Lock Learn vs LockVocab
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Lock Learn
Learn new vocabulary effortlessly by having words and definitions appear on your phone's lock screen every 10 minutes. Create custom word lists for any subject, from languages to professional terms, and tap to explore them further. Start with 20 free words and unlock unlimited access with a one-time purchase.
- Lock screen vocabulary widget
- Customizable word lists by topic
- Definitions and grammar labels
- Tap to view word details
- One-time purchase for unlimited words
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Lock Learn puts a vocabulary word on your lock screen and swaps it out every 10 minutes, all day. You're checking your phone constantly anyway, so you might as well pick something up in the meantime. There are no study sessions, no streaks to maintain, and no extra time required. How it works: Add the Lock Learn widget to your lock screen. From that point on, every time you glance at your phone you'll see a different word from your list along with its definition and grammar type. The widget refreshes in the background every 10 minutes without you doing anything. Build your own word lists: Lock Learn isn't tied to a preset word bank. You create topics for whatever you're working on: a language you're studying, industry terminology, SAT prep words, culinary terms, anything you want. Every entry includes a definition and a grammar label so you understand how to actually use the word, not just what it means. Tap to go deeper: Spot a word you want to explore? Tap the widget and Lock Learn opens directly to that word's topic so you can review, edit, or add related words. Free to start: You get up to 20 vocabulary words completely free, with no trial period and no expiration date. If you want more, a small one-time purchase unlocks unlimited words and there's no subscription. Features: - Lock screen widget that rotates vocabulary every 10 minutes - Organize words into topics and categories - Grammar labels included with every entry - Tap-to-open deep link goes directly to the word currently on your lock screen - Free up to 20 words, one-time purchase for unlimited
LockVocab
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You wake your phone 80 times a day. What if each one taught you a word? LockVocab turns your Lock Screen into a vocabulary card you cannot miss. No app to open, no time to set aside — the word is simply there, where you already look. See it enough times and it sticks. Built for exams and for work: 5,200 words — 1,500 TOEIC core, 1,400 business English, 1,000 everyday English and 1,300 IELTS/TOEFL academic vocabulary. The TOEIC, business and academic lists are calibrated against published exam-corpus frequency lists, and every word comes with phonetics, a plain-English definition, synonyms, word origin and a natural example sentence. WHAT YOU GET • Vocabulary on your Lock Screen 21 paper-style templates (single word, example card, vertical, manuscript grid, multi-word lists, side-by-side translations and more), 8 accent colors and 4 typefaces, mixed however you like, on a built-in background or your own photo. A Shortcut swaps in fresh words on a schedule you choose. • Live Activity and Dynamic Island Turn on Live Activity and a word card stays on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, like a widget — tap the corner for the next batch, without opening the app. • Add your own words Missing a word? Type it in and AI fills in the part of speech, pronunciation, meaning and an example sentence, and you can edit anything it writes. Words already in the library use the built-in entry. • Import from photos Snap a vocabulary page from your textbook or an English article. AI turns the whole page into a word list; check the ones you want and import them in one go. From articles it picks the words worth learning and uses the article's own sentences as examples. • One-tap setup Add the ready-made Shortcut in a single tap, then follow the step-by-step guide, as pictures or as a short video, if you also want the wallpaper to change itself every day. Switch to the Shortcuts app mid-video and it keeps playing in Picture in Picture. • Learn and review Mark each card "got it" or "not yet", save favorites, tap to hear the pronunciation. Everything you missed collects into a review list you can also use as your wallpaper source. • Choose what you study Pick your source: all words, favorites, words you missed, your own words (My picks), TOEIC core, business English, everyday English, or IELTS/TOEFL. The wallpaper and the Live Activity can each use a different one. ABOUT PAYING The first 100 words, every template that shows 1–4 words (10 in all), photo backgrounds and up to 20 words of your own are free, and you can try photo import 3 times. A single purchase unlocks every word, the topic word lists, the 5–10 word templates and photo import, with no limit on your own words (AI fill-in has daily and monthly usage caps). No subscription, no auto-renewal, no ads. PRIVACY No account, no personal data, no ad tracking. Your progress and your own words stay on your device. Only if you allow AI word fill-in does the app send the English words and the text recognized in your photo (never the photo itself) through our server to Anthropic's AI model (Claude). Nothing is used to train AI, Anthropic deletes it within 30 days, and you can turn it off anytime in Settings. Everything works offline except the setup videos and AI fill-in. The app sends only anonymous usage statistics, with no personal data, to help improve it. Wake your phone. Learn a word.
Screenshots
Verdict
Lock Learn and LockVocab are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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. Lock Learn sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and LockVocab sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Lock Learn ships an update every 2 days, LockVocab every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Lock Learn | LockVocab |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 3 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MaxQ Consulting Services LLC | Poyu Chiang |
In-app purchases
Lock Learn
- LockLearn$1.99
LockVocab
- Full Version · Limited Price$2.99
- Full Version · One-Time$5.99









