Comparison

Kitabi vs UCNotes

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

Head to head
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

About

UCNotes

Read full description

UCNotes is a flexible study and note-taking workspace built for handwriting, PDFs, math, audio, and focused learning. Write naturally with Apple Pencil, annotate PDFs, organize study materials, and keep your notes, media, and math tools together in one place. Handwriting & PDF • Smooth Apple Pencil writing and erasing • PDF annotation and navigation • Facing Pages and flexible reading layouts • Split Tabs for working with multiple documents • Pen Actions including Scratch to Erase and Loop + Hook to Select Audio & Ink • Record lectures while you write • Replay handwriting in sync with audio • Tap linked ink to return to the moment it was written • Scrub through recordings while following your notes • Continue listening while studying and navigating documents Math & Markdown • Read math-rich Markdown documents with offline mathematical rendering • Built-in geometry and construction tools • Measurements, vectors, calculations, and advanced geometry workflows • Geometry Script and Solver tools available with UCNotes Pro Study Media • Import and play audio and video • Picture in Picture support • Media queues, playback speed controls, and study-friendly playback tools Organize Your Work • Collections and folders • Multiple open tabs • Recent work and quick access • Local Wi-Fi transfer for supported documents • Import PDFs and Markdown files into your study library Free & Pro UCNotes includes a generous set of handwriting, PDF, geometry, media, and study tools for free. UCNotes Pro unlocks advanced capabilities including Geometry Script, derived geometry, advanced calculations, Solver features, and expanded document capacity. UCNotes Pro is available as an auto-renewing annual subscription. Subscription pricing and applicable introductory or promotional offers are shown before purchase. Whether you are taking class notes, working through mathematics, reviewing a lecture, or studying from a PDF, UCNotes is designed to keep the entire workflow close at hand. Privacy-focused by design: core note-taking and document workflows work locally on your device.

Screenshots

Kitabi4 screens
UCNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: UCNotes at none against Kitabi's shown. UCNotes also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). Kitabi's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Kitabi sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month and UCNotes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kitabi ships an update every 3 weeks, UCNotes weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Kitabi versus UCNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKitabiUCNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size160 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZani DobrunaUnit Circle Math Tutoring LLC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Kitabi

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

UCNotes

One-time1
  • UCNotes Pro Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Kitabi free?
Kitabi is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is UCNotes free?
UCNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Kitabi or UCNotes have ads?
Kitabi shows ads; UCNotes does not.
Which is updated more often, Kitabi or UCNotes?
Kitabi ships an update every 3 weeks, and UCNotes weekly. Most recently, Kitabi was updated on October 11, 2026 and UCNotes on October 5, 2026.

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