Comparison

Speak Shakespeare vs Dowing

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

Head to head
About

Speak Shakespeare

Features
Read full description

Read one of Shakespeare's sonnets aloud and see which words you pronounced correctly and which ones need another try. Speak Shakespeare is an English pronunciation trainer built like a language lab around Shakespeare's 154 sonnets. First, listen to the narrator read a line. Then read it aloud yourself. The app listens to your voice and shows whether each word was pronounced correctly, almost correctly, or incorrectly. You can then play back your recording and compare it with the narrator's. HOW CAN I CHECK IF MY PRONUNCIATION IS CORRECT? Is there an AI tool that can check my pronunciation? This is one: AI speech recognition gives every word you read its own verdict, so you know exactly which word to work on. A line counts only when every word in it is pronounced correctly: almost correct is not enough. You can also listen to your recording and the narrator's to hear the difference for yourself. SHADOWING ON A REAL TEXT Shadowing means listening to a voice and repeating after it. Every sonnet has a narrator's reading, so you can start right away. AT YOUR OWN PACE Work line by line or stanza by stanza. You can retry a line with no penalty for mistakes. Your score shows how much material you have mastered, not the time you spent or the number of attempts. Comparing your results with other readers is up to you. WHO IT IS FOR English learners who want to practice pronunciation with a complete text instead of isolated drills. Readers who want to hear Shakespeare's sonnets and read them aloud themselves. People who already practice shadowing and want a steady text with a reference reading for every sonnet. THE SONNETS All 154 of Shakespeare's sonnets, each with audio of a narrator's reference reading. Some sonnets are available from the start. A one-time purchase unlocks the rest permanently, with no subscription. The app's interface is available in English, Arabic, Chinese (Traditional), French, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.

About

Dowing

Features
Read full description

Practice speaking through simple, focused repetition. Dowing is a shadowing practice app designed to help language learners listen, repeat, record, and review their speaking โ€” without unnecessary distractions. LISTEN AND REPEAT Add the sentences you want to practice and listen to them using voices available on your device. Adjust the playback speed and repeat each sentence at your own pace. RECORD YOUR VOICE Record yourself as many times as you need. Listen back to your attempts and keep practicing until the sentence feels more natural. REVIEW YOUR PRACTICE Keep your sentences, recordings, favorites, and practice history organized so you can easily return to what you want to practice. SIMPLE BY DESIGN Dowing keeps the practice loop simple: Listen. Repeat. Record. Review. No account is required. Your practice data and recordings stay on your device.

Screenshots

Speak Shakespeare4 screens
Dowing3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Dowing at none against Speak Shakespeare's 1. Speak Shakespeare's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 2 days). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Speak Shakespeare sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Dowing asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Speak Shakespeare ships an update daily, Dowing every 2 days. Both last shipped on October 14, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Speak Shakespeare versus Dowing: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpeak ShakespeareDowing
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyDaily โ€” betterEvery 2 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.616.4 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size30 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMaxim OranskyInseok Song

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Speak Shakespeare

One-time1
  • Every sonnet$8.99
None

Dowing

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Speak Shakespeare free?
Speak Shakespeare is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dowing free?
Dowing is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Speak Shakespeare or Dowing have ads?
Neither Speak Shakespeare nor Dowing shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Speak Shakespeare or Dowing?
Speak Shakespeare ships an update daily, and Dowing every 2 days. Most recently, Speak Shakespeare was updated on October 14, 2026 and Dowing on October 14, 2026.

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