Open Elifba vs Arabic.app
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Open Elifba
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Open Elifba is a free, open-source app designed to help you learn to read Arabic script — from the very first letter to advanced Tajweed (Quran recitation) rules. LEARN AT YOUR OWN PACE Whether you are an absolute beginner or looking to sharpen your Tajweed knowledge, Open Elifba guides you through a structured curriculum with clear, bite-sized lessons organized into categories. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN • Arabic Letters — Recognize and pronounce all 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet. • Letter Forms — Learn how each letter changes shape at the beginning, middle, and end of a word. • Diacritics (Harakat) — Master Fatha, Kasra, Damma, Sukun, Shadda, and Tanween. • Vowel Lengthening (Madd) — Understand Natural Madd, Connected Madd, Disconnected Madd, Necessary Madd, Temporary Madd, and Soft Madd. • Tajweed Rules — Practice Ikhfā' (Concealment), Izhār (Clear Pronunciation), Idgham (Merging), Iqlāb (Letter Change), Qalqalah (Echoing Sound), and more. • Pronoun Rules — Learn extended and non-extended pronoun rules. • Lafzatullah — Study the special pronunciation rules for the word "Allah." AUDIO-GUIDED PRACTICE Every exercise comes with native audio pronunciations. Tap the card to hear the correct sound and practice until you get it right. SMART SPACED REPETITION Open Elifba uses a spaced repetition system to intelligently schedule your reviews. Exercises you've mastered appear less frequently, while ones that need practice come back sooner — so you spend your time where it matters most. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS • See your accuracy rate and average response speed for each category. • Monitor how many exercises you've reviewed vs. how many remain. • Categories are color-coded to highlight what needs attention. BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED A clean, modern interface with dark mode support. Elegant card-based exercises with smooth animations make learning feel effortless. 12 LANGUAGES SUPPORTED The app interface is available in English, Turkish, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Hindi, Japanese, Chinese, and Danish — so you can navigate in the language you're most comfortable with. FREE & OPEN SOURCE Open Elifba is completely free with no in-app purchases. The source code is openly available, making it a community-driven project you can trust. Start your Arabic reading journey today with Open Elifba.
Arabic.app
Learn to read Arabic script and Quranic verses step-by-step with native-speaker audio. This ad-free app offers a structured learning path with no shortcuts, ensuring mastery before advancing. It supports multiple users and works offline.
- Step-by-step Arabic script learning
- Native-speaker audio for pronunciation
- Hard-gated progression for mastery
- Offline functionality
- Multiple user profiles
- Progress tracking with streaks and achievements
- Light and dark mode
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Read Arabic from your first letter to your first verse of the Quran. Arabic.app teaches you the Arabic script the way it should be taught: step-by-step, with clear native-voice audio for every letter, harakat, and word — and a hard-gated progression that won't let you advance until you've actually got it. 10 lessons (27 audio sessions in total) take you from Alif all the way to short suras from the Quran. Free. No ads. No subscriptions. —————————————————————— WHAT YOU'LL LEARN • Foundations — the 28-letter alphabet + fatha, kasra, damma • Long vowels — extensions with Alif, Ya, and Waw • Sukoon — silent consonants and word shape • Shadda — doubled consonants with all three harakat • Letter Forms — isolated → initial → medial → final • Tanween — the three -an / -in / -un endings • Special Cases — Hamza variants, Ta Marbuta, Alif Maksura, Alif with Madda, Lam-Alif, Alif Wasla • Sun & Moon letters — when the "L" in "al-" is silent • Words → Sentences → Quran — two- to five-letter words, full sentences, and short suras Every quiz requires 80% to unlock the next lesson. No shortcuts. —————————————————————— WHY ARABIC.APP IS DIFFERENT • Saudi-native audio — clear pronunciation from native voices, recorded fresh for clarity. • Hard-gated progression — you can't skip ahead; each lesson actually sticks. • Focused, not bloated — 10 lessons, 27 audio sessions, zero padding. • Works fully offline — every audio file is bundled. No internet required, ever. • Multiple profiles — share the app with your kids, your spouse, anyone. Each profile tracks its own progress, streak, stars and achievements. • Streaks, stars and achievements — earn stars on every lesson and unlock 24 achievements as you progress. • 13 UI languages — the app speaks English, Arabic, French, Spanish, German, Malay, Turkish, Indonesian, Urdu, Bengali, Hindi, Chinese and Russian. The Arabic content stays Arabic; the UI follows you. • Light + dark mode — clean, modern design built for long study sessions. • Full accessibility — Dynamic Type, VoiceOver, Reduce Motion, RTL. —————————————————————— PERFECT FOR • Adults learning to read Arabic for the first time • Muslims who want to read the Quran in its original script • Heritage learners reconnecting with their roots • Parents teaching their kids • Anyone curious about one of the world's most beautiful scripts —————————————————————— PRIVACY • No account, no sign-up, no email required • Works fully offline after install • No personal data sold or shared Start your first lesson today.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Open Elifba at 13.0 against Arabic.app's 26.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Open Elifba | Arabic.app |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.8 (5 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 5 — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 52 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Omer Bilal Yay | Aaratus, inc. |
In-app purchases
Open Elifba
No in-app purchases
Arabic.app
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Open Elifba free?
Is Arabic.app free?
Do Open Elifba or Arabic.app have ads?
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