Parallel Arabic vs Kitabi
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Parallel Arabic
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Most Arabic apps teach you the formal version — the one people rarely speak on the street. Parallel Arabic is different. We teach the dialects: Egyptian, Levantine, Moroccan Darija, and Modern Standard Arabic — so you can hold a real conversation with real people, wherever you are. Read in parallel Every story and lesson shows English, Arabic script, and transliteration side by side — so you can follow along at your own pace, whether you can read Arabic yet or not. Hear it like a native All content is voiced by native dialect speakers, not generic text-to-speech. Tap any word to hear it pronounced, see its meaning, and get example sentences — instantly. Learn your way Choose your dialect and start building vocabulary that actually matters to you. Generate custom lessons, stories, and practice sentences around topics you care about — not generic scripted content. AI that works for you Practice speaking with an AI tutor in your chosen dialect and get instant feedback. Read AI-generated stories on any topic, tap any word to translate it, and hear native audio pronunciations — all in one place. Built to make words stick Our spaced repetition review system schedules words at exactly the right time so you don't forget them. Each review session generates fresh stories and sentences using your saved words — not the same flashcards on repeat. See your progress Your vocabulary map grows with every word you learn, giving you a visual picture of how far you've come. Track your daily activity and climb the leaderboard. What's included: - 4 Arabic dialects: Egyptian, Levantine, Moroccan Darija, Modern Standard Arabic - 50+ structured lessons per dialect - AI-generated stories with click-to-translate - AI conversation tutor with pronunciation feedback - Writing and sentence-matching practice - Dialect comparison — see how words differ across regions - Spaced repetition review powered by your own vocabulary - Visual vocabulary map - Word of the Day Free to start. Premium unlocks everything. Whether you're a complete beginner or brushing up before a trip, Parallel Arabic meets you where you are; and teaches you Arabic the way it's actually spoken. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Parallel Arabic at none against Kitabi's 2. Parallel Arabic also leads on ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement 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. Kitabi sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Parallel Arabic asks for nothing beyond the download.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Parallel Arabic | Kitabi |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 389 MB | 160 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sherif Elmetwally | Zani Dobruna |
In-app purchases
Parallel Arabic
No in-app purchases
Kitabi
- Kitabi Premium$12.991 Month
- Kitabi Premium7 Days trial$49.991 Year









