Mitlesen vs Halm
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mitlesen
This app makes learning German reading accessible for A1-B2 learners. It offers classic stories and news adapted to your CEFR level, with integrated translation, audio, and explanations. Save new vocabulary to flashcards for effective review and build fluency through contextual exposure.
- Graded German stories and news
- Tap-to-translate functionality
- Integrated audio support
- Inline grammar explanations
- Customizable flashcards
- Multiple language translations
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Reading German is finally easy. Mitlesen is a German reading app for A1–B2 learners. Read classic German stories — Grimm fairy tales, Kafka, and more — plus fresh German news, all adapted to your exact CEFR level, with tap-to-translate, audio, and inline explanations. No more looking up every word in a separate tab. No more texts that are too hard to enjoy, or too easy to learn from. Just the right story, at the right level, with everything you need built in. HOW IT WORKS Choose a story or a news article. Choose your level: A1, A2, B1, or B2. Read at your own pace. Tap any word to see its meaning and grammar. Save it to your flashcards for later review. Listen along with audio if you prefer. When a word appears again, you already know it. WHAT MAKES MITLESEN DIFFERENT Most German learning apps give you exercises and drills. Mitlesen gives you real German — classic stories and current news — adapted for each CEFR level, not just simplified with shorter sentences. The A1 edition of Rotkäppchen reads like a proper story, not a vocabulary worksheet. This is how fluency actually develops: exposure to meaningful German in context, repeatedly, over time. WHAT YOU CAN READ - Fresh German news, graded A1–B2 and updated regularly - Grimm fairy tales: Rotkäppchen, Hänsel und Gretel, Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten, and more - German classics and short stories: Kafka, Das Brot, Kalif Storch - Everyday German texts for practical, real-world vocabulary BUILT-IN FLASHCARDS Tap any word to save it. Mitlesen turns the words you look up — from stories and news — into review cards with grammar tags and audio, so the vocabulary sticks. READ IN YOUR LANGUAGE Translations available in English, Persian (فارسی), Turkish (Türkçe), and Arabic (العربية), with full right-to-left support. WHO MITLESEN IS FOR - A1–B2 learners who want to read real German, not just study it - Duolingo users who want to go deeper - Goethe, telc, or TestDaF exam candidates who need reading practice - Anyone who's tried German and found it too hard to enjoy yet FREE TO START Read all German news and the first 30% of every story for free, with unlimited word lookups and flashcards — no trial, no credit card. Questions or feedback? Email hello@mitlesen.com Terms of Use (EULA): https://mitlesen.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://mitlesen.com/privacy
Halm
Learn German and English through engaging stories and adapted news articles. Tap any word for instant translation within the sentence context. Words you choose to keep are reviewed using an Spaced Repetition System.
- Read stories and news in German or English
- Tap words for instant in-sentence translation
- Spaced repetition for vocabulary review
- Offline functionality
- Privacy-focused with no account or analytics
- Accessibility features
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Read something you actually want to read — in German or English — and let the words stick. Halm turns short stories and adapted news into reading you can handle at your level. Tap any word to see what it means right here, in this sentence. Keep the ones worth keeping. EPISODES Multi-part stories set where you'd actually be: an apartment viewing, a doctor's waiting room, a Sunday at the lake. Each episode shares vocabulary across its parts, so words return on their own instead of being drilled. TAP ANY WORD Translation runs on your device. Halm reads the whole sentence, not the word alone. KEEP WHAT MATTERS You choose what enters review. Nothing is added behind your back. Kept words return on an FSRS schedule, and Halm shows you counts you can verify — never invented percentages. GERMAN AND ENGLISH Two full tracks. Pick one, or switch whenever you like. NO STREAKS Nothing to break, no leaderboard, no notification guilting you back. Read when you want to read. PRIVACY No account, no sign-up, no third-party analytics or advertising. Halm collects nothing automatically. ACCESSIBILITY VoiceOver throughout, Dynamic Type everywhere, Reduce Motion honored, and color never used as the only signal. Works offline. Requires iOS 26.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Halm at 100% against Mitlesen's 0%. Halm also leads on rating (5.0 vs 1.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). Mitlesen's advantage is iOS requirement (17.2 vs 26.1). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Mitlesen sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Halm asks for nothing beyond the download.
Halm holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Halm has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Mitlesen's written reviews are positive against 100% of Halm's.
Mitlesen ships an update every 2 weeks, Halm every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mitlesen | Halm |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 5 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.2 — better | 26.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 80 MB | 488 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Hanialhassan Hashemifar | Timofey Lavrenyuk |
Customer experience
Mitlesen
Halm
In-app purchases
Mitlesen
- Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
- Premium Annual$44.991 Year
Halm
No in-app purchases









