and watch real Arabic — books, stories, dialogues and videos. Tap any word to see its meaning instantly. Tap a sentence to see the full translation. It's the closest thing to having a tutor sitting beside you. YOUR OWN ARABIC LIBRARY Browse a growing collection of Arabic books: stories of the prophets, the life of the Prophet Muhammad saw, hadith, supplications, everyday dialogues and more. Every word is tappable — meaning, root and related forms, one tap away. Save the words you want to remember and watch them highlight across every book you read. WATCH REAL ARABIC Cartoons, stories and vlogs in Arabic, with live subtitles that follow the video. Tap any word as it's spoken to see what it means. Pick a topic, or search for a word and jump straight to the moment it's said. TAP TO TRANSLATE Read naturally. When you hit a word you don't know, tap it. A clean panel shows the meaning, the root and related words. Tap the sentence for the full translation. No switching apps, no copy-pasting into a translator. HEAR EVERY WORD Native-quality audio throughout. Tap to hear a single word pronounced correctly, or listen to a whole passage read aloud while you follow along. EXPLORE ARABIC ROOTS Arabic is built from three-letter roots, and once you see them the language stops feeling random. The Explorer maps any word back to its root and shows you the family it belongs to — the verbs, the nouns and the patterns that connect them. VOCABULARY THAT STICKS Every word you meet is tracked. Practise with flashcards that adapt to your level, plus listening, matching, scramble and speed-match exercises. Words you struggle with come back more often. Picture Words teaches everyday vocabulary with animated illustrations across 35+ topics, and the built-in dictionary is always a tap away. START FROM ZERO Never seen the Arabic script before? The alphabet course takes you letter by letter — the shapes, the sounds, and how each one changes at the start, middle and end of a word. IMPORT YOUR OWN VIDEOS Paste a YouTube link and Kitabi turns it into an interactive Arabic lesson, with word-by-word translation and playback synced to the text. LEARN IN YOUR LANGUAGE The app speaks your language: English, French, German, Spanish, Turkish, Russian, Urdu, Bengali, Indonesian, Malay and more. FREE AND PREMIUM Kitabi is free to start. You get free chapters in every book, daily flashcard practice, the dictionary, Picture Words, exercises and the alphabet course. Kitabi Premium unlocks everything: • Every book and every chapter • Watch — the full Arabic video feed • Unlimited flashcards and practice • The full root and word-family Explorer • Import from YouTube • Everything we add later SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Kitabi Premium is available as an auto-renewing subscription. The annual plan includes a 7-day free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription renews automatically for the same period and price unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renewal at any time in your Apple ID account settings. In some regions Kitabi Premium is also available as a one-time purchase that does not renew. Whether you're a complete beginner or an intermediate learner who wants to understand real Arabic, Kitabi gives you the tools to actually understand what you're reading and hearing — not just memorise words in isolation. Start reading Arabic today. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://kitabi.space/privacy

Screenshots

ReadArabic4 screens
Kitabi4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: ReadArabic at none against Kitabi's shown. ReadArabic also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. ReadArabic sells 8 one-off in-app purchases and Kitabi sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for ReadArabic against 4.6 for Kitabi. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 18 and 8 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ReadArabic ships an update every 8 days, Kitabi every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
ReadArabic versus Kitabi: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReadArabicKitabi
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (18 ratings) — better4.6 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings18 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size69 MB160 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMert TOYZani Dobruna

Customer experience

ReadArabic

All ratings18 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Kitabi

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

8 purchases

ReadArabic

One-time8
  • Support the developer$0.99
  • Support the developer$2.99
  • Support the developer$4.99
Show 5 more
  • Support the developer$9.99
  • Support the developer$19.99
  • Support the developer$49.99
  • Support the developer$99.99
  • Support the developer$499.99
2 purchases

Kitabi

Subscriptions2
  • Kitabi Premium$12.991 Month
  • Kitabi Premium7 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is ReadArabic free?
ReadArabic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Kitabi free?
Kitabi is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ReadArabic or Kitabi?
ReadArabic is rated higher. ReadArabic averages 4.7 out of 5 from 18 ratings, while Kitabi averages 4.6 from 8 ratings.
Do ReadArabic or Kitabi have ads?
Kitabi shows ads; ReadArabic does not.
Which is updated more often, ReadArabic or Kitabi?
ReadArabic ships an update every 8 days, and Kitabi every 3 weeks. Most recently, ReadArabic was updated on October 28, 2026 and Kitabi on October 25, 2026.

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