Comparison

Bonobon vs Reader IQ

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

Head to head
About

Bonobon

Features
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Language practice that learns from you. Bonobon pays attention to the words you learn, the mistakes you make, the topics you explore and how you practise. Those signals become part of your learning context β€” helping Bonobon decide what to bring back, what to reinforce and what you should practise next. The more you use it, the more personal your practice becomes. Choose what interests you, and Bonobon turns it into a complete language-learning session at your level. Read an article or listen to it. Learn new words in context. Test yourself with quizzes. Write and get feedback. Practise speaking and follow conversations with audio and transcripts. Everything stays connected to the same context instead of becoming a collection of random exercises. A learning loop built around you Read β†’ listen β†’ learn β†’ quiz β†’ write β†’ speak β†’ improve. Words you save can return in future practice. Patterns you struggle with can appear again. Topics you enjoy help shape what you explore next. Your practice evolves with you. Explore what you actually care about History, food, travel, science, culture, technology, niche interests β€” or something completely your own. Choose one of Bonobon’s topics or create your own, and get content adapted to your language level. Practise in different ways β€” Read and listen to content at your level β€” Practise speaking with interactive conversations β€” Follow transcripts and replay audio β€” Tap any word for an instant translation β€” Save words to your personal vocabulary β€” Review vocabulary with spaced repetition β€” Test yourself with comprehension quizzes β€” Practise writing and get instant feedback β€” Learn from recurring words, patterns and mistakes β€” Get fresh topics for daily practice Made for daily practice You don’t need another course to finish. Spend a few focused minutes reading, listening, speaking or reviewing β€” and come back whenever you’re ready for the next session. 50+ languages Practise Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Arabic, Hindi and many more β€” from beginner to advanced. No account required. Your saved words and learning progress are stored on your device. Free to use. Don’t see your language? Write to us at info@bonobon.app and we’ll do our best to add it. Bonobon Premium (optional): monthly or annual auto-renewable subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it in your Account Settings after purchase. Terms of Use: https://bonobon.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://bonobon.app/privacy

About

Reader IQ

Features
Read full description

That Spanish you took in high school, the language your abuela still speaks at home, the manga you've always wanted to read in the original β€” Reader IQ gets you there. Hard words are translated right above the line, a tap on any word explains it in context, and every book can be listened to as well as read. BOOKS THAT SPEAK. AUDIOBOOKS YOU CAN READ. Focus mode turns any book into a listening lesson β€” no audio edition needed. It reads any e-book aloud sentence by sentence and highlights each word as it's spoken. For supported language pairs on compatible devices, it shows full-sentence subtitles; otherwise, word translations remain available. Tap any word for the dictionary without stopping the audio. On compatible devices and systems, where the book's language and speech model are supported, on-device transcription turns audiobook speech into word-synced text with translated subtitles; otherwise, the audiobook still plays normally. Listening time counts toward shared time, streak, and goal totals. YOUR BOOKS, MANY FORMATS Tired of a library that runs out of new stories after a few weeks? Import your own β€” from email, cloud, messaging apps, or your browser β€” and the catalog never runs dry: - Books: EPUB, FB2, MOBI, AZW3, TXT, Markdown and more - Research & scans: PDF and DjVu β€” scanned pages read with on-device OCR - Comics: CBZ, including manga read right to left, the way it was drawn - Audiobooks: m4b, mp3 and more TRANSLATIONS ABOVE THE LINE β€” ONLY WHERE YOU NEED THEM Brushing up before a trip to Mexico City, or starting Japanese from scratch? Tell Reader IQ your level β€” or take a two-minute test β€” and it translates only the words you don't know yet, right above the line. You read for meaning, not decoding, and the hints fade as your vocabulary grows. A DICTIONARY THAT UNDERSTANDS CONTEXT Tap any word and an on-device model reads the sentence to select the most likely meaning β€” "spring" the season, not the coil. Pronunciation, word forms, example sentences, conjugation tables for 8 languages, and kanji/hanzi breakdowns with stroke order. Once downloaded, the dictionaries live on your device and work offline. A GRADED PATH FROM YOUR FIRST 10 WORDS You don't start with a 400-page novel. Adapted books and a graded path of short stories take you from your first words to longer texts, adding just a few new words at each step. Read-along speech, quizzes and spaced re-reads make it stick β€” so you're ready when you pick up a real novel. SPACED REPETITION, STRAIGHT FROM YOUR BOOKS Every word you tap is saved with the sentence it came from, and that sentence becomes your flashcard. Four practice modes β€” recognition, fill-in-the-blank from your own books, listening, and typed recall β€” run on a real spaced-repetition schedule with honest next-review dates. Meet a saved word again while reading and it advances on its own: reading is the review. See how much of each level (A1–C2) you've covered, and export your words β€” handy for a book club reading the same title. GOALS, STREAKS AND 40 AWARD LADDERS Set a daily reading goal and keep it going with a weekly ring and a heatmap. Set a word-count goal for a date and watch it get closer. Around 40 awards celebrate how learning actually happens β€” first book finished, longest streak, biggest day, getting back on track after you fall off. 10 READING LANGUAGES English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Chinese, and Thai. Pinyin with tone colors, furigana and vertical Japanese text, Thai tone marks, and beginner modes if you don't know the script yet. Translations into 30+ languages. Reading in the original is still the most natural way to learn a language β€” no drills, just the story pulling you forward. Reader IQ clears out what made it hard: the dictionary detours, books too advanced, words forgotten the next day. Open your first book tonight.

Screenshots

Bonobon4 screens
Reader IQ4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Reader IQ at none against Bonobon's 2. Reader IQ also leads on ads (none vs shown). Bonobon's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Bonobon sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Reader IQ asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bonobon ships an update every 8 days, Reader IQ fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 3 level
Bonobon versus Reader IQ: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBonobonReader IQ
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 8 days β€” betterFortnightly
AdsYesNo β€” better
In-app purchasesYesNo β€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod β€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 β€” better17.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size21 MB188 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperStanislav LeontevDmitry Zaika

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Bonobon

Subscriptions2
  • Bonobon Premium Monthly$12.991 Month
  • Bonobon Premium Annual$89.991 Year
None

Reader IQ

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bonobon free?
Bonobon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Reader IQ free?
Reader IQ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Bonobon or Reader IQ have ads?
Bonobon shows ads; Reader IQ does not.
Which is updated more often, Bonobon or Reader IQ?
Bonobon ships an update every 8 days, and Reader IQ fortnightly. Most recently, Bonobon was updated on October 31, 2026 and Reader IQ on November 5, 2026.

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